As a kind of thinking logic, MECE plays an important role in study, life and work.
Some people know the concept of MECE, and some people have heard of MECE. What the hell is MECE?
Introduction of 0 1 MECE
02 MECE application
Matters needing attention in the application of 03 MECE
04? Write it at the end
How to introduce MECE analysis is also a MECE process. ...
MECE analysis is an important principle put forward by barbara minto, the first female consultant of McKinsey. This method provides a way of thinking and answering questions.
MECE is the full name of mutually exclusive collective exhaustion, which means "mutual independence and complete exhaustion" in Chinese. ?
It is a method to classify a major problem without overlapping or omission, effectively grasp the core of the problem and solve it.
Me: mutually exclusive and independent;
CE: collective exhaustion, complete exhaustion;
"Mutual independence" means that each work should be independent and there should be no overlap between each work; "Completely exhausted" means not missing one item in the process of decomposition, but ensuring integrity.
When we need to solve problems or analyze complex things, MECE analysis can effectively help us to analyze problems in a structured way and avoid repeated or omitted logical loopholes due to confusion or incomprehension.
Some people don't know how to apply MECE for the first time, so they can't follow the rules.
In the process of continuous training, consultants can freely use MECE analysis method according to certain thinking logic.
First, what is a clear question?
In other words, before using MECE, it is necessary to clarify the problem to be solved: What is the problem to be solved? What do you need to achieve? How to set goals, etc.
The main purpose of defining problems is to determine the boundaries of thinking. Once the boundary is determined, it may be "completely exhausted".
In other words, MECE's "complete exhaustion" is bounded exhaustion.
B. Find the entry point of MECE
The so-called breakthrough point refers to what criteria are used to divide events, or what is the * * * attribute of the breakthrough point.
For example, whether the portraits of consumers are divided by age, region or occupation, the final result will be different with different dividing standards.
When looking for a suitable starting point, we need to keep in mind a straight line: starting from the end. When analyzing, you need to think repeatedly about the problem you wanted to solve or what the goal of the analysis was.
When looking for a breakthrough, there are some ways to help you find the right one.
Symmetrical dichotomy: black or white, such as day and night, male and female, domestic and foreign;
Process method: disassemble things according to the sequence of occurrence, such as the process of ordering takeout: take out the mobile phone-open the app-check the store-select the goods-pay online-the merchant confirms the order-the merchant prepares the goods-delivers the goods-takes the meal-evaluates online-completes the order;
Formula method: that is, different elements in the identity constitute MECE principle, such as sales revenue = product sales quantity × product unit price;
Using model method: that is, directly using various models summarized by predecessors for analysis. Generally speaking, these models are more or less in line with MECE principles, such as SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, McKinsey 7S model, marketing 4P, marketing 4C, five-force model and so on.
C, secondary or deeper division
MECE analysis needs to be thoroughly exhausted, so after finding a suitable starting point, we should continue to conduct in-depth analysis.
For example, dividing consumers into men and women, to some extent (regardless of other genders) has been in line with the MECE principle, but in order to be more focused, it needs to continue.
On this basis, factors such as occupation, age, region and income may need to be considered to make the application of MECE analysis more perfect.
However, no matter how in-depth the analysis is, we must always remember that the alignment starting from the end cannot be split for the sake of splitting.
D, check whether there is any omission or repetition.
MECE analysis method does not allow missing or duplicate options.
After sorting things, be sure to re-check them to see if there are any obvious omissions or repetitions.
It is suggested to draw a pyramid structure diagram, and it is easier to find out whether there are overlapping items in an intuitive way.
If you don't know how to classify several options in the visual structure, you can try to add a category-other, and put the options you don't know how to put in other. However, it needs to be clear that the category of "other" should not appear as much as possible. The emergence of other categories shows that the overall situation has not been thought through.
It should be noted that with the deepening of thinking, the original structure diagram of the Golden Pyramid may change, and it should be adjusted according to the actual situation.
Example 1: Athletes are grouped by gender (in line with MECE principle)
Example 2: Analyze the causes of headache (in line with MECE principle)
Example 3: KFC customers (customers who don't conform to the MECE principle, are not completely exhausted and leave the restaurant on their own)
Example 4: Quadrilateral (not conforming to MECE principle, not independent of each other, not intersecting each other, square is a special parallelogram, rectangle, etc. )
Example 5: Why did the profit of clothing stores drop?
Definition question: What caused the profit decline of clothing stores? How to solve it?
Decomposition problem:
The first layer: profit = income-cost;
The second level: revenue = quantity x unit price; Cost = fixed cost+variable cost;
Level 3: variable cost = quantity x variable cost per unit
So to sum up:
Profit = revenue-cost = product sales quantity * product unit price-fixed cost-quantity * unit variable cost = (product unit price-unit variable cost) * product sales quantity-fixed cost.
It can be seen that the profit of clothing stores is determined by several factors, such as product unit price, product unit variable cost, product sales volume, fixed cost and so on.
Through data comparison, it is found that product unit price, product unit variable cost and fixed cost have not changed, and the factor leading to the decline in profit is product sales.
Therefore, the measures that can be taken to improve profits include reducing costs, increasing the number of products sold and moderately increasing the price of products.
Mature consultants will not appear dull and copy when using MECE.
But for some people who are new to this analysis method, it is of great benefit to copy some theories and practices of predecessors.
In the practical application process, we need to pay attention to the following points:
Clear objectives, clear problems: you can't disassemble for the sake of disassembling, but remember to analyze for the sake of objectives;
Category pays attention to the consistency of attributes and levels: two types of indicators with different attributes need to be placed at different levels, for example, income and cost are in the same category, but the unit price of products belongs to the next subset of income;
Accumulation theory model: most of the theoretical models summarized by experts and scholars conform to MECE principle and can be accumulated and applied in daily life;
But MECE also has some disadvantages:
Although MECE law decomposes the elements of complex things completely independently, in fact, the decomposed elements are interactive, and the real problem is often the complex network structure. Therefore, the tree structure decomposed layer by layer by MECE law is not applicable.
MECE's law is a local static analysis, while the process route of correlation, dependence and influence among elements is dynamic analysis. The analysis of dynamic and static combination is a complete analysis, and the dynamic balance framework formed by the interaction and action between elements is the system thinking we need.
With the working experience as a consultant, I found that MECE is extremely important for a consultant.
If you want to be a consultant, you must exercise your ability to use MECE to split problems, organize information and organize language.
If you are already a consultant, you can learn from MECE to solve practical problems.
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