A review of Minto Pyramid Princi

A review of Minto Pyramid Principle after reading for the first time

4th June 2018

You may haven’t read Minto Pyramid Principle yet, but surely you’ve noticed it in the bookstore, or on Wechat moments, or heard it from your mentors. Why is it so popular in China? 

My idea is that it introduces a different way, or efficient way of thinking and reasoning. Pyramid Principle helps you to organize your critical thinking as well as encourages you to focus your goal. This is largely different from Chinese people’s trying to be implicit or believing processes overweighs results/goals.

Pyramid highlights that the conclusion must be put forward ahead your reasoning. The principle likens the conclusion to the upper part of a pyramid, while the reasoning is compared to the lower part of the pyramid. Conclusion triggers curiousity and appeals the readers or the listeners to read or listen more. Their questions are then answered by the reasoning parts. Have you noticed, it is fundamentally different from China’s zigzag to the real intention. 

A Chinese person might try to convince you may probably like this. He says hello to you, talks about daily life and then talks about the condition of the work, then about what may happen next. When you may already feel bored or totally have no idea what this may have anything to do with you, he proposes his idea. You know, whoh, so it is. With this conclusion, you try to retroinspect and vaguely concedes, yeahhh, what he said makes sense.

An American person might reverse the whole course. He may come to you and say, I need you to do this or that. This exactly makes you puzzled and wonder, why? Then he starts his pyramid construction. He gives you first reason why you need to do, perhaps the backgroud of the whole issue. Then the second reason, perhaps why you are the correct guy. Then the third reason, why you need to do it immediately. Once you seems dubious about one of the reasons, a sub-pyramid will be built once more, giving another sub-three reasons for the reason you’re not crediting.

In the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, one habit Begin with the end in mind is like the practice of Pyramid principle. You get clear your result, then you carry out your plan bounded for the goal. American and European comanpies prefer to recruit employees who are result-oriented. 

Are you tempted to read Minto Pyramid Principle by yourself now? And we can have more to share after reading this book twice.