My neighbor Fangfang works in a financial position in a foreign trade import and export company. She often complains about her job. In addition to being overloaded with various trivial matters every day, she also has to deal with intricate interactions with various departments. Intersection, not only that, just dealing with the boss alone gave her a headache.
According to her, every time the financial statements she produced were not approved by her boss, when Fangfang listed the summary data of monetary funds, her boss said that she could not see the specific details. Not knowing where the data came from, Fangfang had to list the account details one by one again. However, when she worked hard to list it in detail, her boss felt that there were too many subjects, which looked messy and dazzling. All in all, no matter what Fangfang does, the boss is not satisfied. For this reason, she was very frustrated and confused. She didn't know what kind of report her boss really wanted.
Let’s think about it, why does our neighbor Fangfang fail to achieve the desired results when communicating with her boss? This is actually a typical case of unclear logical expression. The purpose of the book "Pyramid Principle" I learned today is to help readers solve the logic of thinking, expressing and solving problems.
Barbara, the author of this book, was dedicated to studying the "logic" of expression when she was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, and discovered the "pyramid principle". Later, this discovery was recognized by leaders and became a classic customized training material for McKinsey Company for forty years. The content of the whole book is divided into three parts:
1. The logic of expression
We all know the shape of the pyramid: pointed at the top and flat at the bottom. Linguistic expression is just like its shape. If you can follow a certain structure, "conclusion first" and then expand one by one to list examples from top to bottom, such expression can clearly and powerfully show your judgment and Analysis makes it easier to achieve the results you want in the end.
In the example I mentioned earlier, Fangfang completed the work, but did not know how to express it. She did not follow a certain logic to describe the results she completed and the processes she went through during the period. If you hand it in for explanation, this kind of communication is doomed to fail.
If Fangfang reports to her boss on the current status of the company’s funds, she first tells her boss how much money we have in our current account. Among them, how much is the U.S. dollar, how much is the RMB, which accounts the U.S. dollars are deposited in, and which accounts the RMB is deposited in. After reporting it layer by layer in this way, the data will naturally be clear and clear, and the boss will not be picky, and he will save himself the useless effort of repeated modifications.
It can be seen that logical expression is very important. It determines the quality of your communication to a certain extent and also directly affects the results of communication. If expressed properly, results can be easily achieved; if expressed improperly, manpower and material resources may be wasted.
2. The logic of thinking
Thinking is to analyze the evolution of things and finally arrive at the answer. Based on its definition, it is not difficult to conclude that thinking should be from bottom to top, analyzing the reasons step by step, laying a solid foundation, and finally finding the answer.
Neighbor Fangfang also mentioned that she has a lot of big and small things to do in the company, and she can't finish them every day without stopping. In addition to daily financial work such as financial accounting, tax filing, fund remittance, and bills receivable, there are also other things to be busy with such as employee salary setting, commission distribution, and negotiation for resigned employees. However, in the end, I didn’t gain much from all my busy work, nor did I achieve the effect of improving myself.
In view of her situation, it is common in the workplace. A person's work is in chaos. Not only is the work efficiency not high, but her ability will not be substantial year after year. improvement. If Fangfang could stop and think about her situation, analyze the reasons why she is busy, and see if there are any unreasonable factors, she might be able to discover the problem.
To change the current situation, you can only analyze your own situation one by one. The work is trivial and aimless. I indulge in some basic work every day. I neither participate in training nor analyze the problems and summarize the reasons. Naturally, my ability will not improve even if I work for ten or eight years. Thinking is like plucking an onion, peeling away the layers and working from the bottom up to find the crux and root of the problem.
3. The logic of problem solving
Many people often seem a little at a loss when encountering a problem. In fact, behind any problem, there is a logical path for its emergence and demise. Because problems cannot arise without people, and people have their own concerns and needs. When communicating with others, we must not only clarify our own needs and goals we want to achieve, but also fully consider the needs of the other party, find the most common points of intersection between both parties, and then start thinking about this point. Only then can a problem be solved.
In the previous case, when Fangfang’s boss asked to see the financial statements, he did not have a clear goal and positioning as to what information he wanted to know most, leaving Fangfang confused. Fangfang started from her own position and made the report according to her own understanding and method. When the report is displayed, two people expressing what they want are obviously not in the same channel, and such communication can only be ineffective.
So, how can we explore the needs of others? This book gives the steps: first, find out what others care about, learn about it through other people’s words or your inquiries, and make it clear what they are concerned about; second, learn the pyramid logical thinking structure, and some At that time, he may not know what he wants. At this time, you need to use the structure of thinking logic to help him clarify his ideas; the third step is to summarize the problems into categories. After the analysis in the previous step, The results should be summarized and sorted out in a timely manner and confirmed with the other party; the fourth step is to establish a nepotistic relationship, proceed step by step, and finally find the answer.
By thinking and analyzing the boss’s concerns, he wanted to know how much money the company still had and how much its monthly operating expenses were. Finally, he came to the conclusion that he wanted to determine whether there would be any new sources of income during the epidemic. How long can the company continue to operate under such circumstances? In addition, you need to keep track of where each fund is stored. Do you want to be able to call the funds in your account at any time? After clarifying this need, Fangfang may get twice the result with half the effort by communicating with her boss.
"Think clearly, explain clearly, know what to say and how to say it" is the first thing we should think clearly when writing or communicating with others, and it is also the goal we ultimately hope to achieve. According to the clear logical expression structure provided by "Pyramid Principle" and through deliberate practice, you can reach this state.