Crackerjack Visual Thinking

Tag: thinking

  • Institute of Quarrying (@IQ_UK) ask Crackerjack #VisualThinking to create rich pictures to help #engage people with the world of #quarrying

    We’re very pleased to share that the Institute of Quarrying (IQ) have asked us to create two rich pictures to engage people in the world of quarrying. The rich pictures will visualise the life-cycle of a quarry and the processes and job roles involved in quarrying.

    The rich pictures will used for a variety of purposes including induction, training, communications and awareness raining activity.

    Excitingly, the rich pictures will be also be displayed near the IQs QuarryGarden at the first ever RHS Chatsworth Flower Show being held in June 2017.

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    Quarry Garden (picture courtesy of the Institute of Quarrying)

    We look forward to working with the IQ again on this project and also wish the IQ “Happy Birthday” as they celebrate their centenary this year!

    To find out more about our work, please CONTACT US

  • My #graphicrecording nearly made someone cry!!! #engage #communicate www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

    Last week, as part of an event I was supporting, I was lucky enough to graphic record in real-time the inspirational career journey of a champion of diversity and equity in the NHS, Yvonne Coghill OBE.

    Her story was thought provoking and clearly highlighted how people can champion and enable diversity and equity for all. Clearly people were moved, challenged and energised by the story of her career journey.

    Afterwards, Yvonne came and had a look at the graphic recording I had created of her journey. Her response was one of amazement as she was able to review her career journey visually for the first time. She said she found it very emotional to see her journey mapped out on paper and almost felt like crying (in a good way I hasten to add!). She was also kind enough to Tweet about it after the event.

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    She liked the graphic recording of her journey so much that she wants to use it in future presentations that she gives about her work and journey.

    For me, this once again highlighted the power of visualising information and the effect this can have on individuals (and in turn teams and organisations). Engagement is the shared goal of virtually all organisations and therefore I would encourage everyone to think about how visualising information in a way that stimulates and connects with people can help them in this goal.

    To explore how visual thinking can you engage the people in your organisation, please feel free to call 0775 282 6227 or contact us.

    John Ashton
    Crackerjack Visual Thinking

  • A typical #exec team conversation when they try #drawing their new #strategic #vision out on paper! #visualthinking #engage #communicate

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  • Helping your people engage with your organisations plans for 2017 #engage #communicate #vision

    2017 seems to be just around the corner!

    Although many organisations financial and strategic planning years do not align with the calendar year, it’s important to remember that moving into 2017 will, for many of your people, represent a new start.

    Did you know that most life changing decisions (both personal and professional) are made during the Christmas and New Year periods? The mix of time away from work, seeing family and friends and the ‘out with old, in with the new’ feeling that a New Year brings plays a large part in this.

    For this reason, the Christmas and New Year period (and the run up to it) should be a time when engaging with your people and helping them understand the role they will play in delivering your organisations ambitions for 2017 is vital.

    So how do you achieve this?

    The ‘normal’ line management process including reviewing objectives and discussing how these can be achieved in 2017 can play an important role in helping people understand the tasks they personally need to achieve in the coming year. However, it’s important that these conversations are also framed in the context of the organisations vision and ambitions.

    People become more engaged with an organisation when their own values, beliefs and ambitions align with those of the organisation. Where this alignment is missing, the greater chance that good people will make the decision to leave an organisation.

    So, ensure that you bring the bigger themes of the organisations vision and ambitions for 2017 into the conversations that you have with your people as we head towards the fast approaching New Year. Discuss what this means to them and the role they see themselves playing in achieving these goals. Ask them what other information they would need to fully understand how they fit into the 2017 plan. Ask them what they like about the 2017 vision and what they may find more difficult to engage with.

    Above all, have an honest conversation about 2017 that isn’t simply task focussed and takes an individuals hopes, beliefs and aspirations into account.

    At Crackerjack, we have found that rich pictures (examples shown below) are a valuable way of sharing an organisations vision, values and plans with its people. A single engaging image of an organisations story that everyone can see, discuss and understand across an organisation could be a powerful tool to support engagement with your people as we head into 2017. To find out more please contact us, call 0775 282 6227 or visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

  • Great feedback about our #Quality #Improvement Toolkit from Oxford University Hospitals #NHS #engage #communicate

    Earlier this year, Crackerjack was commissioned by Belinda Boulton (Director of Transformation for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) to design and produce an on-line interactive service improvement guide for her organisation.

    The ‘Oxford Quality Improvement Toolkit’ brings together numerous quality improvement tools, templates and techniques into one simple to use practical guide that is accessible across all platforms and devices including laptops, tablets and smartphones.

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    The toolkit is designed to support anyone (from front-line staff to senior management) who wants to make an improvement in their part of the organisation, whether that’s making a change to a single patient process through to managing a major change programme across a team or department.

    We were extremely pleased to receive the following feedback from Belinda on completion of the work:

    “We knew what service improvement information we wanted to convey. However, we weren’t sure about how to present that information in such a way as to engage our colleagues and enthuse them in relation to our service improvement goals. John Ashton from Crackerjack Visual Thinking listened to our ideas and explored with us the nature of our audience and what would give them an affinity with the ‘Toolkit’. John helped us to bring our ideas to life in the form of an interactive ‘Oxford Quality Improvement Toolkit’, an on-line guide which brings service improvement tools to life. The work was delivered to time frames and exceeded our expectations.  We are looking forward to working with John in the future on other projects.”

    To discuss how Crackerjack could help you in your work, please contact us, call +44(0)775 282 6227 or visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

  • Creating a rich picture of the Institute of Asphalt Technology’s new 5 year vision #visualthinking

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    Recently, Crackerjack Visual Thinking has been working with the Institute of Asphalt Technology (IAT) to visualise their new 5 year vision. The aim of the project was to create a rich picture that engages, informs and drives conversation about the IATs new vision amongst its members, other institutes and the wider industry. To create the rich picture (shown above), we used the following process:

    STEP 1: We reviewed a written version of the vision consisting of a number of bullet points against each of the key elements of the new vision. We then asked clarifying questions to ensure we fully understood the new vision and how it would be used by the IAT.

    STEP 2: We created an initial version of the vision rich picture and then worked closely with key stakeholders from the IAT (including its President Geraldine Walsh) to further develop the graphic.

    STEP 3: The IAT vision rich picture was then shared with the IAT Executive Committee for approval. We were very pleased to hear that the committee were extremely positive in their comments about the rich picture and only minor amendments were required before the rich picture was officially signed-off.

    STEP 4: The new IAT vision rich picture was launched at the IATs 50th Anniversary Conference which took place in June 2016. Crackerjack also provided live-scribing/graphic recording on the day of the conference to capture key themes and outputs from the event as they happened:

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    The IAT vision rich picture will now be shared both electronically and in printed format in IAT publications. It will form the basis of discussions about what the IAT does, what the result of its strategy will be and the impact this will have in the wider world.

    After the conference Geraldine Walsh, President of the IAT provided the following feedback:

    “John of Crackerjack Visual Thinking was employed by the Institute of Asphalt Technology to create both a rich picture of our new vision and a graphic recording of our 50thanniversary conference. It is evident from the quality of his work that he has a true talent not only in terms of creating  the actual artwork itself but also in terms of listening, understanding and interpreting our requirements. His work is outstanding on many levels. Never before have I received such positive commentary on any project.  Thank you John – it was a pleasure to work with you.”

    We were extremely pleased to have this testimonial from Geraldine about our work.

    To find out more about the work of Crackerjack Visual Thinking, please contact us or visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com

  • A pen and paper – one of the most powerful business and thinking tools available… #visualthinking

    Crackerjack Visual Thinking believes that the combination of a pen and a piece of paper is one of the most powerful business and thinking tools available.

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    The visual thinking approach is fundamentally based on using these simple tools (or their iPad style equivalents!) to create visual images that communicate ideas, facilitate discussion, engage thinking and provide a catalyst for co-creation between people.

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    The visual thinking approach enables organisations to experience increased creativity and innovation – ultimately leading to growth and success.

    To find out more about visual thinking please visit www.crackerjackvisualthinking.com or call John Ashton on +44 (0) 775 282 6227.

  • Ever not been able to get your idea across to someone?

    Have you ever been trying to explain an idea to someone and not been able to get your concept across to them?

    Have you then grabbed a piece of paper and drawn a quick picture to help them understand your thinking?

    If so, you’ve already used a visual thinking technique!

    Now think about how this visual approach used across your business could help improve communication and understanding in your organisation…

  • 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