From management consulting practice, as set out by Barbara Minto (The Pyramid Principle, 1978 edition) and Ethan M. Rasiel (The McKinsey Way, 1999).
Asks "so what?" of a finding, then of the answer, and again, climbing from observation to implication to an action the audience can take.
When to reach for it
Analysis is finished and the findings are true, yet no one can say why they matter or what should be done about them.
How it runs
- State the finding precisely.
- Ask what it means and write the answer.
- Ask the same of that answer.
- Stop at an action within the audience's authority.
- Drop findings that cannot climb past the first step.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- The Pyramid Principle, Minto International, revised second edition; the first edition is undated in library catalogs, 1978
- The McKinsey Way, 1999