Imagine, have you ever had such an experience at work:
According to the needs of a certain job, the leader asks you to complete a certain task within five days. At this time, do you often have the following States?
On Monday, I was at a loss because I didn't know the method;
Tuesday is still full of worries;
On Wednesday, collect information or data that may be useful everywhere for the time being;
Continue to collect on Thursday;
Friday was drowned in the mountains of information, and once again fell into the dilemma of helplessness and helplessness.
Intensive reading has made relevant investigations on this, and the results show that nearly 90% of people have had relevant experiences. Are you one of the 90%? Why do some people finish their tasks well within the specified time, while others can only use "labor" to brush their sense of existence, as mentioned above?
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How to complete the work assigned by the boss well?
In view of the above problems, McKinsey experts believe that the fundamental reason is that most people are eager to deal with and solve problems when they are faced with work and problems without thinking clearly about "what is the real problem". But blindly seeking "fast", the result of such busy work is often futile, and in the end, it will get twice the result with half the effort and enter the "loser road".
So how do we finish the work that the boss told us? Intensive reading today will help you find a solution to this problem-Professor McKinsey's Thinking Weapon.
In this book, McKinsey experts explain the four steps to do a good job. Next, intensive reading will explain the specific contents of these four steps for you. This book is about 6.5438+0.5 million words. If you read 600 words per minute, it will take 260 minutes, which is about 4 hours. Junweishu intensive reading about 8000 words, reading takes 12 minutes, which can save you about 250 minutes.
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Step 1: Think about the topic.
1, what is the prerequisite for completing excellent works?
In this book, McKinsey experts first defined what "valuable work" is. "Valuable work" consists of two axes: the first axis is "How necessary it is to find the answer to this question"; The second axis is "the degree to which a clear answer can be provided at present". As shown in the figure below, most people think that the value of a work depends on the vertical axis in the matrix "the degree to which it can provide a clear answer at present", and seldom pay attention to the horizontal axis "how necessary it is to find the answer to this question". But if you really want to do valuable work, the horizontal axis is more important. Imagine, what is the value of improving "the degree of providing clear answers at present" for works with extremely low "how necessary it is to find out the answer to this question"? Therefore, if you want to do well, you need to take high topics as the primary starting point.
2. What elements should a good topic contain?
Generally speaking, a good theme needs to contain three elements, as follows:
(1) The conclusion of a good topic should be able to produce significant changes.
Specifically, a good topic must be that once the answer is found, it will have a great impact on the direction of the follow-up discussion. Take a convenience store chain as an example. We know that there are many reasons for the decline in turnover. For example, if it is because of the "decrease in the number of stores", then individuals are discussing the speed of opening stores or the rate of returning stores and joining stores; If it is because of the "decline in the turnover of each store", then the problem discussed lies in the exhibition shops and their operation modes. Therefore, finding out "essential options" is the most basic element of a good topic.
(2) A good topic should have in-depth assumptions.
Generally speaking, the hypothesis of a good topic should be able to overturn common sense or can be explained by a "new structure". For example, when people believed in the geocentric theory that the sun goes around the earth, Copernicus put forward the Heliocentrism that the earth actually goes around the sun. This hypothesis overturns the previous viewpoint and has profound shocking power.
(3) Good questions should be answered.
Finding the answer means that at this stage, you can put forward the answer according to your own ability or situation. In fact, the questions that should be answered and the questions that can be answered now only account for about 1% of the total number of questions we think. In other words, there are many difficult questions to answer, such as pricing: "If three to eight companies occupy more than half of the market, how to set the price of goods?" The exact answer to this question has not been found. Therefore, "can you find the answer through existing methods or solutions that can be started now" is the third element of a good topic.
3. How to collect the information used to establish the topic?
(1) Contact with first-hand information
The so-called first-hand information is data that has not been screened by anyone, such as:
Engaged in sales, you can stand at the door of the store and listen to the voice of customers;
Engaged in commodity research and development, you can go to the front line of using commodities and talk to customers who use commodities. ...
Nowadays, more and more people like to get clues from various reading materials and other second-hand information, which is fatal, because it will make you develop the attitude of "reading information with colored glasses" and deviate from the accuracy of information.
(2) Master the basic elements
Generally speaking, the basic elements include three parts:
Figures: For example, when discussing the whole business, figures such as "market size" and "market share" will be highlighted;
Problem consciousness: to find out the common sense of this field, industry and enterprise along the thread of the past. It is necessary to cover all the contents of "if you don't know this, you can't have a dialogue with people in this field" and confirm whether you have missed important points;
Architecture: No matter what field you are in, you need to know the following architectural information: the arrangement of topics so far, the positioning of the issues being discussed in the existing architecture, and the explanation.
(3) Don't collect or know too much.
There must be a limit to the efficiency of collecting information, so when there is too much information, it is impossible to analyze it more rationally. This situation is called "collecting too much" and "knowing too much".
Over-collection: The time spent collecting information is directly proportional to the amount of information obtained. Once it exceeds a certain level, the speed of quickly absorbing new information will slow down, which is "over-collection", that is, even if a lot of time is invested, the information with practical effect will not increase at the same speed;
Excess of knowledge: the growth of knowledge does not necessarily lead to the growth of wisdom. On the contrary, when the amount of information exceeds a certain level, it will have negative effects. Therefore, before it becomes "knowledgeable", it is one of the secrets to collect information for establishing a topic.
When a good topic is established, we will learn how to improve the level that can provide clear answers at present. This part includes the following three steps.
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Step 2: Hypothetical thinking
After finding a good topic, you need to think deeply, that is, break down the topic, set up a story line and illustrate the chain diagram.
1, decomposition problem
(1) What is the principle of decomposing the problem?
In most cases, the main topic is a large-scale problem, and it is difficult for us to find the answer immediately, so we usually need to decompose the topic to find the correct answer. In order to get a meaningful decomposition, generally speaking, we need to follow the MECE principle when decomposing problems, that is, they are independent of each other and have no omissions.
For a simple example, if the theme is "Effects of various ingredients in eggs on health", then the subtitle will be decomposed into "What are the effects of protein, yolk and other ingredients in eggs on health respectively".
As shown in the picture above, if only one egg is cut, obviously the answer is meaningless. So it is very important to distinguish by "essence".
(2) Generally speaking, what elements can a problem be decomposed into?
Taking the business sector as an example, general problems can be divided into the following three parts:
Where: Which domain should I lock?
What: What specific winning model should we build?
How: How?
In fact, most typical problems have a "template" to decompose the problem. What we need to do is to collect similar examples from the past and observe them. Based on the same project and our own concerns, we can determine the final decomposition elements.
(3) What should I do if I encounter a problem that is difficult to decompose?
When the topic is relatively new, we can't help but start to decompose. In this case, we should try to think from the "ultimate want", that is, look back from the goal.
Take a business example, such as the need to develop an "electronic commodity coupon" that hardly exists in the market.
Because commodities have never existed, we don't know what commodities are made of, that is, buildings themselves. At this time, we can set "what we finally want" as "the core idea of goods". Specifically, to develop new products, we need to know:
What time? By who? Under what circumstances? Why is this more advantageous than the existing payment methods?
Then, after these ideas, namely:
What fees and costs will be incurred? How to divide responsibilities? How can we meet the budget? → Economic benefits
What kind of system can be built and what kind of application can be made based on this architecture? → Information technology system
What's your name? What is the relationship with existing brands? How to design advertising slogans? How to promote sales? → Marketing course
Therefore, the topic can be divided into three parts: economic benefit, it system and marketing course, which are independent of each other and without omission.
(4) What should I do after the topic is decomposed?
After the topic is decomposed, what we need to do next is to set specific assumptions in order to make the image of the analysis clear. For example, for "What is the size of a certain market now?" By establishing "is the market size of so-and-so gradually shrinking?" This assumption can turn a simple problem into a meaningful "topic".
Generally speaking, you can try to formulate a good hypothesis according to the following three steps:
(1) Establish your own hypothetical position, such as the above case indicating whether the market is "shrinking" or "expanding";
② Everything becomes "language and writing";
(3) When using language or words to express, we should highlight the key points, for example, we can use comparative sentences to elaborate.
Step 2 build a story line
(1) What elements does the story line consist of?
Generally speaking, a typical story axis usually has the following elements:
(1) * * Knowledge necessary for problem awareness and premise.
② Clarity of key issues and secondary suggestions.
(3) The discussion results of various minor issues.
④ The comprehensive significance of the above items.
So when you report your work, you can try to integrate the elements needed for this series of briefings into a column-like article with a main axis. Only in this way will people agree with what they say, and even be moved and feel the same way. It should be noted that the story line is alive and it will change with your in-depth analysis and collection of information.
(2) What is the template for building a story line?
(1) A story template with "Why" tied.
It is very simple to use this template, that is, to list the reasons or specific implementation methods in the form of "juxtaposition" for the information you ultimately want to convey, so as to support this information.
For example, when the final content you want to convey is "investment project A", you need to state at least three opinions and list their "why":
① Why is Project A attractive? → that is, the prospect and growth from the perspective of market or technology, the expected time point of investment recovery, etc.
② Why should we start to deal with Project A? → that is, the value, skills and assets brought by the project in related businesses.
③ Why can I start to deal with Project A? → namely, the scale of investment, practical problems of post-investment operation, etc.
It should be noted that when using this template to build a story line, we must choose important factors in line with the principle of "mutual independence and mutual omission".
② "Empty, Rain, Umbrella" Story Template
Almost all of us will use this method logic in our daily conversation, that is, confirm the topic, dig deep into the topic and draw a conclusion.
For a simple example, when we go out today, we think of "should we take an umbrella". In order to draw a conclusion, we usually judge it like this:
Empty: "the sky in the west is so clear!" " "
Rain: "judging from the current situation in the sky, it shouldn't rain for a short time, right?" "
Umbrella: "in that case, you don't have to take an umbrella out today!" " "
This is the process of template integration. When discussing according to this template, the key to the problem lies in the degree of curriculum deepening at this stage of "Rain".
3, graphic chain diagram
Comic chart is to illustrate and express specific data images into visual images, so that people can objectively see the final output blueprint. The sequence diagram can be broken down as follows:
(1) Found "Axis"
The first step in making a series of diagrams is to make the framework of analysis, that is, the vertical and horizontal expansion in analysis, that is, the "axis". Generally speaking, analysis is to express "cause end" and "result end" by multiplication. The condition of comparison is "cause end", and the value of evaluating this condition becomes "result end". So thinking about "axis" means thinking about what the "cause side" compares and what the "result side" compares.
For example, when you want to test the topic "The number of times you eat Lamian Noodles will affect your obesity", the axis of the cause is "Do you eat Lamian Noodles?" "If you eat Lamian Noodles, how often?" The coordinate axes of these contents are "body fat rate" and "height and body mass index" respectively. When you find the right "axis", you need to describe the corresponding relationship between them, and the result is the actual analysis. Usually, there are three corresponding modes in quantitative analysis, namely:
① comparison
In short, finding a suitable "comparison axis" is to think about which axis to compare "what and what" to find out the answer to the question, which is the first step in making a series diagram.
(2) Image concretization
After finding the "axis", put in specific values to make the analysis image concrete.
For example, when analyzing the topic of "Giant Racecourse is very high", simply stating that "Giant Racecourse is higher than the average Japanese" cannot directly explain the problem. However, if we compare the height of Giant Racecourse with the average height of Japanese and other countries as shown in the figure below, the result will be clear at a glance. It should be noted that the numerical value of the image is not as accurate as possible, and the required data accuracy generally depends on the specific situation. If you want to find "50% or 60%", the accuracy at this time does not need to be 0. 1%.
(3) Clearly point out the method of obtaining data.
After setting the topic, set the story line according to the set topic, and make a series diagram with the story line. This process needs the support of specific data, so it is necessary to clearly point out the method of obtaining data.
Specifically, you can write down "what analysis method is used to achieve what contrast" or "from what information source" in the list of analyzed images. For example, in marketing, there are various methods to conduct consumer market research. At this time, you can sort out the methods of obtaining data as follows: in fact, making a chain diagram is not like this. As long as you follow the above steps, you can enhance the credibility of your own views.
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Step 3: Think about the results.
After finding the topic, completing the story line and making a series of graphs graphically, in order to turn the series of graphs into actual analysis and produce meaningful output results, McKinsey experts believe that the correct attitude of analysis must proceed from the premise and perspective.
1. How to analyze from "premise and perspective"?
In actual analysis, there is a very important concept that "don't analyze or verify directly", but first find out the most valuable secondary problems in the story line. There is a simple reason. If you don't verify the important premise in advance from the beginning, in case the story described is not solid on the basis, the result will become meaningless.
For example, the well-known story of Cinderella is based on the premise that Cinderella has overwhelming charm compared with her stepmother's daughter and the key perspective that only Cinderella can wear glass slippers.
Many times, such an important logical relationship between premise and perspective will completely change the whole story from the root.
2. What should I do if I encounter difficulties in the analysis process?
Generally speaking, in the process of actual analysis according to the above ideas, two typical problems are often encountered:
(1) Unable to obtain the required value or evidence.
When we put forward an unprecedented, novel and highly conceived viewpoint hypothesis, we often get into such a dilemma. At this point, you can try the following methods:
① Structured reasoning.
For example, if we want to verify that "the video game industry has generated a lot of turnover and profits in the software part besides the hardware import part", it is obviously impossible to verify this if we only pay attention to the charging reports and annual reports of video game manufacturers. In this case, the total turnover can be calculated according to the following formula:
Total turnover = hardware turnover+software turnover
Therefore, according to the business volume of hardware and software, the approximate market unit price, the price increase at the time of wholesale and the profit rate of manufacturers, we can get the approximate turnover rate of hardware and software.
② Actual visit
Suppose thinking, "Is the exhibition venue of a female brand flagship store located on Park Avenue or Residential Street?" At that time, you can get effective information by directly visiting and investigating which place is closer to the target customer group locked by the company.
③ Reasoning in various ways.
When the data with unknown scale is very important, it is an effective method to calculate the scale of the value through various ways. For example, if you need to find out "the turnover of a commodity", you can infer it according to the following three ways:
Find out the values one by one in several ways like this, and most of the time you can infer the approximate values.
(2) You can't make the boundaries clear with your own knowledge or skills.
When you can't get any results by your own knowledge and skills, you can use external forces or re-examine your way of doing things. Specific methods are:
(1) Consult a senior person.
(2) Calm judgment, abandon previous preferences and adopt simple trouble-free solutions.
3. How to find the answer to the question quickly?
When we understand the correct analytical attitude and effective methods to solve difficult problems, we finally need to find out the answer as soon as possible. Specifically, you can quickly find the final answer in the following two ways:
(1) There are many methods available.
Having practical experience in many fields is of great benefit to finding answers. Specifically, you can first familiarize yourself with all the analytical methods in your related fields; Then try to cultivate your own experience and skills in other fields.
(2) Pay attention to the cycle times and speed.
Most people want their information to be as perfect as possible in the process of finding answers, which often leads to the phenomenon of "being too careful".
According to the experience of McKinsey experts, if we want to "improve the completion of analysis from 60% to 70%, it will take twice as long as before;" If it is to be raised to 80%, it will take twice as long; On the other hand, in the state of 60% completion, if the verification cycle is carried out again from the beginning, it will take "half the time to 80%" to reach "more than 80% completion".
It can be seen that to find out the answer as soon as possible, integration as soon as possible is the key. Instead of pursuing high completion every time, it is better to pay attention to the number of treatments.
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Step 4: Think about information.
After completing the above three steps, finally, you need to ponder the basis and framework of the argument and organize it into a high-quality work report.
1. What are the principles for writing a report?
McKinsey experts believe that in order to let the recipients get the same meaning of the question and agree with their opinions after the report is output, there are two points to pay attention to before starting to integrate the report information:
① Adhere to the strategy of "starting from the topic". When the content of the report is oriented to "find out what problems", it can directly enhance the receiver's awareness of problems and greatly improve the receiver's understanding ability;
The report should delete the content that distracts people's attention or blurs information. Because the more vague the topic is, the attention of the receiver will be distracted and the understanding will be reduced, which will naturally deviate from our goal.
In a word, in the stage of information thinking, that is, the stage of sorting out reports, we should start from the angles of "essential" and "simple".
In addition, the quality of the report depends on the integrity of the story line and the integrity of the chart elements.
2. How to refine the story line?
Generally speaking, there are three procedures to scrutinize the structure of the story line according to the viewpoint of "whether the information that follows the topic is completely conveyed":
Step 1: Confirm the logical structure
That is, whether the arrangement can be completed with a clear basic structure. Specifically, it is necessary to confirm which structure can be used to straighten out the logic and ensure that the premise of the story line does not collapse.
Procedure ②: Thinking process
An excellent report doesn't mean "a picture emerges from the chaos", but "after the key minor topics are gradually developed from one topic, the ideas will be developed without losing the direction of the process". Therefore, when considering the process stage, you should explore whether there is any problem in the order of the problems and whether there is any need to strengthen them.
Step 3: Prepare "Elevator Speech"
Preparing for the "elevator speech" is the final confirmation of the story line. The so-called elevator speech is "If you take the elevator with CEO, can you briefly explain the summary of the project before getting off the elevator?" The trick is to integrate and communicate complex report summaries in about 20 to 30 seconds.
Specifically, if the logical structure of the report adopts "why", then you only need to convey the "why" you are based on in the elevator speech; If we adopt the structure of "empty, rain and umbrella", we only need to convey the conclusions of "empty" (what is the topic), "rain" (the understanding of the topic) and "umbrella" (what is the answer to the topic) respectively.
3. How to view the chart?
The basic structure of a chart includes three elements: information, title and argument. And excellent charts should meet the following three conditions:
(1) If you have information, you can follow the topic.
(2) (Demonstration part) It should be meaningful to expand vertically and horizontally.
③ Argument supporting information
In order to meet the three requirements of an excellent chart, the following three tasks should be done well when checking the chart:
(1) thoroughly implement the principle of "one picture and one information", that is, confirm whether each chart really contains only one information and whether the information is correctly connected with the secondary issues;
(2) Examining the axis of vertical and horizontal comparison, that is, confirmation is significantly related to the verification problem in vertical and horizontal expansion;
③ Unify the expression of information and analysis, that is, whether the arguments in the chart support information and whether the information in the topic can be clearly verified. One of them is to re-examine the dimensions of the axis. For example, when observing the correlation between the number of customers using a commodity and the turnover, the "8020 rule" will be established in most cases, but after actual investigation, you will find that in some markets, "only 1% to 2% of consumers constitute 80% of the turnover". In this case, you need to mark it on the scale of the shaft, which gives a deep analytical impression.
After completing the above steps, you will present a perfect report.
Back to the original question, if you have five days to complete a task, you can:
Monday? Topic thinking, that is, identifying problems.
Tuesday? Hypothetical thinking (1), that is, decompose the question before it is answered, and then sort out the story line according to the fragments.
Wednesday? Hypothetical thinking (2), that is, describe the required output image, design analysis to verify the story.
Thursday? The result of thinking, that is, based on the structure of the story, is verified in order.
Friday? Consider the basis and framework of the demonstration and organize it into a work report.
From this, I believe that you can complete the task well and surprise the boss.
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