Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Tag: business

  • Creating a vision rich picture for Project 4 Learning Lab

    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:

    Project 4 Learning Lab Vision

    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

  • Are you a career changer? You need to have vision…

    Are you a career changer? You need to have vision…

    Changing career successfully requires planning and forethought. Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you can get there is vital.

    Your Personal Vision acts as a map and career compass…

    Visualising your vision as an image provides you with a quick reference map as you progress along your journey towards your new career. It helps you see the skills you need to develop, the relationships you need to build, the decisions you need to make and the behaviours you need to grow. It acts as the career compass to keep you on course.

    The process of creating your vision is as important as the vision image itself!

    The very act of creating your personal vision can also be as educational as the end vision image itself. Going through the process can reveal new ideas, things you hadn’t thought about, new pathways to your career – or even completely new career opportunities you hadn’t considered before!

    Now’s the time to create your career change Personal Vision

    So, if you haven’t already, now’s the time to create your own personal vision ready to guide you you on your career change journey. Feel free to use the template in the image above and create your own vision. If you would like some additional help with the process of creating your personal vision, do get in touch using the contact us button below and find out more about our Personal Vision service here.

    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…

    CONTACT US
  • THE THREE KEY ACTIVITIES REQUIRED TO SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE YOUR VISION ACROSS YOUR ORGANISATION

    THE THREE KEY ACTIVITIES REQUIRED TO SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE YOUR VISION ACROSS YOUR ORGANISATION

    Having a Vision and successfully achieving it requires three key activities: Communicating, Enabling and Embedding. In these short videos, I share my thoughts on the importance of having a joined-up approach to these key activities and the 3 Steps to successfully achieving your Vision.

    A joined-up approach is vital to achieving your Vision!

    In this introductory blog episode, I share my thoughts on the importance of having a joined-up approach to these key activities – and what can happen if you don’t!

    Step #1: Develop your Vision

    In this blog episode, I talk about how visualising your organisations Vision can improve communication, understanding and business performance. This is the all important first step to embedding your Vision!

    #2: Develop your People!

    In this blog episode, I talk about how aligning the skills, knowledge and behaviours of your people to your Vision is vital in enabling your Vision to be achieved.

    Step #3: Develop your Organisation

    In this blog episode, I talk about the importance of alining your systems, processes and organisational behaviours with your Vision to deliver a great customer experience and build trust in your organisation.

    COMING SOON – We will shortly be launching our new Achieving Your Vision members area on our website which will provide you with support, resources and guidance to help you successfully implement your Vision across your organisation. Click on the subscribe button below to keep up to date!

    If you would like to discuss how to successfully implement your Vision across your organisation, please call +44 (0)115 6483381 or contact us to discuss your requirements in more detail.

    John Ashton – Crackerjack Visual Thinking

  • What do all of our clients have in common?

    What do all of our clients have in common?

    Our clients come from a wide variety of sectors and specialisms, yet they all have one thing in common; the desire to engage people with their work in as impactful, memorable, informative and visual way as possible.

    Helping people easily and clearly see the value and benefit of an organisation and its work (via rich pictures, graphic recording or whiteboard animation) serves a number of purposes:

    • For team members: ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION. It helps them understand how the work they do day in and day out contributes to the organisations goals.
    • For leaders in the organisation: STRATEGY AND DIRECTION. It helps them to consider the bigger organisational picture in the decisions they make and the priorities they set for themselves and their teams.
    • For customers: UNDERSTANDING AND ENGAGEMENT. It helps them to see how the organisation operates, how it aligns with their values and how it will provide them with the product or service they require.

    Our clients use our images and animations as both standalone resources and often as part of a wider internal or external communication initiative.

    Another experience our clients have in common is that the more they use our illustrations and animations across their organisations, the better the shared understanding of their organisation becomes. This enables more effective conversations and meetings and, in turn, increases action and productivity – all of which are vital to achieving the organisations aims and objectives.

    You can read more about our clients experiences of working with Crackerjack Visual Thinking on our home page.

    To discuss how Crackerjack Visual Thinking could help your organisation engage people with your story and vision, please feel free to contact us for a no-obligation discussion.

    John Ashton – Founder of Crackerjack Visual Thinking

  • Can your business tick all the boxes in this SIMPLE business health check?

    Can your business tick all the boxes in this SIMPLE business health check?

    It can be easy to lose track of the big picture and get lost in the complexity of running your business. To help with this, here’s a simple template I’ve developed to help you check the health of your business.

    The health check uses the SIMPLE mnemonic to focus on 6 key areas of running a business:

    Systems
    Innovation
    Metrics
    People
    Leadership
    Experience (i.e. customer experience)

    Simply work your way around the template and see if you can tick all the boxes against each of the statements shown.

    If you can tick all the boxes then great! Although don’t be complacent and regularly use the health check to ensure this continues to be the case.

    If you can’t tick all the boxes, take time to examine the reasons for this and plan the actions you need to take to enable you to tick the box.

    Click on the button below to download the SIMPLE business health check:

    simple-checklist-2Download

    If you’d like to talk more about the health check, please do get in contact.

    Regards,

    John

    John Ashton | Crackerjack Visual Thinking

  • As the UK ‘unlocks’, it’s more important than ever to communicate a clear vision for your business

    As the UK ‘unlocks’, it’s more important than ever to communicate a clear vision for your business

    As the countries of the UK emerge from the latest lockdown and progress through their COVID roadmaps, many businesses are opening up for the first time in months and/or having to adapt to how their customers want to do business now that they are used to working in a virtual, working from home, socially distanced, culturally changed (?) world.

    The key question for me is how many of those businesses have taken the time to review their business vision (which maps out the fundamental way in which they operate and details what they are striving to achieve)?

    It’s easy to understand why, in the scramble to get income flowing again, many businesses will not take even an hour to review their vision. But they could well be missing out on identifying fundamental issues that could eventually lead to their businesses being uncompetitive in the new post-pandemic world.

    Realising that you are targeting the wrong customers, using the wrong channels to deliver products or services and using physical office/shop space in an inefficient way are examples of how taking the time to review your business vision can help guard against running your business in the same way as normal – when the ‘old normal’ potentially no longer exists!

    So please, take time to review your vision and make sure it is fit for the future (and not the future as you saw it 18 months ago).

    All the best,

    John
    Crackerjack Visual Thinking

    If you would like to discuss your organisations vision including how to develop and communicate it impactfully, please contact me and visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

  • A clear vision is the compass to success

    When starting a new business, having a clear vision of what success looks like on both a business and personal level is vital. This knowledge is the compass that will guide you towards that success. #businesssuccess #visualthinking

  • Systems Thinking x Visual Thinking = Organisational Clarity

    In complex organisations, trying to understand how the various elements of the business fit together and co-exist can be challenging.

    By using a visual thinking approach and working with your people to visually map your business on large wall charts, you are able to see the organisation and understand more easily how your business operates and the critical linkages that enable your business to function effectively.

    Systems thinking x Visual Thinking = Organisational Clarity

  • How can Visual Thinking help your organisation?

    Someone asked me the other day how Visual Thinking can really help organisations? Here are three ways in which I think Visual Thinking and a visual approach to sharing information can benefit a business:

    • Communicating your thinking to colleagues quickly and effectively.
    • Supporting ‘pitches’ and tenders for work by helping potential clients ‘see’ your thoughts and ideas.
    • Communicating complex ideas to people who don’t have prior knowledge and understanding of a subject.

    #Visualthinkingbusinessbenefit