Visual thinking solves your business problems

by Jeroen de Miranda

The Back of the Napkin is a great book on Visual Thinking. It is written by Dan Roam.

Watching this video of his presentation at Google, you will learn how to use this method to solve many different business problems.

I highly recomment reading his book if you want to get a real understanding of Visual Thinking!

Authors@Google: Dan Roam

YouTube video

Some highlights of this show:

• Who can use this: anybody!. Dan classifies people into three catagories:
  - ‘black pens’ (start to draw right away),
  - ‘yellow pens’ (drawing comments on drawings of others),
  - and ‘red pens’ (do not want to draw; but often turn out to have the best ideas. You have to challenge the ‘red pens’ to start drawing).
• Core idea: reduce complexity of a problem by slicing it into 6 slices: the 6 ways we are seeing:
  - what,
  - where,
  - how much,
  - when,
  - how,
  - why
• Use the corresponding drawing:
  - what: portrait representing a person or object
  - where: map
  - how much: chart
  - when: timeline
  - how: flowchart
  - why: multi-variable plot
• Talking while drawing leads to better understanding of a problem
• Dan gives examples of his work with Microsoft
• Dan uses a drawing to give an explanation of the strategy behind the Yahoo takeover over by Microsoft

More resources on Visual Thinking:

• Another great resource on Visual understanding – also look at http://www.gapminder.org
• Earlier post, containing some presentations explaining the concept in more detail

I have used visual techniques in several workshops that I have facilitated; I now intend to extend my workshop tools by using these ‘Back of the Napkin’ techniques!

The Innovator’s Solution

by Jeroen de Miranda

This is perhaps the best book on innovation!

Examples of disruptive IT innovation are (IMO):

• Google, Amazon Lead Disruptive Cloud Computing Wave, Microsoft Again Behind Curve
• Newspapers Beware: Blogs are A Disruptive Technology

I can much better understand these disruptive innovations after having read this book!

From Newspapers Beware: Blogs are A Disruptive Technology – some key factors are:

• ‘print publishing has overshot the needs of the market’
• ‘Sure, the new versions aren’t as high quality (fact-checking, writing, spelling, design), but they get the job done’
• ‘And eventually, the old model will have lost so many customers that it will no longer be able to support itself.’

At the website of the authors Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor you can find some ready to use ideas and templates to shape new disruptive innovation ideas:

1. A Template for Shaping Disruptive Ideas :

• Target nonconsumption
• Leverage the low performance hurdle
• Make it “foolproof.”
• Lock in and take over

2. A Game Plan for Would-Be Disruptors : How to Turn the Innovator’s Dilemma into the Innovator’s Solution

More information on innovation at:

• More books on innovation:  (for accessing this list, you have to create an account at librarything.com)
• Site of Authors Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor

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The Skilled Facilitator

by Jeroen de Miranda

I am reading ‘The Skilled Facilitator’: this is a great in-depth book on facilitating groups!

Amazon reviews at: http://tinyurl.com/5a83db. Author: Roger Schwarz.

This book will really help me to become a better facilitator of groups. It contains a complete Systems-thinking based approach to facilitation.

Core statement: ‘The facilitator’s main task is to help the group increase effectiveness by improving its process and structure’.

It complements some of the ideas of Manager-Tools in a great way! There are some similar ideas; e.g. on WWWTALA sessions; dealing with emotions; setting the Agenda of meeting etc.
Of particular interest is the model for Interventions in groups.

It is highly recommended reading! You can find more at the site of Roger Schwarz; a summary statement from this website:

‘ (…) The Skilled Facilitator Approach: Outcomes and Key Features

Whether you are working with another person, a group or team, or an organization, The Skilled Facilitator approach will help you create the following outcomes:

• Decisions that get better results
• Decisions that people actively support
• Decisions that save time
• Better relationships – at work and in your personal life
• More personal satisfaction and less stress
• Learning that allows you and others to adapt and change where most others can’t

To achieve these outcomes, the Skilled Facilitator approach has a number of key features:

• Exploring and Changing How We Think
• The Group Effectiveness Model
• A Clearly Defined Role
• Applicable To a Wide Range of Roles
• Explicit Core Values
• Ground Rules for Effective Groups
• The Diagnosis-Intervention Cycle
• Non-Judgmental Thinking
• A Process for Agreeing on How to Work Together
• A Systemic Approach ‘

Has anybody read this book? Or other books on group facilitation? Please feel free to comment / contribute to this post!

The Skilled Facilitator Field Book has lots of practical examples and applications of TSF:

Amazon review .

Bottom line: ‘The Skilled Facilitator’ is a great book on group facilitation!

More on Facilitation at this blog!

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The Meeting Introduction

Mark Horstman on: ‘The Meeting Introduction’:

‘If you’re leading a meeting where a team is being formed, or a project group is meeting for the first time, I recommend you use this tool to start off well. In fact, it is so effective, it is my all-time favorite manager tool.

I’ve been leading meetings as a manager, leader and now consultant and facilitator for 20+ years. I’ve seen hundreds of ways to do this, and used many of them myself.This tool is by far the simplest to understand and the easiest to remember for everyone. (…)’

———————————————–

Recently I have used this ‘Manager Tool’ for the first time. This was in a professional setting, with some 18 participants. Some of them were new to the group.

I received some very positive feedback on this ‘Meeting Introduction’; so I can really recommend it. Some tips:

• really prepare this well (I even translated the instruction sheet into Dutch; glanced on it during the instruction phase to make sure that I did not forget important aspects
• do not rush!
• make sure that the welcome cheer at the beginning of every introduction is done by everyone; and also the cheering at the end

This is a members only podcast (so you have to register; costs $15/month):

http://www.manager-tools.com/2005/12/december-2005-member-only-podcast/

Have fun!

What is your best idea of introducing people in a large meeting?

What is Web 2.0?

Tim O’Reilly:

…. the internet as Web 2.0 is displacing Microsoft Windows as the dominant software development platform,

…. the competitive edge comes from aggregating the collective intelligence of everyone who uses the platform….. ‘

‘Web 2.0 is a transformative force that’s propelling companies across all industries
towards a new way of doing business characterized by harnessing collective intelligence, ….

from: http://radar.oreilly.com/web2/

Wikipedia’s definition of Web 2.0