Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Author: John Ashton

  • Time to Create your Business Vision?

    Time to Create your Business Vision?

    Time to Create or Refresh your Business Vision?


    Refresh your Vision

    Do you need more CLARITY?

    Do you need more CLARITY about where your business is going in 2022 and beyond? Do you need to ENGAGE people with your businesses story?

    If so, it’s the right time to create or refresh your business VISION and SHARE it visually with your people, partners and customers.

    The Crackerjack Strategic Visioning Process

    The Crackerjack Strategic Visioning Process is a creative, interactive and visual approach to helping you create a clear, engaging and impactful vision for your business.

    We work with you and your people to explore and visualise your business vision (via either face to face or virtual workshops) and then take those ideas and create a finalised rich picture or whiteboard animation for you to share online and in printed formats.

    The 10 Year Vision rich picture will be an accessible reminder of what we are all about and what we are aiming to achieve. The visual works really well and encapsulates our strategy at a high level, giving everyone the wider context.
    Becky Speight
    Becky SpeightCEO | Woodland Trust
    John has an ability to see things which we sometimes can’t, but which are always there. His approach was not one of direction, but simply to bring our story to life through his artwork.
    Steve Walton
    Steve WaltonAssociate Director | Strategic Consultancy | AECOM Transportation EMIA
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    Find out more…

    If you would like to find out more about how we can help you create a clear vision for your business, please contact us by calling us on +44 (0)115 6483381 or using the contact form below.

    Our other services for individuals: SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting | Personal Vision Rich Pictures | Visual Coaching

    Our other services for teams and organisations: Visual Meeting Facilitation | Strategic Vision Rich Pictures | Whiteboard Animation | Live Scribing


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    Please use the form below to contact us or call us on +44 (0)115 6483381 for a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you.

  • NEW Visual Thinking Products

    NEW Visual Thinking Products

    NEW Visual Thinking Products Coming Soon!

    New Visual Thinking Products

    Just a quick post today to let you know some exciting news!

    Coming soon – Crackerjack Visual Thinking will be launching a range of visual thinking products for individuals and teams to boost creativity, engagement and productivity.

    These will be practical, useable and cost-effective tools that individuals, teams and organisations can use to help them SEE their BIG IDEAS – and implement them.

    Watch out for more news on our new products over the coming days!

    All the best,

    John

    Launching early February 2022

    Our other services for individuals: SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting | Personal Vision Rich Pictures | Visual Coaching

    Our other services for teams and organisations: Visual Meeting Facilitation | Strategic Vision Rich Pictures | Whiteboard Animation | Live Scribing


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    Twitter


    Facebook

    Contact
    Us

    Please use the form below to contact us or call us on +44 (0)115 6483381 for a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you.

  • Talent Transfer Ltd uses Crackerjack animation to tell its story

    Talent Transfer Ltd uses Crackerjack animation to tell its story

    Talent Transfer Ltd uses a Crackerjack animation to tell its story

    Talent Transfer Ltd aims to successfully identify and develop talented individuals from one profession and transfer their skills to another. Ahead of the launch of Talent Transfer Ltd on 25th January 2022, Dr Tracy Rea (who has transferred her own talents across a variety of senior roles in high performance sport, finance and construction) talks about how she has approached communicating her Talent Transfer story to ensure it appeals to a variety of different audiences and engages them with the important ideas behind the Talent Transfer concept.

    Why was communicating your Talent Transfer story an important part of the launch of your business?

    Talent Transfer is a niche research area that was borne from high performance sport. However, the principles and framework was something I wanted to apply to the business context so that potential clients could understand the concept.

    Why did you choose whiteboard animation to communicate your story?

    I wanted to use a method that would stand out. Being a visual learner myself. I have seen others use a whiteboard animation approach and it made an impact on me. I took away not only the visuals but the messaging and this enabled me to synthesise the information better. There is a lot of information to try and relay to understand Talent Transfer – more than the mission statement and how it can benefit the customer. For the 4 ½ minutes (the length of my script), that this animation is playing, it allows me to condense a lot of content. So as an approach, a positive and information rich expedience through a focussed video that makes advertising more exciting. It is a simple rather than elaborate approach (i.e. a huge marketing campaign) and will appeal to different audiences.

    You chose to work with Crackerjack Visual Thinking on this project – how did you work together to create the whiteboard animation?

    After engaging Crackerjack Visual Thinking, myself and John from Crackerjack co-created the script and content to to reflect the narrative and ensure that I would be able to use this with potential clients either through my website or as part of presentations. It was an easy process as I had a clear idea as to what I wanted from our collaboration. John took on board details such as branding of my website and colour schemes and incorporated these into the final animation. He then guided me through an iterative development process, sharing updated versions of the animation for my review and feedback. John even gave me tips for recording my VoiceOver for the animation – one of which was to record the script whilst sitting under a towel to reduce background noise and echo’s! The end result is an animation that meets my aims of being able to share my story, in my words and with my animation, to potential clients and help them understand the concept of Talent Transfer.

    Would you recommend this approach to others wanting to communicate key messages and stories about their business?

    I would advocate this approach to all business owners who are looking to make an impact and want to try something different.

    For more information about Talent Transfer Ltd or Crackerjack Visual Thinking:

    #whiteboardanimation #storytelling #visualthinking #talenttransfer #communicationhttps://videos.files.wordpress.com/Xov2VhEC/talent-tranfer-animation-dec-2021-high-res.mp4

    Our other services for individuals: SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting | Personal Vision Rich Pictures | Visual Coaching

    Our other services for teams and organisations: Visual Meeting Facilitation | Strategic Vision Rich Pictures | Whiteboard Animation | Live Scribing


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    Contact
    Us

    Please use the form below to contact us or call us on +44 (0)115 6483381 for a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you.

  • Business Development using Visual Thinking

    Business Development using Visual Thinking

    Business Development using Visual Thinking

    Earlier today I was asked about business development using visual thinking. As you would expect, I drew a diagram to answer the question!

    I’ve turned my back of a napkin style sketch into the diagram shown below which I hope you find helpful.

    The short answer is that visual thinking tools and techniques can help at all stages of the business development cycle – particularly when they are an embedded part of the process (and not just used as an occasional ‘nice-to-have’ activity).

    I’d be happy to talk more about the links between visual thinking and business development, so feel free to give me a call on +44 (0)115 6483381 or use the contact form below to get in touch.

    All the best,

    John


    Develop your business using Visual Thinking

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    Our other services for individuals: SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting | Personal Vision Rich Pictures | Visual Coaching

    Our other services for teams and organisations: Visual Meeting Facilitation | Strategic Vision Rich Pictures | Whiteboard Animation | Live Scribing

    Contact
    Us

    Please use the form below to contact us or call us on +44 (0)115 6483381 for a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you.

  • BIG IDEAS with Visual Coaching

    BIG IDEAS with Visual Coaching

    SEE your BIG IDEAS with Visual Coaching

    What is Visual Coaching?

    Visual coaching combines best practice coaching and visual thinking approaches to help people SEE their BIG IDEAS.

    Non-directive coaching builds on the idea that a person has the right knowledge and is best placed to identify their own way forward – they simply need to be asked the right questions in the right way to help them reveal the answer that was within them all along.

    Combining this non-directive coaching approach with visual thinking and literally helping a person draw out this knowledge in picture form greatly enhances this process. As an example, links between issues that have may not have been obvious by simply talking about a subject are visualised more clearly using the visual approach.

    What are the results of this approach?

    The combination of non-directive coaching and visual thinking results in:

    • Deeper understanding.
    • Greater clarity.
    • A clear way forward.

    Who would benefit from Visual Coaching?

    • Anyone who is seeking a deeper understanding of specific subjects relating to the achievement of their personal or professional goals.

    What’s included in Crackerjack’s Visual Coaching service?

    • Initial session to agree to the scope, focus and duration of the coaching support to be provided.
    • Coaching sessions to explore subjects relating to the achievement of personal or professional goals.
    • PDF version of visual output from each session for reference and inspiration!

    Visual Coaching - Crackerjack Visual Thinking

    Next steps…

    To discuss Visual Coaching and how it could benefit you or your team, please call +44 (0)115 6483381 or compete the Contact Us form below.

    Face to Face and Virtual Options Available

    Our other services for individuals: SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting | Personal Vision Rich Pictures

    Our other services for teams and organisations: Visual Meeting Facilitation | Strategic Vision Rich Pictures | Whiteboard Animation | Live Scribing


    Linkedin


    Instagram


    Twitter


    Facebook

    Contact
    Us

    Please use the form below to contact us or call us on +44 (0)115 6483381 for a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you.

  • Help your people SEE their BIG IDEAS

    Help your people SEE their BIG IDEAS

    Help your people SEE their BIG IDEAS

    I hope you’ve had a good start to the New Year and 2022 is shaping up to be a great year for you. For 2022, we’re launching two powerful new visual thinking tools to help individuals, teams and organisations SEE their BIG IDEAS. These include:

    • Visual Coaching – This visual approach allows people to SEE subjects more clearly and visualise their thoughts, hopes, fears and ways forward in greater clarity. Links between issues that have may not have been obvious previously are visualised more clearly using the visual coaching approach.
    • SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting – Using our unique series of SEE Your Future™ visual templates, we work with you to visualise and clarify your goals for the coming year (or another timescale of your choosing) and identify the key actions you will need to take to achieve them.

    The new services are in addition to our other existing services including Strategic Vision Rich Pictures, Whiteboard Animations, Live Scribing, Personal Vision Rich Pictures, Visual Meeting Facilitation, Scribble Lab™ Training and other additional services. Our website has been updated to make finding the information you need about our services easier – please visit it at www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com and of course do feel free to call me 0115 6483381 to discuss any of the visual thinking services in more detail. All the best, John

    Contact
    Us

    Please use the form below to contact us or call us on +44 (0)115 6483381 for a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you.

    Crackerjack Visual Thinking Website

    Our other services for individuals: SEE Your Future™ Visual Goal Setting | Personal Vision Rich Pictures | Visual Coaching

    Our other services for teams and organisations: Visual Meeting Facilitation | Strategic Vision Rich Pictures | Whiteboard Animation | Live Scribing


    Linkedin


    Instagram


    Twitter


    Facebook

  • Engage your customers during the sales process with a Rich Picture

    Engage your customers during the sales process with a Rich Picture

    Over the last couple of years, Crackerjack Visual Thinking has been working with clients to support their sales processes by creating bespoke rich pictures showing how their products and services align with their existing and potential customers needs.

    Rich pictures help customers ‘see’ how our clients products and services fit into their customers world (with its complexity, challenges and opportunities) and will help them achieve their aims and objectives. This results in:

    • Customers understanding how my clients products and services will benefit their business.
    • More effective conversations between my clients and their customers due to having a rich picture image to talk through and explore together.
    • Customers appreciating the investment and time my clients have taken in preparing the bespoke rich picture for the sales meeting. It demonstrates my clients commitment to wanting to understand their customers needs on a deeper level.

    Following successful sales outcomes with their customers, the multiple benefits of rich pictures during the sales process have led clients to adapt this visual thinking approach into their sales processes. We look forward to continuing to support them in achieving successful sales over the coming years.

    John Ashton – Crackerjack Visual Thinking

    We’d love to talk about your ideas and see if we can help you visualise them!

    Click on the button below and let’s start a conversation…

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  • How rich picture’s help engage people during onboarding

    How rich picture’s help engage people during onboarding

    Based on my previous experience in L&D (working for Boots the Chemists and The Nottingham Building Society), one of the crucial elements of engaging people during onboarding is providing them with a sense of purpose and place in the organisation.

    We can help people have a sense of purpose and place by:

    • Helping them have direct line of sight from their role to the customer.
    • Understanding how their role ‘fits’ into the organisation.
    • Understanding the impact of the organisation on the wider world (including environmental impact).
    • Getting a sense of the culture/values/ethos of the organisation they have joined.

    It’s a lot to cover!

    Throughout my career (both as an employee being onboarded myself and as an L&D manager doing the same for others), the most effective tool for growing understanding, driving discussion and generating insightful questions about an organisation has been (in my opinion) the effective use of rich pictures as part of the onboarding process. So much so in fact that I now spend most of my time creating these for organisations!

    Nursing and Midwifery at NUH Rich Picture
    Nursing and Midwifery at NUH Rich Picture

    Rich pictures are images that share complex organisational stories and messages in easy to understand and impactful ways. They can be static images or evolving images that build to create a complete story over the course of the onboarding process.

    Used standalone or as part of planned onboarding and induction programme, rich pictures can be shared on-line or in print formats including posters, murals, large format displays and interactive business games.

    Rich pictures can be shared before an employee joins an organisation as a pre-orientation tool or during the onboarding process itself once they have joined the organisation.

    RICH PICTURES ARE ALSO IDEAL FOR VISUALISING, COMMUNICATING AND ENGAGING PEOPLE WITH THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS:

    • Organisational / Business Vision
    • Organisational / Business Strategy
    • Culture and Values
    • Transformation and Change
    • Health & Safety and Regulatory Compliance

    I’m very happy to have a further conversation about the use of rich pictures in the onboarding process if that would be helpful. Feel free to contact me or visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com to find out more about our work.

    John

  • Quick Guide to identifying the right Visual Thinking solution for your business needs

    Quick Guide to identifying the right Visual Thinking solution for your business needs

    A quick post to share our Quick Guide to identifying the right visual thinking solution for your business needs. Hope you find it helpful!

    Use our QUICK GUIDE below to identify the right visual thinking solutions for your needs…

    THE SUBJECT YOU WANT TO VISUALISE, COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE PEOPLE WITH…CLICK ON THE LINKS TO LEARN OUT MORE ABOUT OUR VISUAL THINKING SOLUTIONS…
    Organisational / Business Vision >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Organisational / Business Strategy >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Culture and Values >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Transformation and Change >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Customer Engagement and Sales Presentations / Pitches >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Induction and Onboarding >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Health & Safety and Regulatory Compliance >Rich Pictures | WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS
    Meetings, Events and Conferences >LIVE SCRIBING | GRAPHIC RECORDING | VISUAL FACILITATION | GRAPHIC FACILITATION
    People Development >PERSONAL VISIONS | Rich Pictures
    Leadership Development >PERSONAL VISIONS | Rich Pictures
    Visual Thinking Skills Development >SCRIBBLE LAB™ TRAINING

    We’d love to talk about your ideas and see if we can help you visualise them!

    Click on the button below and let’s start a conversation…

    CONTACT US