I was scrolling through my LinkedIn feed, when I came across this concept called the Minto Pyramid Principle.
Minto Pyramid Principle, also referred to as the McKinsey’s Pyramid Principle, is a tool used to process and structure large amounts of information to convey a story, message or presentation without omitting important details.
A concept which is apparently a widely used management paradigm.
Background – It is a framework on structured thinking conceptualised by Barbara Minto. Used widely by consultants. Based on the book – The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving.
What – Your success highly depends on how well you can communicate your ‘story’
How – Structure your thoughts and communication in the below format
- Situation (state of affairs)
- Complication (what is changing to make things harder)
- Question (That the situation and complication demands)
- Answer (One’s particularly ingenious solution)
With the solution stated, one spends the rest of the time providing evidence and arguments supporting the statement. It is thus a pyramid.
The answer is thus the most important thing in the room – not the status quo or the as-is. Each level of the pyramid supports the level above.
Evidence supports Arguments and arguments support answer.
Finally it helps remove unnecessary information.
If a fact doesn’t support the answer then it is removed. It thus removed the noise that prevents one from getting to one’s goal.
Life lessons : This, I believe, would work beyond consultative presentations and in life in itself. Having a constant focus on the outcome vs the output moves us from being constantly ‘busy’ to productive in what we seek to achieve.
Video: