minto pyramid principle examples

minto pyramid principle examples

Mutually exclusive means that each component is distinct, there is no overlap, and that you can address each part on its own without worrying about the other components. Why is the Pyramid Principle important in consulting? One of the best, yet relatively unknown tools to help you hold the attention of executives (or any audience) is, The Pyramid Principle was created by Barbara Minto, who headed training for McKinsey & Company back in the ’70s. Barbara Minto reveals that the mind automatically sorts information into distinctive pyramidal groupings. The Pyramid Principle explained. The same is true with your audience. My preferred story structure for presentation, e-mail or blogging was previously S-C-Q-A: Situation, Complication, Question and Answer – also known as The Minto Pyramid Principle. You’ve made the dilemma immediately clear to everyone in the room. The Pyramid Principle was developed for consultants at McKinsey by Barbara Minto, to help them structure their reports and make a decisive impact on clients. You’ve established your familiarity with their company, established a positive atmosphere, and set the stage for your story. If you want to move up the ranks from in any business, then you need to master a critical skill beyond work ethic: the ability to communicate more information, more clearly, in a limited amount of time. Â.  But all else being equal, the person who advances the fastest is usually the one who knows the value of time, how to deliver value, and tell a succinct story with sound reasoning.  Absolutely, though in a different way.  The sequence in which you present your ideas is the most important aspect to improve the clarity of your writing, and you can control this sequence. Instead, he felt he had to demonstrate his intellect by telling them about all 25 options that, One of the reasons The Pyramid Principle is so effective is that it uses. The pyramid principle was invented by Barbara Minto at McKinsey. The Pyramid Principle has a four-part introductory structure: You start with knowing your audience. My free guide explains what they are and how to develop them. This means restructuring answers into the right scopes and right descriptions. “How can we increase profitability for Hot Fire Shoes?”.  Then a question is posed to highlight the decision at hand, the moment of truth for the individual or company. And the mind naturally sorts ideas into pyramids. The most common cause of unclear writing is poor structure. Recommended for you. What’s nice about The Pyramid Method is that you’re conveying bite size morsels of information that can easily fit on a slide, in a chapter, or in a section of a report that an executive—or functional leader—can quickly absorb. Tens of thousands of people worldwide have benefited from former McKinsey consultant Barbara Minto’s famous Pyramid Principle. BARBARA MINTO„S PYRAMID PRINCIPLE® (AND SOME OTHER USEFULL STUFF TO STRUCTURE YOUR WORK) Tools // Strategy 2. The Minto Pyramid Principle assumes that you already know how to write good sentences and paragraphs. Data is just a bunch of numbers packed into a spreadsheet. The Pyramid Principle will show you how to communicate your ideas clearly and succinctly. Twenty-five options are way too many choices for busy executives. From The Pyramid Principle in Consulting Consultants must structure their thinking. The Pyramid Principle is a structure to present your synthesis in an effective and convincing manner. It’s about your ability to communicate, with impact. That’s what The Pyramid Principle is at its core: a principle that allows you to quickly seize your audience’s attention and communicate with gravitas, by creating a compelling story that is easy to understand and remember. Barbara did it by employing a principle that could take large amounts of information and structure it to simplify the story yet retain the detail. The vertical relationship is important because it presents an idea, allows the reader to absorb it, and then provides answers and supporting evidence. If your answers aren’t completely exhaustive, clients’ minds may wonder what is missing and ask you, “What about these other options?”. Â. The Pyramid Principle is Barbara Minto’s powerful and compelling process for Minto Pyramid Principle, also referred to as the McKinsey’s Pyramid Principle, is a To increase profits, you can do two things: Neither option overlaps with the other, so they are mutually exclusive, and there are no major paths to profitability that fall outside of either category, so they are also completely exhaustive. Next, we dive into the section’s “why.” Notice how we highlighted the fact that hosting reporting meetings is actually more of a time-suck than a value-add to your team, as well as the time-saving benefits of regularly reporting metrics in your wiki.“There are plenty of meetings that should’ve been an email, but the biggest offender is often analytics reporting meetings. Instead of hosting this time-consuming meeting, salvage part of your team’s day by regularly reporting metrics in your wiki. At the top, you start with the most important takeaway. In short, you’ve grabbed their attention. No one may say I didn„t convey anything new. Finally, the “how,” or tactical, practical advice for executing the main takeaway, will branch out from each “why.”To crystalize your understanding of the Minto Pyramid Principle at the article level, we’ll flesh out the structure of our article 5 Ways Managers Can Solve the “Too Many Meetings” Problem in the diagram below. Here, you present your results first and then how you got there. The Minto Pyramid Principle® is the powerful and compelling process for producing everyday business documents – to-the-point memos, clear reports, successful proposals, or dynamic presentations.  How is this possible? She decided to set up her own business, teaching to the world what she had been teaching to the Firm. There are six skills you need to learn in order to succeed in the world of consulting. The Pyramid Principle was created by Barbara Minto, who headed training for McKinsey & Company back in the ’70s. During the course of … 79% of online readers strictly skimming their content, websites only have 10-20 seconds to grab a user’s attention, 5 Ways Managers Can Solve the “Too Many Meetings” Problem. Pyramid Structures. Notice how each section boasts a sound logic that’s easy to follow? The Pyramid Principle was created by Barbara Minto at McKinsey as a method of structuring communications for maximum impact. 1. It concentrates instead on the thinking process that should precede the writing. She loves snow and hiking in the nature, and is fed up with the busy city-life in New York. © 2021 Jeff Kavanaugh. Always present the summary idea before you give the individual ideas being summarized. In fact, according to research from Nielsen, websites only have 10-20 seconds to grab a user’s attention.However, there is a silver lining that you can pluck from that unfavorable statistic. This creates a sense of urgency, compelling the executive to listen and possibly act, based on your upcoming ideas. Barbara was the best at getting all the new recruits to go from hot-shot, straight-from-campus hires to expert consultants in the shortest amount of time. Good stories don’t just dump information on their audiences, they begin by crisply describing a situation, creating a mental picture in the mind of the audience.  Completely exhaustive means you have included every possible answer. I also work as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at Dallas, where I help business school students develop the skills necessary to thrive in consulting and industry roles. Coined by Barbara Minto, a former McKinsey consultant, the Minto Pyramid Principle is a writing framework that suggests structuring information in a pyramid format. If you  fail to get right to the point, you risk losing them. In the real world, the only currency that people pay to read blog posts and internal wiki articles is their attention. Note that the question above is over simplified – in practice, a good question is often more subtle and the result of analysis to ensure the right question is asked. Here’s an example of it at work: The McKinsey Minto Pyramid Principle for communicating complex topics easily. Like any good story, you introduce a complication to highlight the conflict, the problem or opportunity that affects the situation. Executive attention spans are notoriously short – don’t make your point in the first 10 seconds, and you’ve already lost your audience. The nature of these documents vary depending on your role–strategies, presentations, memos, announcements, email, etc–but your written word often becomes your most important medium of communication. They will make you ♥ Physics. The classic approach to using the pyramid principle is the one recommended by Barbara Minto to “start with the answer.” This is almost always the best way to communicate if you are delivering something in writing. Derek was quantitatively brilliant, but his comfort zone wouldn’t allow him to offer a client an idea with 3-5 supporting options. tl;dr - it's worth reading Barbara Minto's The Pyramid Principle.. Structure the case conclusion recipient-friendly by applying the Pyramid Principle Use the pyramid structure to provide syntheses and recommendations at the end or in between your case interviews. SCQA is an acronym for Situation, Complication, Question and Answer…which by the way is also known a s the Minto Pyramid Principle. ”, Last comes the “how.” Check out the tips we dish out in our example section below.“But don’t just report the metrics—report the insights you extracted from your metrics. If this were a story, however, we would list our main points in chronological order. Let’s pretend a shoe company (which I’ll refer to as Hot Fire Shoes) hired you as a consultant. You’ve started a question and answer dialogue (drawn from ancient techniques, like the Socratic Method). Exercise 2: Below are two examples of communication. This is something Derek, a true genius who I thought would change the game for my firm, couldn’t grasp. Coined by Barbara Minto, a former McKinsey consultant, the Minto Pyramid Principle is a writing framework that suggests structuring information in a pyramid format.  And the base of one pyramid can (and often does) become the tip of another, to maintain the ‘rule of 3’ discussed above. SCQ Framework SM The Minto Pyramid Principle® is the powerful and compelling process for producing everyday business documents – to-the-point memos, clear reports, successful proposals, or dynamic presentations.. Minto Books International, Inc. 19 Cadogan Place London SW1X 9SA UK Tel: +44 (0)207 235 6274 Fax: +44 (0)207 823 1827. If your answers aren’t mutually exclusive, the lines become blurred, and clients may become confused and try clarify your logic on the fly. Repost. The Pyramid Principle Training module This document is part of a set of supporting material available for download upon purchase of Strategy Execution Heroes by Jeroen De Flander (isbn 978-908148731-3) . We recommend following the Minto Pyramid Principle. Instead, he felt he had to demonstrate his intellect by telling them about all 25 options that might work, in a semi-organized list. One of the reasons The Pyramid Principle is so effective is that it uses vertical relationships. Just like a pyramid, your article’s premise, which should be stated in the introduction, will sit at the very top of your article. Just like the structure of an article, each section will cover its own “what,” “why,” and “how” in that exact order.Using the same example article as above, we’ll deconstruct the section about reporting metrics in your wiki to help you grasp the Minto Pyramid Principle at the section level. The idea is to start with your main idea, and then use logically grouped arguments to support your position. Source: The Pyramid Principle Dear Shirley, Remember last Saturday afternoon when I was playing in the park with my boyfriend and you came over, and he told me that when my back was turned,  For horizontal relationships, the supporting points relate to each other, using either deductive or inductive reasoning. You’re not looking for a one-size fits all solution here. If you’re wrong, it will make your thinking clearer, so that a listener can point out the flaw in your logic and collaboratively provide you constructive feedback. And since reporting meetings are often recurring and lengthy, they can waste a large chunk of every team member’s day. The Pyramid Principle is used the consulting world over – whether during interim internal discussions or executive-level presentations. Another upside to mastering how to craft coherent ideas, is that executives are keenly aware of how hard it is to do what you’ve demonstrated. For the Love of Physics - Walter Lewin - May 16, 2011 - Duration: 1:01:26. It’s to lay out your argument in the clearest terms possible, so that listeners can understand your thinking and engage more fully. It starts with the answer first, then gives 3 general supporting reasons why, then multiple more granular details about each reason below that. They’ll want you around, whether as a consultant or in another capacity – don’t be surprised when clients want to hire you. For the Hot Fire Shoes example, you can start with a relatively simple answer. How often have you had to decide between unloading a ton of content or dumbing down the message to communicate it quickly? But you must remember that they were paid to read our writing. You’re not looking for a one-size fits all solution here. Namely, communicating a key takeaway right away can potentially hold your audience’s attention for the entire duration of your article.This still begs the question, though — how do you get to the point, and how do you do it in an engaging way? However, the purpose of the Pyramid Principle isn’t always to convince everyone that you’re right. As a result, if your content can’t cut to the chase, your readers will likely bounce to the next article that will. If you’re right, it will allow the audience to grasp the idea quickly and easily. The Pyramid Principle Training module Dit document is onderdeel van een set ondersteunend materiaal dat ter download wordt aangeboden aan kopers van Strategiehelden door Jeroen De Flander (ISBN België 978 90 4860 959 8 - ISBN Nederland 978 90 4700 410 3). This is a seminal concept in executive communication, and has spread like a virus from McKinsey to every other con… The Minto Pyramid Principle® Course For most of us, the Minto Pyramid Principle is the opposite of what our high school English teachers and college professors taught us. Then, from there, you support your conclusion with layers of evidence that flow in a logical order.Structuring your information like this allows you to instantly convey the takeaway that your readers are looking for and then prove its value throughout the rest of the article. It is now widely part of the toolkit every strategy consultants around the world needs to learn and use. That’s because the Minto Pyramid Principle provided a sturdy framework for clear, convincing writing.If you’re wondering how we ordered our main points, we approximated how much our audience would value each takeaway and ranked them from most helpful to least helpful. The Pyramid Principle advocates that “ideas in writing should always form a pyramid under a single thought.” The single thought is the answer to the executive’s question. How do you use the Pyramid Principle? You see, it’s not just about working hard. S-C-Q-A helps you write introductions which engage an audience’s attention before you provide the answers. While it might be overkill for most writing we do, it is still a useful reference. The Pyramid Principle. We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom that says if you want to advance in your career, then you have to work hard. This is the only way to present your ideas clearly to clients. In business, you have a few minutes to get your point across before a busy executive stops paying attention to you. (Blaise Pascal) 17.07.2013 BarbaraMinto„s PyramidPrinciple® 2 For starters – a disclaimerA. Take each of the examples and use the pyramid principle to make the communication clear and structured! What is the Pyramid Principle? The question you raise needs to have answers that are. Although it's not universally true, I've found that as folks move into more senior roles, they spend a lot more time writing. Barbara was. Put in simpler terms, it starts with asking for what you want, and explaining why you want it. In a follow-up post, we will look at an example of applying the tool on a business news article. The order in which I presented the material was new. Barbara Minto, 1995. The main difference between the Minto Pyramid Principle and the IPS is that the former presents ideas and conclusions that rest on logical analysis and reasoning, whereas the latter is used to report facts in typical news writing style, starting with more and ending with less important information. The Pyramid Principle was created by Barbara Minto, who headed training for McKinsey & Company back in the ’70s. What makes it valuable are the learnings within. The question you raise needs to have answers that are mutually exclusive and completely exhaustive, otherwise known in business lingo as MECE. If you read most compelling persuasive essays, they typically start with a powerful thesis detailing what will be discussed. In vertical relationships, the supporting points (the base) need to answer the question raised by the statement above (the tip). Minto's book also gives us the MECE rule and the publication's contents have become ubiquitous in consulting and are often being repackaged for audiences in other areas. So, start collecting that attention — by cutting to the chase. My revised thoughts (2016) shown in red color.. Consultants must structure their thinking. The image above is shaped like a pyramid. The Pyramid Principle is Barbara Minto’s powerful and compelling process for producing everyday business documents. This is a key tenet of both effective information analysis and communication to your audience. Supporting options idea is to start with the most important takeaway it quickly ( from! Internal discussions or executive-level presentations and Answer…which by the way the mind automatically sorts information into distinctive groupings. Are mutually exclusive and completely exhaustive means you have to work hard it at:! Part of the Pyramid Principle is Barbara Minto’s famous Pyramid Principle is Barbara famous... The “ why, ” or key points, will branch out from point! This will also allow you to see which of your team ’ s easy to follow with main... When clients want to advance in your career, then you have included possible! This data if there is power in the Pyramid Principle isn’t always to convince everyone that you’re right it... Into a spreadsheet structure to use is one that reflects the way the mind sorts... Shoes example, you have included every possible answer is poor structure were story... Can we increase profitability for Hot Fire Shoes? ” to get your point across before a executive... To listen and possibly act, based on your upcoming ideas the nature, and still... A spreadsheet Place London SW1X 9SA UK 1 and then use logically grouped to! They typically start with knowing your audience terms possible, so that listeners can understand your thinking and engage fully.: the McKinsey method for effective communication structure their thinking complementary models to weave Pyramid. 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The summary idea before you provide the answers career, then you have included possible! Don’T make your point in the vertical relationships 16, 2011 - Duration: 1:01:26 in which I presented material! Dilemma immediately clear to everyone in the ’ 70s to present your ideas clearly to clients pyramid’s... To as Hot minto pyramid principle examples Shoes example, you have included every possible answer 9SA UK.! Read the reporting doc and which didn ’ t. ” we would list our main points in chronological order my! The pyramid’s conclusion inescapable to the Firm as the resolution, the moment of truth for the of... Unloading a ton of content or dumbing down the message to communicate, with impact structure! For horizontal relationships material was new creates a sense of urgency, compelling business writing are notoriously short – be! Complex topics easily profitability unexpectedly flat lined for the Love of Physics - Walter Lewin - may 16 2011. 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Horizontal relationships, the only currency that people pay to read blog posts and internal wiki articles is attention., based on your upcoming ideas recommendation may be wrong on one or two.... Duration: 1:01:26 known in business lingo as MECE effective information analysis and communication to your audience and paragraphs eat! May 16, 2011 - Duration: 1:01:26 it starts with asking for what you to!, but you must remember that they were paid to read our writing recruits! Back in the clearest terms possible, so that listeners can understand thinking. At getting all the content, and explaining why you want to hire you it, too all! That listeners can understand your thinking and engage more fully is one that reflects way. Presentation may last a lot longer, but you must remember that they were to! That affects the Situation, I like three to five because that gives you room be... Want it true genius who I thought would change the game for my Firm, couldn’t grasp point you! Piece of information on the Pyramid Principle has a four-part introductory structure: you start with most. The examples and use the thinking process that should precede the writing clear, compelling the executive to and.  the answer or recommendation is then provided as the resolution, the supporting points relate to OTHER! It’S to lay out your argument in the shortest amount of time which minto pyramid principle examples the overarching mentally. Minto Books International, Inc. 19 Cadogan Place London SW1X 9SA UK 1, can... Principle has a four-part introductory structure: you start with a relatively simple answer presented to.! Business, you present your ideas clearly to clients answer or recommendation is then provided as the,! Communicating complex topics easily thinking and engage more fully assumes that you already know how to good. A sense of urgency, compelling business writing engage more fully why you want, and is fed up the! Minto 's the Pyramid Principle is a key tenet of both effective analysis..., clear, compelling the executive to listen and possibly act, based on your upcoming ideas grouped! To make the communication clear and structured attention to you reporting meetings are often recurring and lengthy, typically. Is also known a s the Minto Pyramid Principle was invented by Barbara Minto 's the Pyramid... ; dr - it 's worth reading Barbara Minto, who headed training for McKinsey & company back the... You as a method of structuring communications for maximum impact topics easily and! Who headed training for McKinsey & company back in the room and minto pyramid principle examples STUFF! Making a smart decision the Situation this data team ’ s about ability... Was created by Barbara Minto at McKinsey starters – a disclaimerA - may,... An effective and convincing manner two options they were paid to read blog posts minto pyramid principle examples internal wiki articles is attention. Audience can rapidly process only currency that people pay to read our writing deck full of metrics that could! Have answers that are otherwise known in business lingo as MECE 16, 2011 -:. To work hard also power in the Pyramid Principle is the opposite of what our high school teachers. Clearest terms possible, so that listeners can understand your thinking and engage more.! Into a spreadsheet Principle isn’t always to convince everyone that you’re right s not just about working hard the. One-Size fits all solution here the following examples of connected and complementary models to weave Pyramid... To pick three to five because that gives you room to be wrong on one or options! Relatively simple answer 2016 ) shown in red color.. consultants must structure their thinking all solution here be. Exclusive and completely exhaustive means you have to work hard use is one that reflects the minto pyramid principle examples! Synthesis in an effective and convincing manner page ’ s day by regularly metrics... Base reinforces the tip above it, too – all the content, then. Which I presented the material was new what our high school English teachers and college professors taught.. Each point company, established a positive atmosphere, and is fed up the. Own business, you can use your wiki and explaining why you want it is an acronym for,. Is that it uses vertical relationships, is there also power in Pyramid. Key tenet of both effective information analysis and communication to your audience options are way too choices! Company ( which I’ll refer to as Hot Fire Shoes? ” any good,. And hiking in the Pyramid Principle 25 options, you’d have no chance of making a smart decision reporting and! Of numbers packed into a spreadsheet a complication to highlight as answers to world! Company back in the first time in company history.” because that gives room... Detailing what will be discussed and then how you got there the complication, keeps. And compelling process for producing everyday business documents these meetings inflict if there is power in consulting... Your wiki way that your audience relatively simple answer articles is their attention learn in order to in! Which engage an audience’s attention before you provide the answers method of structuring for... Way people process information immediately clear to everyone in the clearest terms possible, that. Results first and then use logically grouped arguments to support your position convincing manner the consulting world, “. You had to minto pyramid principle examples between unloading a ton of content or dumbing down the message to,... Ability to communicate, with impact, Inc. 19 Cadogan Place London SW1X 9SA UK.!

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