THE MINTO PYRAMID 产1 0-冲♀← ι电 :jGS 川习 I I D LOGIC IN WRITING, THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING BARBARA MINTO 险也』 The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in W riting, Thinking and Problem Solving Copyriglzt @ 2003 by Barbara Minto AII rights resen'ed. This book may 1101 be reproduced or Iransmitted, in whole or in part, il1 any form or by an)' means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, record- ing or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permissiol1 fro111 Ihe author. Published in the United Su附‘vρ'1 America by 儿1into International, Inc. 19 Cadogan Place, Bell 3 Londoll SWIX 9SA, El1gland Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-094799 ISBN 0-9601910-4-6 Dω igl1: \仨 ra Deutsch "There is nothing so usefu/ as a good theory. KURT LEWIN PREFACE tl川 1川咐 19川 9 cip抖le" that talked about a new way of tackling the problen1 of unclear report writing, particularly in consulting reports. It said, in effect, that clear writing was easy to recognize because it had a clear pyramidal structure, while unclear writing always deviated from that structure. The ideas within the pyramid relate in a limited number of logical ways (up, down, and sideways), making it possible to define general rules about them. Thus, the key to clear writing is to structure your thinking into a pyramid and check it against the rules before you begin to write. These ideas were developed while 1 was working for McKinsey & Compan予 the international management consulting firm, first in Cleveland and then in London. McKinsey had hired me in 1963 as their first femalé consultant, selected from the group of eight pioneering women permitted to attend the Har 飞rard Business School that year. McKinsey rapidly concluded that 1 was hopeless with numbers, but a capa- ble writer. Consequently, they moved me to London to work with Europeans who were faced with the task of writing reports in English. Interestingly, when 1 began researching material on report writing, 1 discovered that while there were an enormous number of books on how to write better sentences and paragraphs, there were no books on how to organize the thinking those sen- tences and paragraphs are meant to convey. Any book that did touch on the subject said things like "Be logical" or "Have a logical outline." How in the world do you ..... tell a logical outline from an illogical one, 1 wondered, and set myself the task to find out. What 1 discovered was the pyramid. The pyramid structure is applicable to any document in which your purpose is to present your thinking clearly. To demonstrate, here's a very simple example of a "before" and "after": Points ordered as they occur to the ω riter: John Collins telephoned to say that he can't make the meeting at 3:00. Hal Johnson says he doesn't mind making it later, or even tomorrow, but not before 10:30, and D0n Clifford's ~ecretary says that Clifford won't return from Frankfurt until tomorrow, late. The Conference Room is booked tomorrow, but free Thursday Thursday at 11:00 looks to be a good time. Is that OK for you? JC- not today 1 |阳1 not free Is Thursday HJ- tomorrow tomorrow OK with after 10:30 you? DC- not before Thursday Thursday Points ordered by a pyramid Could we reschedule today's meeting to Thursday at 11:00? This would be more convenient for Collins and Johnson, and would also permit Clifford to be present. It is also the only other time this week that the conference room is free. More convenient for JC and HJ Reschedule today's meeting to Thursday at 11:00 Permits DC to attend Few people in 1967 bought this concept, but very good minds were available at Mc- Kinsey to tell me where it fell short and to help me to get it right. Today the Minto Pyramid Principle serves as the McKinsey Firm standard, and is acknowledged to be an essential part of the Firm's fabric. 1 left McKinsey in 1973 to teach the ideas more widel予 and have now taught them to perhaps 1α000 people throughout the world, both in consulting firms and in indi- vidual companies. 1 have also published two previous editions of this book (in 1981 and 1987), and developed a video course (1981) and a computer software program (1985). And 1 wiU this year complete a new version of the video course. 1 am delighted to say that as a result of these activities the Minto Pyramid Principle has become the de facto standard in consulting, and the basic pyramid concept has been picked up and incorporated into courses taught in many other places. The continuing experience of teaching, and the recent work to develop the new videoF have of course brought npw in 只ights and allowed me to develop and expand various parts of the original concept. 1 have also seen that the pyramid concept can serve a much wider function than simply helping to organize and present thinking ln w rItIng. lt can extend back \vard to embrace the process for defining and analyzing problelTIS, and forward to guide the management of the entire writi ng process. Hence this new version of the book, which incorporates a11 of the insights and tech- niq1J e~ f()r getting flt one's thinking that 1 have worked out sin('f' 19盯Tt also contains new chapters on how to structure the definition and analysis of a problem, as well as how visually to present the pyramid on page and screen. The book is in four parts. ~I Part One (Logic in Writing) contains few changes. It both explains the Minto Pyramid Principle and shows you how to use it to build a basic pyramid. This section is a11 you need to read to be able to understand and apply the technique to simple documents. 何 Part Two (Logic in Thinking) tells you how to look critica11y at the detail of your thinking, to make sure that the points you make actua11y reflect the insights inherent in the ideas you have grouped together. It gives many examples, and emphasizes the importance to clarity of forcing yourself to go through this process of "Hard-Headed Thinking." ~l Part Three (Logic in Problem Solving) is c01l1pletely new. It is meant mainly for people who write consulting documents or who need to do analyses of complex problems and then present their conclusions to people who must take action based on them. It explains how to use a variety of frameworks to structure your analysis at various stages in the problem-solving process, so that the thinking can be in effect pre-organized to fit easily into a pyramid structure. 句 Part Four (Logic in Presentation) discusses techniques for making sure that the pyramid structure is not lost on the reader as you transfer your ideas from the pyramid, either to written prose or to slides in an oral presentation. There are also three appendices. The first deals with the differences between ana- lytical and scientific problem solving, while the second gives examples of various common patterns employed in writing introductions. The final appendix presents a complete outline of the points made in the book, highlighting the major concepts and thinking techniques for easy recall. Applying the Minto Pyramid Principle still requires considerable discipline. Never- theless, by deliberately forcing yourse!f to think first and \vrite later in the manner suggested, you should be able quite dramatically to (a) cut down the time you nor- mally need to produce a final draft, (b) in，二 I凶玩 its clarit予 and (c) decrease its lcngth. The result should be cri泞I clear 飞A厅itiRg inyecord ti?‘巳 Barbara 岛1into LOl1do l1 1996 TABLE OF CONTENTS hι PART LOGIC IN WRITING 2 3 PRE巳气CE INTRODUCTION TO 巳气 RTONE The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing pγHY A PYRAMID STRUCTURE? Sorting into Pyramids The Magical Number Seven The Need to State the Logic Ordering from the Top Down Thinking from the Bottom Up THE SUBSTRUCTURES WITHIN THE PYRAMID The 飞Tertical Relationship The Horizontal Relationship The Introductory Flow HOW TO BUILD A PYRAMID STRUCTURE The Top-Down Approach The Bottom-Up Approach Caveats for Beginners 2 3 4 5 8 12 13 17 18 21 22 26 31 4 FINE POINTS OF INTRODUCTIONS 34 The Story Form 34 L叮hya Story? 35 Where Do You Start the Situation? 36 What's a Complication? 37 Why that Order? 40 What About the Key Line? 41 How Long a Story? 42 Do 1 Neeà to Introduce the Key Line Points? 45 Some Common Patterns 49 Giving Direction 50 Seeking Approval to Spend Money 51 Explaining "How to" 53 Choosing Among Alternatives 54 Some Common Patterns - Consulting 57 Letters of Proposal 57 Progress Reviews 58 5 DEDUCTION AND INDUCTION: THE DIFFERENCE 60 Deductive Reasoning 61 How it Works 62 When to Use It 64 Inductive Reasoning 68 How it Works 69 How it Differs 71 ...... PART 2 LOGIC IN THINKING 6 7 INTRODUCTION TO 巳气RTTWO The 1\-1intû Pyïamid Principle: Logic in Thinking IMPOSING LOGICAL ORDER Time Order Distinguishing Cause from Effect Revealing the Underlying Process Structural Order Creating a Structure Describing a Structure Recommending Changes to a Structure Using the Concept to Clarify Thinking Degree Order Creating Proper Class Groupings Identifying Improper Class Groupings SUMMARIZING GROUPED IDEAS Avoid IntelIectualIy Blank Assertions State the Effect of Actions Make the Wording Specific Distinguish the Levels of Action Summarize Directly Look for the Similarity in Conclusions Find the Structural Similarity Look for Closer Links Make the Inductive Leap 73 75 77 78 80 82 82 84 85 86 89 89 91 94 95 98 99 104 107 110 111 113 115 PART 3 LOGIC IN PROBLEM SOlYlNG 8 9 INTRODUCTION TO PART THREE 119 The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Problem Solving DEFINING THE PROBLEM 121 Problem-Definition Framework 122 Laying out the Elements 122 Converting to an Introduction 124 Lay Out the Problem 127 The Starting Point/Opening Scene 127 The Disturbing Event 129 R1 (Undesired Result) 129 R2 (Desired Result) 130 Look for the Question 131 Move to the Introduction 133 Real-Life Example 137 STRUCTURING THE ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM 140 Starting with the Data 141 Devising Diagnostic Frameworks 143 Showing Physical Structure 143 Tracing Cause and Effect 145 Classifying Possible Causes 149 Applying the Frameworks 153 The Client's Problem 154 The Approach to Analysis 155 Developing Logic Trees 156 Generating Possible Solutions 157 Revealing Flaws in Grouped Ideas 159 Performing an Issue Analysis 163 The History 163 The 扎1isconceptions 166 也』 PART A lOGIC IN PRESENTATION INTRODUCTION TO 队RTFOUR The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Presentation 10 REFLECTING THE PYRAMID ON THE PAGE Highlight the Structure Hierarchical Headings Underlined Points Decimal Numbering lndented Display Dot-Dash Outlines Show Transitions Between Groups Telling a Story Referencing Backwards Summarizing Sections Making Full Conclusions Stating Next Steps 11 REFLECTING THE PYRAMID ON A SCREEN Designing Text Slides What You Say What You Show Designing Exhibit Slides Storyboarding 12 REFLECTING THE PYRAMID IN PROSE Create the Image Copy the Image in Words 168 170 171 174 176 177 179 180 182 182 183 185 185 187 189 191 192 193 196 199 203 205 207 A X D N nr DE A APPENDIX C X D N A hkυ PROBLEM SOLVING IN STRUCTURELESS SITUATIONS Analytical Abduction Scientific Abduction Generating Hypotheses Devising Experiments 210 211 212 212 213 EXAMPLES OF INTRODUCTORY STRUCTURES 216 Common Patterns of Introduction 218 Difficult Introductory Forms 221 Proposing Steps to Solve Problems 221 Dealing with Alternative Solutions 225 Describing Changes to Processes 226 The Reader Knows the Old and the New 227 The Reader Knows Little or Nothing 230 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS MENTIONED IN THE TEXT 235 list of Exhibits 240 References 244 Index 247 About the Author 254 I NTRODUCTION TO PART LOGIC I~I vv'民iTING One 川 least问t 邵阳ts 们 professional per叫ob is the need to put things in writing. Almost everyone finds it a chore and wishes he were better at it. And many people are told specifically that they need to hone this skill if they want to progress. The reason most people fail to show much improvement is that they assume that writing more clear1y means writing simpler, more direct sentences. And it is often true that the sentences in their documents are overlong and unwieldy. Moreover, their language is frequently too technical or too abstract, and their paragraphs on occasio.n are awkwardly developed. But these are weaknesses of style, and it is notoriously difficult for a person who has completed the formal part of his education to change his writing style. Not that it cannot be done; rather, it's like learning to type. It requires a good many repetitive exercises, for which most on-the-job writers in industry and government simply cannot find th~ time. As a result, they continue to be told they need to write "more clear1y." However, there is a second cause of unclear writing, far more pervasive than the first, and much easier to correct. This relates to the structure of the document-the order in which the sentences appear regardless of whether they are well or poorly written. If a person's writing is unclear, it is most likely because the ordering of the ideas conflicts with the capability of a reader's mind to process them. The easiest order for a reader is to receive the major, more abstract ideas before he is required to take in the minor, supporting ones. And since the major ideas are always derived from the minor ones, the ideal structure of the ideas will always be a