Lightning Lessons

Pyramid Principle 101

Hosted by Davina Stanley

Tue, Sep 9, 2025

10:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

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Extreme Clarity Workshop
Davina Stanley
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What you'll learn

Why thinking matters more than writing

Barbara Minto worked out that the problem with executive communication wasn't the 'writing'. It was the thinking.

How to go from information to insight

Executive communication must not only be clear, but the insights must also be both useful and interesting.

How using a pyramid lifts insight quality and cuts rework

Executives rarely count the high cost of reworking drafts. Let's slash it while getting better decisions.

Why this topic matters

The Pyramid Principle is hands-down the best strategy for clarifying and conveying complex ideas that I have come across. When combined with deep stakeholder analysis, no other technique helps you get to the heart of an issue so well, and sets you up to get better, faster decisions.

You'll learn from

Davina Stanley

ex-McKinsey | Founder | coaches at FX 100 and tech PMs

Over the past 25+ years, I have helped all sorts of executives engage senior leaders to get better, faster decisions.


During that time, my main focus has been to help them make the most of the Pyramid Principle, which Barbara Minto approved me to teach in 2009.


Here are a few recent achievements.


  • Authored three books. Here's a link to my latest, Engage for ICs who need to communicate with greater clarity and insight.


  • Helped a leader of a data and insights team to get his weekends back. He no longer spends most of Saturday and Sunday reworking his team's presentations.


  • Cut the time it takes for a board member to read and understand the board reports she receives by 90% (that number is correct!). The team now knows how to clarify and convey complex ideas so that she can quickly understand them.


  • Stopped the CEO and his exec team from describing preparing decision-making presentations as a 'chore'. I helped them collaborate better so they structured the right messages quickly. He has recently invited me back to help with his new leadership team.


  • Was invited back for the fifth time by a senior tech leader to help a new team of senior PMs.


I have helped everyone from graduates to the C-suite for smart companies in Australia, Europe, the US, Asia Pacific, and Africa.


Follow me on LinkedIn.


Grab my free 10 Minutes to Better Emails course.


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Helped leaders at ...

McKinsey & Company
Meta
7-Eleven
Accenture
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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