It is pronounced MECE – like Greece or Nice..
Why Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle is still the most useful tool I have learned in management consulting
Last year around this time in December I wrote a small piece on my past year. 2020 was not the year I planned for but certainly one to remember. Covid-19 made its mark on our lives in ways we did not anticipate coming out of 2019.
However, now we are approaching Christmas again, and turning on the news gives instant flashbacks to the same stories as last year on new mutations, restrictions and what have you.
But life goes on, and I can celebrate four years as solo entrepreneur looking back at a giving year. I have been able to do what I love – i.e., helping people grow as individuals, teams, and companies.
I have worked across industries from cycling apparel to genomic cancer tests. Supported individuals, start-ups, scale-ups, big corp. and VCs. Worked on growth strategies for the entire company as well as 1-2-1 mentoring of founders and CEOs. Worked with people face-to-face in my home office as well as with people on the other side of the Atlantic through Teams and Zoom meetings.
So yes, a fantastic year. Thank you.
What is it exactly that I can help my clients with?
The short answer is structure. Structure, structure, and structure again.
This is how you can get people to understand, agree with and remember any idea and presentation you create and deliver. Whether it is for the board, the management team, or the entire organization.
The first thing I was taught in my first 14 days as a management consultant was something called “The Pyramid Principle” by a nice American woman with very large glasses. This was in 2001.
The Pyramid Principle was developed in the 1960s by Barbara Minto, at the time a communications consultant at McKinsey. Next year Barbara will be 88 years old.
Barbara was the first female MBA management consultant hired at McKinsey & Company. While at McKinsey, Barbara refined and developed her unique approach to writing and communication, the Pyramid Principle, that has become the golden standard of executive communication.
What is the Pyramid Principle, and why is this still the best tool that I have been thought?
In short, the Pyramid Principle is a hierarchical structure to create a logical and data-supported storyline.
The key thinking behind the pyramid structure is that
1) All ideas are supported by at least 2-3 proofs
2) Any level must always be
a. A summary of the levels below
b. Same kind/"size" of ideas
c. Grouped in a logical order according to importance
3) Pyramids can be used in different “chapters”– either as
a. Why (Situation, complication, recommendations)
b. How (resolution, implementation)
4) Pyramid should be used “Top-down”
Most of us take a linear approach to writing and preparing a presentation, starting off at the beginning and writing through to the end.
Instead, business writers and presenters should gather up their information beneath the single idea the introduction will articulate, and then group the supporting arguments and information in ways that expand upon the idea or question raised in the level above.
Structurally, the result is a pyramid of ideas (hence the name). In this pyramidal diagram, each set or level should answer a new question raised in the level above it.
Let me give you an example.
Look at this letter from Lucy to Shirley.
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, you kissed him?
And also, on Sunday, when you came to my house and my Mom made you a tuna fish salad for lunch and you said: "Yech! That’s the worst salad I ever ate!"?
And yesterday, when my cat brushed against your leg, you kicked her and threatened to set you dog "Monster" on her?
When I think about all this, I have decided
I do not like you, and will no longer be your friend.
Lucy
And now applying the Pyramid Principle:
Dear Shirley,
I HATE you because
You tried to steal my boyfriend
You insulted my mother
You scared my cat
I am no longer your friend.
Lucy
Following the pyramid logic, Lucy starts her second letter with the overall key message, supported by the arguments in an easy-to-read manner.
Yes, this is a relatively straightforward example from Barbara Minto’s book, yet it nails precisely what it is all about.
When working with my clients on business issues, I keep coming back to the core principles of the pyramid structure, as it helps me to help my clients creating well-structured communication:
1) Key ideas are supported by sub-ideas
2) Ideas in the same grouping are logically coherent
3) All ideas are prioritized according to a) Importance, b) Time and/or c) Structure
4) MECE: Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive
So, the best advice I can pass on from Barbara Minto is for you not to start by writing the whole document “to get it all down” the next time you are preparing a strategy document, presentation, or memo. Instead, start by laying out the structure and key messages.
You may think you can easily find the structure afterwards. But, says Barbara Minto,
“The chances are you’ll love it once you see it typed,
no matter how disjointed the thinking really is”.