Last Friday I ran a workshop on business model innovation with the management of one of the 5 regions of a top Swiss bank. In the break-out session the bankers split into groups and were supposed to work on huge posters to sketch-out the business model of an innovative bank. That is when I realized how uncommon it still is for executives to think visually and use the wall/poster as a visual thinking aid.
They had lively discussions around their table, but it needed some stimulation from my side to get them to use the posters. I insisted on this because I think visualization of business issues is increasingly a requirement to tackle the complex problems of our time.
Understanding not only the issues, but also the links between issues is a must in today’s complex world. Yet, this is very difficult to achieve without a visual aid. That is where the wall is very helpful and gives all participants of a meeting a common reference point… When Dave Gray, CEO of XPLANE, was visiting us in Geneva he said one thing that I don’t stop quoting:
“the wall is the desk of the future”
Have a glance at some images I put together in a Power Point presentation illustrating the above quote:
I totally agree. In my business process re-engineering consultancy engagements, I often conduct workshops using the wall (or a proper screen) to show models and get instant feedback from the audience.
Placing and moving around the concepts graphically enables the participants to react and reach a consensus much faster (eliminating costly “paper”-based iterations).
When no modelling tool is available, I use a whiteboard or a flipchart, with post-its for the concepts and a washable marker for the relationships between them. To memorize, I’m taking a picture of the whole diagram.
– Emmanuel