Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Category: Business Vision

Creating a vision rich picture for Project 4 Learning Lab

Crackerjack Visual Thinking recently worked with Project 4 Learning Lab (P4L) to create a rich picture of their vision for the future.

P4L help organisations find their flow; delivering products to market faster, accelerating flow of knowledge work and accelerating flow of product. They work with organisations including Rolls-Royce, Astra Zeneca, Alstom and Infosys.

Crackerjack ran a half-day visioning workshop with the team using the Crackerjack Visioning Process™ and then created the rich picture based on the outputs from the process:

Click on the image to see the full size PDF version of the rich picture.

Click HERE to see the animated build version of the image.

Keith Howells, P4L CEO, shares his experience of the process…

Why did you want to visualise your vision?

We were looking for a way to communicate our vision and the work that our organisation does in a holistic way that was both multi-dimensional and engaging at the same time. We also wanted to ensure that as a team we were absolutely aligned in what we do, how we do it and why that is important to us and our stakeholders.

How did you find the visioning process (both the workshop and the image development process)?

The visioning process was exciting and really easy for us all to engage in. It gave us a structure to have conversations to help us align as a team without it ever feeling constraining. It was really interesting to see how the process engaged everyone involved and allowed them to express their thoughts and opinions in a slightly different way to how we might in a “normal day”.

We found the visioning workshop really energising and by the end we felt good that we were in agreement of around 80 or 90% of the inputs that went into the generation of the final picture.

The image development process was straightforward too because it was staged around the definition of a high level concept and supporting layout before focusing on the details of the imagery and the finer points of the text.

John was very open to change (whilst also guiding us towards something that was coherent) as we asked for one thing and then decided that we needed something different! It was a really good experience.

How do you intend to use the finalised rich picture?

We plan to use it in two main areas…firstly, to explain to potential new clients about the work we do, how we do it and the difference it typically makes to our clients, and secondly, to support the onboarding of new team members by providing a foundation so that they can become really effective really quickly.

Find out more…

Find out more about Project 4 Learning Lab at https://www.p4learninglab.com

To find out more about the Crackerjack Visioning Process™ and our work, visit https://www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

#project4learninglab #visualthinking #crackerjack #visioning #richpictures #engagement #communication #business #vision #onboarding #alignment #collaboration #storytelling

August 19, 2025
Visualising complex product ecosystems
Organisations like SAP, Siemens, and PTC offer comprehensive solution ecosystems that span multiple domains—PLM, simulation, digital twins, IoT, and more. While these solutions are powerful, they are also complex. As a result, many customers struggle to understand how the various tools relate to one another and, more importantly, how they align with their own operational challenges and transformation goals.

The Communication Gap
- Customers often focus on immediate problems and can’t always see how a broader platform approach addresses their needs.
- Sales and product teams may describe capabilities from different angles, leading to inconsistent messaging.
- Internal stakeholders may lack a shared view of how the offer is positioned for different markets or maturity levels.
A Visual Thinking Approach

Using a facilitated visual method—such as the creation of a rich picture—can help bridge the gap between technical solutions and customer understanding. A rich picture is a large, illustrative diagram that captures:
- The customer’s operational environment and key challenges.
- How different products or tools contribute to solving those challenges.
- The broader transformation journey and how solutions align to that trajectory.
- Dependencies, touchpoints, and contextual factors that are difficult to convey in text or slide decks.
Benefits of this Approach
- Customer Understanding: Provides a visual narrative that helps customers see where they fit and how the solution supports their goals.
- Sales and Marketing Alignment: Offers a consistent, reusable asset that can guide strategic conversations and value positioning.
- Internal Clarity: Acts as a reference point across teams—helping product, sales, and delivery functions align on message and intent.
- Adaptability: Can be tailored by sector, persona, or maturity level to suit different engagement scenarios.
Common Use Cases
- Industry-specific product overviews.
- Executive briefings and stakeholder workshops.
- Onboarding tools for new clients or internal teams.
- Strategic planning, partner enablement, or bid development.
If you would like to explore how visual thinking can help you engage clients with your product, please contact us.

#VisualThinking #CustomerEngagement #ComplexitySimplified #SolutionSelling #DigitalTransformation #TechMarketing #EnterpriseSoftware #StrategicAlignment #IndustrialSoftware #SystemsThinking #EngineeringDesign #CustomerSuccess #InnovationConsulting #VisualConsulting
May 13, 2025
Great feedback from Domestic & General

Really pleased to receive the following feedback from Mathew Scoines, Programme Director at Domestic & General, about a rich picture project recently completed for him:

Crackerjack was brought into Domestic and General to help us visually represent an extremely complex new platform via an easily consumable and readable ‘rich picture’. The process was led by John from Crackerjack who achieved this remit and delivered a service and outcome beyond our expectations. The method by which Crackerjack engaged with us and elicited the information required to shape this visual output was extremely well crafted and fascinating to be part of.

John guided us patiently and professionally throughout the process and helped us articulate and break down the key aspects of our new platform solution supporting stakeholder and subject matter expert discussions to elicit the right information at the right level of detail. John listened carefully and focussed on genuinely understanding our business and the context for this task. This resulted in a rich picture which skilfully encapsulates a very complex solution and presents it in a format which is easily consumable by and useful to both seasoned experts in our business as well as the layperson.

I would recommend both the use of a rich picture to convey complexity in a form which is easy to read and understand and most certainly recommend Crackerjack as the organisation to help achieve this.

We have commissioned Crackerjack now to take the rich picture and build a story based animation and narration around it – this is going extremely well and I have no doubt will turn out great with John’s guidance and expertise.

Mathew Scoines

Programme Director

Domestic and General

May 9, 2024
Create a SHARED UNDERSTANDING of your business
How rich pictures create a SHARED UNDERSTANDING of your business

Creating a shared understanding of your business across your people, partners and customers creates opportunities for discussion, cooperation and new ideas that will benefit everyone

The benefit of using a rich picture to create a shared understanding…

The example image above shows how a single rich picture image can create a shared understanding of your business for your people, partners and customers.

The example image visualises the following elements to help achieve this understanding:
- Current business issues.
- How effective Knowledge Management will resolve these issues.
- How data will flow around the business.
- How suppliers will be linked in with the new knowledge management process and data flow.
- The benefits of the Knowledge Management process for customers.
This shared understanding of your business results in:
- Your people understanding how their role fits into the business helps drive it forward.
- Your partners understand how they link with your business and can support it effectively.
- Your customers understand your business and the benefits to them of working with you.
This shared understanding of your business across these key groups of people creates opportunities for discussion, cooperation and new ideas that will benefit everyone.

Why rich pictures work so well for creating a shared understanding…

Having a single visual overview of the various elements of your business allows people to see connections and linkages that may otherwise not be apparent. This builds on the brains ability to process visual data extremely effectively and creatively (which is based on the way the brain itself connects information via its neural pathways).

In addition, the visual impact and engagement a rich picture creates encourages people to want to look at the picture and understand the key messages it’s trying to communicate.

Find out more…

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

You can also find out more about rich pictures on our Strategic Visioning Rich Picture page.

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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February 1, 2022