Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Tag: e4s

  • Is Visual Thinking all about pictures? #visualthinking #communication #engagement #e4s

    I often get asked “Is visual thinking is exclusively about the use of pictures?” and “Can I not use words in my pictures”?

    My answer is that visual thinking can be just about the way you position words in relation to each other.

    For example, the following template is used to help people share their thinking about an organisations values:

    Values Health Check Template

    People are simply asked to write their thoughts directly onto the large template. When the activity is completed, the relative density and positioning of their responses can immediately and visually provide valuable feedback about the organisations values:

    Values Health Check Template 2

    In the example above, before we even look at the detailed content of the responses, we can immediately see that:

    • People see Value 2 being lived in the organisation more than Value 1 and Value 3.
    • People have plenty of ideas about how colleagues could better live Value 1 in the organisation.
    • Value 3 has the least responses (is this because it is the least understood or relevant?).

    All the above insights are obtained without the use of any pictures – simply from being able to see the positioning and density of the words on the template.

    So the answer to the question is “No”, visual thinking is NOT all about pictures. It is all about helping people see information more clearly – whether this involves words, pictures or any combination of these.

    John Ashton

    www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

  • ‘Picture’ your organisational story to engage your people… #visualthinking #engagement #storytelling #e4s

    Telling a clear story can be the key helping your people engage with your organisations vision and purpose.

    Being able to ‘see’ the story as a picture can further enhance their understanding, helping them both see the ‘big picture’ and well as better understand where their role fits into what can sometimes be large and complex organisations.

    Find out more about how visual thinking can support engagement in your organisation by listening to John Ashton from Crackerjack Visual Thinking on Engage for Success Radio:

  • Engage for Success Radio: Crackerjack discusses the links between #visualthinking and employee engagement #e4s #engagement #communication

    Earlier this week I had the pleasure of discussing the links between visual thinking and employee engagement on the Engage for Success Radio Show.

    E4S Radio Show

    As a supporter of the Engage for Success movement, it was great to share thinking on how using visual thinking tools and techniques in an organisation can help people have better conversations and enable an organisation to tell its story (often referred to as its strategic narrative) more effectively.

    Here’s the link to the interview: Engage for Success Radio Show #132

    Hope you find it interesting and please do share your feedback and thoughts!

    Visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com to find out more about how visual thinking can enable employee engagement and better conversations within your organisation.

  • It’s not just about the picture! #visualthinking #engagement #communication #e4s

    When people commission visual thinking projects (e.g. creating graphic recording, rich pictures, organisational storyboards, animations etc…), it can be very easy for them to focus first on the content, size, shape, style, layout and colours of the visual being produced.

    However, often people forget to really think about how the visual is going to drive meaningful conversations in their organisation. Before taking on a piece of work, we always ask clients how they think the visuals we produce are going to engage people, enable understanding and even drive change in their organisation.

    So, before you commission a piece of visual thinking work, really consider the effect you want the visual to have. This in turn will inform the design of the visual including the type of content, the size, shape, style, layout and colours etc. Remember, a pretty picture is not always the most informative picture!

    Visual thinking it not just about the picture itself, it’s about the effect that is created when people view the image and discuss it with their colleagues. These are the conversations that can drive change in an organisation!

    www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

  • Use the power of the doodle to engage your people! #e4s #engagement #communication

    This week, why not ask people in your organisation to spend 5 minutes creating a quick doodle of what they think the purpose of your organisation is. Display the completed doodles (either virtually on your intranet or on a wall in your workplace) and encourage people to have a look at them. Then start listening out for the insightful, challenging and sometimes revelatory ideas that will be driven out by this organisational conversation!!!

    The key question to ask yourself following this activity is:

    “Is our organisational story (i.e.why we do what we do) clear to all of our people?”

    If so, great!

    If not, think of the effect this may have on your organisation and how you can go about ensuring that you are telling your organisational story more clearly.

    www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com