Table Of ContentTHE
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
