Minto Pyramid Principle

Stefan-

Man, you ROCK! What a book, huh? Talk about powerful.

And thanks for the picture. I suggested to Mike that we start a listener forum where we highlight the cool and fascinatingly diverse roles that our community represents... I would love to spend a day watching you do what you do.

Thanks for the kind words!

Mark

You know, I really enjoyed reading and learning how to structure an introduction more effectively and sell your ideas, but the most useful idea (and most difficult for me to implement!) was inductive logic.

There is something about inductive logic and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusion, and thereby create ownership of 'their' idea. I loved it.

Mark

This is an excellent book and I well recommend your listeners purchase a copy. For those who feel the book is expensive look again

Amazon.com reports this as a 256 page book $110

Checkout UK editions. It has been reprinted by Prentice Hall ISBN 0273659030 rrp £34 (or from Amazon.co.uk at £23 see link for details
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0273659030/qid=1148990072/sr=8… )

[quote="mahorstman"]Stefan-
And thanks for the picture. I suggested to Mike that we start a listener forum where we highlight the cool and fascinatingly diverse roles that our community represents... I would love to spend a day watching you do what you do.
Mark[/quote]OK am I missing something here? I'm feeling left out (high I, what can I say?)! I suspect there has been some behind-the-scenes communication to which we are not privvy! Are you going to let us in on the picture?(sic) What's the cool role you do Stefan? Care to enlighten us? :-)

Thanks!

Peter-

Yes, Stefan - as a thank you if I remember correctly - sent us a picture of the project he was building. I'm fascinated by the diversity of the world, and the world of work, so I loved it. It got me thinking that we ought to have a "here's what I do" section of the site, so everyone can get a sense of the work we're all accomplishing. The bios are great, for now, though.

Mark

Thanks for that great lead, I ordered the book yesterday from Amazon UK and they shipped it the same day. Looking forward to getting into it!

[quote="iandstanley"]This is an excellent book and I well recommend your listeners purchase a copy. For those who feel the book is expensive look again

Amazon.com reports this as a 256 page book $110

Checkout UK editions. It has been reprinted by Prentice Hall ISBN 0273659030 rrp £34 (or from Amazon.co.uk at £23 see link for details
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0273659030/qid=1148990072/sr=8… )[/quote]

The latest version (2nd edition) is only available from the author [url]http://www.barbaraminto.com[/url]. The version Amazon stocks (3rd edition) is just a repackaged version of the 1st edition.

The 2nd edition has new content in it.

The author's edition, available only from her Web site, is dramatically different than previous publications. The examples are much more numerous and more detailed.

If you are considering a role in consulting, it is a Must-Have.

For the UK readers the third edition was in Waterstones today for £19.99. As for the preceding discussion, as my father would say - you pays your money and takes your choice.

Wendii

Again, I own both the 3rd edition and the Minto 2nd edition. These two editions are readically different and the Minto version is well worth the additional money.

If you really want to understand the Pyramid Principle, don't miss the examples in the Minto version.

In my workplace, almost every piece of correspondence or form has its own format. There is even a manual stipulating the writing conventions to be used, so I have little freedom to apply the Pyramid Principle.

That said, I have found it to be a brilliant tool when creating email. When I use email (no longer as a default means of communication, thanks M&M) I now have an improved structure and my traditional verbose mails are now a lot more readable.

Situation -> Complication -> Answer/Action Reqd

I thought I'd drop a post here to point out to guys that there are applications of Minto's work outside of your typical paperwork. Usual disclaimers regarding use of long emails apply :)

Mark

So, how did you guys get a copy? I've sent emails to the address listed on the site, but to no avail.

I borrowed a copy from my library. Worth a shot? Granted, it is a very large government library.

I lucked up. Barnara Minto emailed me back. Just so happens that her printer is in New York City. I'll be able to there and purchase it right away.

[quote="jlyons"]I lucked up. Barnara Minto emailed me back. Just so happens that her printer is in New York City. I'll be able to there and purchase it right away.[/quote]

Really? I'm in NYC as well. I would love to get a copy of this book but the $100 price tag is a little too steep for me at the moment.

I bought it for about £20 on Amazon UK. Haven't yet read it properly.

Could someone help me, was this pyramid-thinking also used at formally Coopers&Lybrand Consultants.

We were trained, better drilled (!) in this method.

First: The title is always an active conclusion
Second: build every document by 4 steps
1 Situation
2 Cause
3 Main conclusion
4 At least 3 supporting conclusion, and every conclusion of this order supported by three conclusion by itself
Third: all our Word and Powerpoint templates (in those days Amipro and Presentations…) were formatted in this way.
Fourth: Maximum of 30 words on one sheet and active usage of originally created drawings or pictures.

This training still serves me well.