Minto principle for writing memos

Initially popularised by McKinsey consultants to draft internal reports, this became quite widespread as a global standard for business writing.

Start with the main statement, draw some conclusions and provide some data/facts and figures for further understanding.

This could be a simple way in which most Slack updates could be arranged as the format prevents us from becoming too verbose. Not just for investor memos, one pagers or emails. This works like a charm for Slack updates too. Often times, our colleagues are skimming through slack updates on various channels looking for relevance.

Putting this in this format helps them digest the key takeaway the fastest. And IF they have time, they could read the arguments and the supporting data that was used to arrive at the arguments more closely.

When there are complicated situations to be discussed, SCIPAB framework is very handy. Karthi Subbaraman writes—

_One writing framework to ace your exec communication 🔥

15 years ago, I was introduced to SCIPAB by Mandel and it changed my life forever. At that time I was a budding design manager at HP. Since then, I have consistently utilized the framework throughout my career, experiencing exponential growth and success.

SCI-PAB is an acronym. It stands for Situation, Complication, Implication, Position, Action and Benefits. The framework helps you with what to say AND in what order to say it. Not just exec presentations but you can use it for pitches, everyday meetings, emails, memos and more.

Here is how you can use SCI-PAB in your communication

Situation: The first sentence of the SCIPAB is status quo. Share what you know about the current context with your audience. This shouldn’t be new or controversial. Usually your audience will nod at this sentence.

Complication: Identify the critical issues that are impacting the status quo. Share what are the problems and opportunities. Usually complication statement is new and thought-provoking.

Implication: Show what happens when we don’t act on the complications. You emphasise the agitation and add urgency to your recommendation objectively. I use data forecast to show the dip in the future.

Position: State your POV with conviction. Stay at 30000 ft and share a strategic shift concisely. The intent is to provide a directional solution.

Action: Help your execs understand what role they should play and the questions they should consider answering. A list of things that must be done to solve the problem is stated here at 3ft level.

Benefits: State the benefits the position/action delivers. Quantify the gains. It should be meaningful to the audience.

I write a memo using SCIPAB and send it as a pre-read before the meeting so that the execs are primed to listen to what we have to discuss. The best part is they share their POV and questions ahead of the conversation, which helps you address for the rest of the audience as well.

I use SCIPAB as a through-line for all communications. Sometimes I don’t call it out as situation complication etc but sometimes I do. It has helped me deliver important information quickly to people who don’t have much time for the conversation.

The general thumb-rule I currently follow is to use the Minto pyramid principle for one-paragraph explainers, and SCIPAB for three paragraph explainers. Anything above and beyond three paragraphs would be politely marked under the ‘TL;DR’ category, never to be read again by anyone.