Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Tag: engagement

  • Putting the jigsaw pieces in place at Sheffield Hallam University #SHU #graphicrecording #visualthinking

    SHU MK

    I had a great day yesterday creating a live graphic recording to help Sheffield Hallam University’s marketing teams visualise the role they play in delivering their new marketing strategy. The visual used a jigsaw pieces metaphor to show how the teams will work together to achieve this goal. One of the key aims of the visualisation was to highlight the linkages and alignments between the work of the different teams and it was great to see some very clear actionable themes emerging during the day!

  • 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

  • Discussing how #visualthinking can improve organisational #engagement on the 12th October 2015 @engage4success Radio Show

    I am looking forward to speaking with Jo Moffat on the Engage for Success Radio Show on Monday 12th October at 5:30pm. I’ll be discussing how visual thinking approaches can help improve engagement across organisations.

    Tune in here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/engage-for-success

  • 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

  • Are these the three key factors that enable people to be #engaged in their work?

    1. CLARITY OF PURPOSE (“To be happy in my work I need to understand why I’m doing what I’m doing…”)

    2. MORAL ALIGNMENT (“…and agree with the way in which my work will be used…”)

    3. TANGIBLE BENEFIT (“…and receive appropriate reward for my efforts.”)

    Do you think that these are the three key factors that enable people to be fully engaged in their work?

    Please share your thoughts on the blog!

    #people #engagement #purpose #visualthinking #engageforsuccess

  • Woodland Trust 10 Year Vision Rich Picture Update

    As promised a couple of weeks ago, here’s a quick update on the rich picture I’m creating to help communicate the Woodland Trusts new 10 Year Vision.

    After reviewing all the available reports, documentation and presentations relating to the new 10 year vision and meeting with a number of key stakeholders involved in the work, I created version 1 of the rich picture. I then ‘pressure tested’ this with a cross-section of people across the organisation (including the CEO and other representatives from the various parts of the Woodland Trust).

    I’m now in the process of using the feedback from the pressure testing session and other additional feedback to create the final version of the 10 year vision. Here are a few teaser images from the rich picture:

    WT logo Owl Heart March

    I’ll provide a further update in a few days when the rich picture is completed.

    #woodlandtrust #richpicture #visualthinking #communication #engagement #vision

  • How pictures can help people engage for success #engageforsuccess #visualthinking #engagement #strategicnarrative

    Helping people throughout an organisation have a shared understanding the organisations story (often referred to as its strategic narrative) is a key part of any engagement strategy. The story can detail the history of the organisation, its current state and its future vision amongst other important information. For maximum impact, the story should detail the ‘what’ (i.e. what happened and when?), the ‘how’ (i.e. how were the things achieved?) and the ‘impact’ (i.e. how did people feel?). This combination of hard facts and emotion can provide a powerful tool in helping people understand the organisation, their feelings towards it, the role they have played and the role they can play in the future.

    Now imagine that rather than just reading the story, people can see it mapped out visually on a large poster.

    Weetabix
    An operational storymap produced by Crackerjack Visual Thinking for Weetabix…

    They can gather around the poster and use it (either ‘freeform’ or as part of a structured meeting or event) to stimulate thinking and discussion and engage with the organisations story on a deeper level. Imagine if this activity was repeated across the whole organisation so that everybody understood its strategic narrative. Powerful eh?

    Visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com or contact us to find out more about how our visual thinking work can help you tell your organisations story.

  • Graphic recording at Derby and Notts CIPD Annual Meeting #letsENGAGE @DerbyNottsCIPD @davidtmacleod @macs_JamesT

    Had a interesting couple of hours last night graphic recording Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s CIPD annual meeting. Both David MacLeod (Engage for Success) and James Taylor (Macildowie) spoke about the need for engagement in the workplace. David stressed the importance of having a clear strategic narrative in an organisation and I was struck by the role visual thinking (both in terms of graphic recording and graphic facilitation) can play in helping to tell an organisations story.

    Here’s the graphic I produced during the meeting:

    Derby and Notts Annual Meeting 2015

  • For the latest news and ideas on #visualthinking read the new ‘Crackerjack Visual Thinking Daily’

    For ideas and inspiration about all things Visual Thinking, subscribe to the new free Crackerjack Visual Thinking Daily.

    CVT Daily

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