Repost. This is from 4 years ago and covers the Minto’s pyramid principle – one of the most important concepts in executive communication and logical structuring of arguments. This is really big at all the. It is the scaffolding of management consulting thinking. My revised thoughts (2016) shown in red color.Consultants must their thinking. This is the only way to present your ideas clearly to clients.

1. Minto Pyramid Principle Examples
2. Pyramid Principle Minto Pdf To Excel File
3. Barbara Minto Pyramid Principle Ebook Free Download

One excellent tool is the pyramid principle by an ex-McKinsey consultant by the name of Barbara Minto. She authored a book called The Minto Pyramid Principle (affiliate link) which essentially defined the way consultants structure most of their presentations. Most consultants will know what the pyramid principle is, even if they don’t know the author.Consultants often use to clarify and simplify a problems.

Consultants are just skeptical enough to believe that many business problems are similar. Too often clients are entrenched in their industry, corporate culture, and personal experience to rise above and see the root causes or drivers. The common client critique of consultants is, “Well, of course, I could have told you that.” The unspoken consulting rebuttal might be, “Yes, but you did not have the clarity of thought and persuasion to get your point across.”Pyramid Principle: Just like the name implies, the idea is that the presentation logic looks like a pyramid.

The main recommendation is on top. It is built on mid-level recommendations, each of which are supported by smaller facts, analysis, benchmarks etc.In the graphic below you can see that the top of the pyramid (executive summary) has 3 recommendations. Each of those recommendations have supporting pages. Page 1 = executive summary.

Page 2-4 = recommendation #1 and supporting facts. Page 5-7 = recommendation #2 and supporting factsThis type of presentation starts with the conclusion first. It is a tops-down type of thinking that is very structured and how executives think. Big idea followed by smaller ideas. This format helps you “cut to the chase” quickly, which is good for many reasons:. Executives have a short attention span, so it is good to say what you want to say before they start asking questions.

This logic is very easy to follow. “I recommend A,B,C.

Recommendation A is supported by facts 1,2,3”. By giving them the recommendation and logic up front, it allows the audience to focus on the areas they have the most interest. It forces the consultant to really hone the to the most essential parts (no long-winded prose and rambling slides)Yes, I know that most high-school term papers used a more bottom-up type of reasoning where the punchline was at the end of the 50 page paper. Trust me, that is not how you want to present in the boardroom. You do not want to start with lots of boring data points and save the good stuff to the end.Structured thinking. Consultants may not be smarter than you – but we are more structured in our thinking. We typically lay out the broad boundaries of the problem, then methodically drive towards a recommendation showing you the steps in the logic; we solve the math problem, but take deliberate (often painful) steps to show you the work.

All the assumptions, sample size, calculations, considerations, risks, and details are there. But we organize it with the conclusion first.Caveat: Two types of presentations where you won’t use the pyramid principle:. An interim presentation of facts: In this case, the consultant is working with the client counterpart and walking them through information and some of the insights. Nothing too heavy.

Not a recommendation. Just information sharing. A leave-behind deck: Here the consultant has a presentation that is meant to truly stand-on-its-own, so the font is smaller, and it is written in more long-form prose. It is more of a guide or playbook, than a hard-hitting million dollar recommendationEven if you don’t follow this rigid format precisely, do create an executive summary (a 1 pager) that the executive can “tear off” and carry around. Make it easy for the client executive to sell your wares.

Putting all your thoughts (6-8 week project) into an executive summary is intellectually rigorous – you have to know what the key points are.If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter. – Blaise PascalIf you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough – Albert EinsteinShould I buy the book?

It’s up to you. It’s a bit of a boring read (affiliate link). As a consulting trick, just go to. That will get you 80% of the way there.Exercise #1: Find the best presentation you did – one that you are proud of – and see how well you used the pyramid structure. Recommendations up front, then supported by analysis, insights, and implications.Exercise #2: Take 15 minutes and try this out.

Take the last client presentation you made and create a list of bullet points in the pyramid structure shown above:. pg 1 – executive summary with all recommendations (A,B,C). pg 2 – details on A (the analysis, insight). pg 3 – details on B (the analysis, insight). pg 4 – details on C (the analysis, insight)As extra credit, write the titles of each slides so they tell the story. You should be able to just read the of each page and know what the presentation is about. There is an art and craft to writing the titles of PowerPoint pages.Related Posts:.

EarnEarn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent. Your points will be added to your account once your order is shipped.You must be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member to earn points. A joining fee may apply. Membership and points are subject to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program terms and conditions. To earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent, a member must purchase an eligible product via the Booktopia online retail store and input their Qantas Frequent Flyer number at the time of purchase.

Eligible products include; books, audio books, stationery, DVDs, calendars and diaries. If you are unable to provide your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership number at the time of the transaction, you will be unable to earn Qantas Points.

A member will not be able to earn Qantas Points on the following products; magazines, eBooks, gift cards and postage. Points will be allocated within 7 days of the shipment date.

Click on the cover image above to read some pages of this book!How many times have you written an email at work, read it back and found that it didn't make as much sense as you'd hoped? Or worse, someone else has told you that they can't follow it. The Pyramid Principle will show you how to communicate your ideas clearly and succinctly.Barbara Minto reveals that the mind automatically sorts information into distinctive pyramidal groupings.

PrefaceIntro to Part I - The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in WritingPART 1 THE PYRAMID PRINCIPLE: LOGIC IN WRITING. 1.

Why a pyramid structure. 2. The substructures within the pyramid. 3. How to build a pyramid structure.

4. Fine points of introductions. 5.

Deduction and induction: the difference. 6. How to highlight the structureIntro to Part 2 - The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in ThinkingPART 2 THE PYRAMID PRINCIPLE: LOGIC IN THINKING.

Minto Pyramid Principle Examples

7. Questioning the order of a grouping.

8. Questioning the problem-solving process. 9.

Pyramid Principle Minto Pdf To Excel File

Questioning the summary statement. 10. Putting it into readable wordsAppendix: Problem Solving in Structureless Situations. EarnEarn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent. Your points will be added to your account once your order is shipped.You must be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member to earn points. A joining fee may apply.

Barbara Minto Pyramid Principle Ebook Free Download

Membership and points are subject to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program terms and conditions. To earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent, a member must purchase an eligible product via the Booktopia online retail store and input their Qantas Frequent Flyer number at the time of purchase. Eligible products include; books, audio books, stationery, DVDs, calendars and diaries. If you are unable to provide your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership number at the time of the transaction, you will be unable to earn Qantas Points. A member will not be able to earn Qantas Points on the following products; magazines, eBooks, gift cards and postage. Points will be allocated within 7 days of the shipment date.