Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Tag: Business Model

  • Visualising complex product ecosystems

    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

  • Can you sketch your organisations business model in 5 minutes? #businessmodel #businessmodelcanvas

    Here’s a visual thinking approach to checking the logic and clarity of your organisations business model:

    1. Print off a copy (as big as possible) of @AlexOsterwalders Business Model Canvas from the Business Model Generation website. This will give you a great framework in which to visualise your thinking about your business model.

    bm canvas

    2. Use minimal words and lots of pictures to complete the canvas in a maximum of 5 minutes.

    3. Now ask yourself the following questions:

    • Did I manage to draw my business model in 5 minutes?
      • If not, why not? Is it too complex and/or does your business model lack clarity?
    • Now I’ve drawn my business model, can I see anything I’d like to change about it?
      • Could anything be done more efficiently?
      • Could anything be done by a third party more effectively?
      • Are there any opportunities I’m missing with my current business model?
    • Would other people be able to understand my business model using only this sketch?
      • If not, why not? Is it too complex and/or does your business model lack clarity?

    Visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com and www.crackerjackbizstartup.com to learn more about how visual thinking can be used to help you think differently about your business.

  • The average lifespan of a company is decreasing

    The average lifespan of a company is decreasing.

    New lifestyles and technologies mean that companies need to constantly innovate and change. Reviewing your business and learning from its successes (and failures!) is therefore vital.

    Packs

    The ‘Recharge Pack‘ has been designed provide you with an opportunity to do this using the power of coaching and the clarity of visual thinking.

    The Recharge Pack consists of:

    FREE 30 minute kick-off phone conversation.

    4 x 2 hour visual coaching sessions using large graphic templates (known as ‘Big Pictures’) to explore the following questions:

    – Big Picture #1: Have you achieved the vision of success (on both a business and personal level) you had when you started your business?

    – Big Picture #2: Is your current business model robust, sustainable and scalable?*

    – Big Picture #3: What makes your business so different? Clue: it’s your customer experience…

    – Big Picture #4: How you will grow your business and ensure it’s fit for the future.

    * The Big Picture #2 session uses the Business Model Canvas developed by Alex Osterwalder (worldwide best-selling author of the Business Model Generation handbook).

    The visual coaching sessions can be held wherever is most convenient for you.

    During each coaching session, Crackerjack will work with you to co-create each of the Big Pictures. You can expect your thinking to be challenged and new ideas to be generated during these sessions.

    At the end of each of the above sessions, you will take-away the completed ‘Big Picture’ to use as both a reference and an action plan for developing your existing business.

    Click on the example template below to view an example of one of our smaller graphic templates:

    Visual Business Coaching Recharge Temp medium

    3 x FREE visual coaching templates to further challenge and develop your thinking about your existing business.

    3 x 30 minute follow-up phone coaching sessions to help you maximise the benefit of your learning’s from the Recharge Pack experience.

    To find out more and extend the lifespan of your business, please contact us.

  • Small business owners – do you give yourself time to think about your business?

    Group

    Small business owners out there – do you give yourself time to think about your business and where it’s going?

    Do you create the opportunity to step back and think about your business model, your customer experience and how you engage with your people?

    Do you get other business owners feedback about your business?

    If the answer to any of the above questions is ‘NO’, then our new workshop ‘Labs’ can help you to take a fresh look at your business. Click here to find out more about our Business Model, Customer  Experience and People Engagement Labs being held in Nottingham in February and March 2013…

    #Smallbusiness #SME #thinkaboutyourbusiness #visualthinking

  • Checking and challenging your business model

    The importance of ensuring that your business model (whether new or existing) maximises the performance of your organisation can not be underestimated. Regularly checking and challenging your business model is an essential key organisational health-check tool. Learn more… #BusinessModel