fmgoerres - Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle

BARBARA MINTO‘S PYRAMID PRINCIPLE®(AND SOME OTHER USEFULL STUFF TO STRUCTURE YOUR WORK)

Tools // Strategy

10.04.2023 Barbara Minto‘s Pyramid Principle® 2

No one may say I didn‘t convey anything new. The order in which I presented the material was new.(Blaise Pascal)

For starters – a disclaimerA.


Minto, B. (2008³): The Pyramid Principle. London.A.


name

solve

show


… Christian B., Stefan G. R. and others from the JCNetwork

And thanks to…A.

WHY LEARN IT?


There is no predefined structure in „Knowledge Work“.(Peter Drucker)

Because of what Peter said in ‘59B.


Imagine: Work in 1794.B.


Imagine: Work in 1794.B.

When‘s it done?

How to do it?

What to do?


hu?

B. Remember: Work last week


+it is not clear what, exactly, should be done

+it is not clear how it should be done

+there‘s no way of telling when it will be done (well)

In other words: Getting stuff done is hard, because…

B.


How many bubbles?

Structuring stuff helps to find solutions … B.

?


How many bubbles? 27, obviously!

Structuring stuff helps to find solutions …B.

9

9

9


3. Change2. Understanding

Receive, process, value message

1. Message

„9“

… and to convince others of them.B.

1. Knowledge

2. Opinion

3. Mind Set

4. Behavior


SO, HOW DOES IT WORK?


What, exactly, is the question?

What is the answer to the question?

How can the findings be presented?

CCQ-Check Issue Analysis

DMAIC-Steps Story BoadSlide Writing

Understanding of the question, list of actionable tasks

Answers to question, to sub-questions

Written paper or presentation with all answers

PP is based on three sets of tools – name, solve, show, remember?

B.

name solve show


OK, LET’S START – “NAME”.


CCQ – Context, Complication, Questions

“CCQ” – find the question behind the questionC.

Context: Environment? Paradigm? Situation?

Complication: GIVEN? SET? GAP?

Questions: How to close GAP?


AN EXAMPLE.


+A battery manufacturer is reporting a decline in revenues. Its batteries are best-in-class when it comes to battery life and reserve energy.

What do you make of this?

In other words: Getting stuff done is hard, because…

B.


CCQ-Example, simplified (!)

„CCQ“ leads to questions which can be used to adress the case.

C.

C: Business, market paradigm, declining revenue

C: GIVEN: decline, SET: growth

Q: Can we grow revenue? If so, how?


The Revenue Paradigm

„Environment“, „Paradigm“ and „Situation“ often hint towards standard approaches which can be used to proceed.

D.

sales priceX


+„ How can we increase sales?“

+„How can we raise prices?“

So, in the battery case, there seem to be two CCQ-Questions

C.


From: [email protected] Datum: Dienstag

An: [email protected]

Subject: Meeting

Hi Flo, Friederike Bauer hat angerufen und gesagt, dass sie nicht am Meeting um 15.00 Uhr teilnehmen kann. Ich hab dann mal mit den anderen gesprochen. Sabine Hammermeister hat gemeint, ihr macht‘s nichts aus, wenn ihr euch später oder morgen trefft, aber nicht vor 10.30 Uhr. Robert Friedrichs Assistentin sagt, er kommt erst morgen spätabends aus Mailand zurück. Der Konferenzraum ist morgen geblockt, aber am Donnerstag wäre er frei. Donnerstag 11.00 Uhr sieht gut aus. Wäre das OK für Dich?

VG, JL

But then – it does not have to be a business case…

C.

mailto:[email protected]



„ Die Zusammenziehungen, Verwechslungen und Durchblickstäuschungen, die die Höllenfahrt des Einleitungskapitels als für das mythische Bewusstsein charakteristische Verhaltensweise angesichts eines ‚stilleren, stummeren, gleicheren Zeitgebreites‘ mit langsameren Entwicklungsgefälle beschreibt – so hält Joseph in Wissen ‚träumerischer Ungenauigkeit‘ Abraham für seinen Urgroßvater, ohne zu bemerken, dass eine Zeitspanne von wenigstens zwanzig Generationen ihn von Abraham trennen muss –, lassen ein personales Bewusstsein sich entfalten, das gleichsam….“

(Kindlers Literaturlexikon)

But then – it does not have to be a business case…

C.

26Barbara Minto‘s Pyramid Principle®10.04.2023


OK, ON TO „SOLVE“


Answering the CCQ question may require taking a heuristic approach – no problem, just keep things under control.

D.

Get question by CCQ

Break down question

SET, GIVENData, hypotheses

Validate approach

1

2

34

5


A logic-tree can make it easier to break down the question

D.

revenue

sales

customers?

competition?

price

regulation?

….?

…?


The DMAIC-approach helps to answer questionsD.

MeasureDefine ControlImproveAnalyze

Define the Question

Measure what you care about

Find patterns Use patterns to come up with answers

Validate your answers

+ Describe GIVEN

+ Define SET

+ Find ways to reach SET

+ Collect data on GIVEN

+ Interprete data, find causal connections

+ Create hypotheses

+ Back up your hypotheses

+ Deduct answers from your best hypotheses

+ Recommend answers

+ Find and employ metrics, means of measurement and control

+ Test your answers

D M A I C


Open Questions

„How can we increase demand?“

Closed questions

“Should we change the product?“

“Can we lower prices?“

“Is our promotion good enough?“

“Do we sell at the right places?”“

To create hypotheses, change your „open“ CCQ- and sub-questions to „closed“ questions.

D.


More revenue?

Should we change the product?

Can we lower prices?

Is our promotion

good enough?

Do we sell at the right places?

Structure your hypotheses in order to get a hierarchical structure of „actionable“. Then, define actions.

D.

(e.g. cost analysis

(e.g. POS-benchmark

(e.g. market research, value

analysis

(e.g. market research, focus

groups


A good set of hypotheses is „GENDER“ D.

Similar to „MECE“ – „mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive“

Got Everything No Doubles Elevated Right


Remember those actions we defined two slides ago? Now’s the time to do them…

D.

(e.g. cost analysis

(e.g. POS-benchmark

(e.g. market research, value

analysis

(e.g. market research, focus

groupsvalue analysis

market research

POS-

Benchma

rk

(“e.g. cost analysis”

(“e.g. POS-benchmark”

(“e.g. market research, value

analysis” (“e.g. market research, focus

groups”


HYPOTHESES, FINDINGS ALL SET

UP? WELL, THEN ON TO „SHOW“


4 Rules for structuring1. Every content element

sums up the contents of the elements below

2. All elements are mutually exclusive

3. Elements of similar importance are placed at the same level

4. Elements of each level are arranged in logical order

The top-down structure of your hypotheses forms the structure of your report. Hypotheses first, findings second.

E.

Main hypothesis

Hyp. 1 Hyp. 2 Hyp. 3

A 1.1

A 1.2

Details


Order by

Order your report‘s elements by time, structure or ranking.

E.

Breaking down a whole into its parts Usually following known structures

„Supply – Manufacturing – Distribution – Sales“

Chronological order Usually in pyramidal structure – from ends to means

„To achieve Z, we need to do two things – Y and X“

time

Structured e.g. by importance of the adressed issues Four questions, five reasons, six variables etc.

„Restructure Operations, Sales, HR“

structure

ranking


Complete report structure

Adding your CCQ findings completes the report‘s structure.

E.

Context Complication Question Main hypothesis Call to Action

Hypothesis 1 Hypothesis 2 Hypothesis 3

Argument 1.1

Argument 1.2

Argument 2.1

Argument 2.2

Arg. 3.1

Arg. 3.2

Arg.3.3

„Key Line“

What, why, how?

What, why, how?

CCQ


Structure Story Line, Report Chapters1. Abstract or „Executive Summary“

+ Main hypothesis+ Call to action+ Structure overview, Key findings

2. Outset, main question+ CCQ

3. Hypothesis 1 – Hypothesis n+ Findings for each hypothesis

4. Appendix: Backup sites, raw data

Use the basic structure to set up a „Story Line“ – then write your report.

E.

Action Title

………


Now, slidewrite!


Never use a title that says little or nothing.

And do not put everything you are going to say up on a slide. It is very annoying, since people usually go „Dude!? What is the point of being here? Just send me your slides, and I will read them in my own time, without you.“ Remember: You‘re giving a presentation, not a document. So – spare us the document-look, keep it at a few lines of text per slide.

Mistake No. 1

Worse!

Bad!


60%

40%

"schlecht"

"gut"

Viele der Studierenden schätzen ihre Berufsaussichten selbst als „schlecht“ ein – fehlende Kenntnisse und Beziehungen.

Frage: „ Wie schätzen Sie Ihre Aussichten ein, nach dem Studium eine angemessene Beschäftigung zu finden? “

n = 900 Studierende der GWnach: Multrus, Bargel, Leitow , 2001

Deshalb „schlecht“:

» „Ich lerne zu wenig Fach-

und Methodenwissen.“

» „Mein Studium ist nicht

berufsbezogen.“

» „Mir fehlen Beziehungen zu

möglichen Arbeitgebern.“

„Monitor“ for visualisation

Data visualisation

Source

„Action title“

Studenten fehlt Selbstwert-Gefühl

„Take away“


SO, TO SUM UP


CCQ DMAIC PP


ANY QUESTIONS?

Well, then – thank you!

Credits

Slide 8, 9: „Weizenfeld IV“, by crocodile, Photocase.com

Slide 10: „Es geht wieder auf…“, by klosko, Photocase.com

Slide 12: „Vorstandsmitglied“, by Bratscher, Photocase.com

Slide 20: „Honda Civic Ad“, by Radomir Kosma Jedrasiak, Raphael Witek.

Slide 34: „Statik“, by simosg, Photocase.com

10.04.2023 48

Contact

Florian M. Görres

Ludwigstraße 25

63067 Offenbach

T. 0049 176 2487 1275

E. [email protected]

fmgoerres

10.04.2023 49

This presentation was created by Florian M. Görres. All mistakes made and views expressed within are my own. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] or find me on twitter at @fmgoerres.de.

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fmgoerres - Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle

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