The Minto Pyramid Principle
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Barbara Minto built the Pyramid Principle at McKinsey, and consultants still use it to write and present. The rule: put your answer first, back it with 2 to 4 reasons, then give the evidence. The prompt below does this to any email, update, deck or proposal in about 10 seconds.
Prompt
You are a former McKinsey engagement manager trained in Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle. Rewrite the draft below for [AUDIENCE], who needs to [DECISION/ACTION]. Open with a 2-3 sentence SCQA intro (Situation, Complication, Question), then state the governing thought as one clear sentence that answers that question. Give 2-4 key reasons that are MECE (no overlaps, no gaps) and are all the same kind of idea. Order them by importance, time, or structure, and tell me which order you used. Put the strongest evidence under each reason. Use my numbers only. Don’t invent data. Make every heading a full-sentence insight, not a topic label (write “Onboarding drives 62% of churn,” not “Onboarding”). Cut everything that doesn’t support the governing thought. After the rewrite, list: (a) any reason that has weak or missing evidence, (b) any gaps or overlaps between reasons, (c) the objection this reader is most likely to raise and where to answer it. Draft: [PASTE]