Visualization

Challenge and Selection

The first tool I used was the tool of visualization or visual thinking and the reason the choice

was that I felt it necessary to tap into the untapped parts of the different stakeholders’ brains

and to allow them to think in a nonverbal way. It was important for me to have everyone on

board and for everyone to take accountability of the plan that we will all co-create in order to

get buy-in and ownership of the plan. I use this approach often with new stakeholders that

are interested in joining a mighty team as well as with the current stakeholders that wants to

become complacent. I have used the technique of visualisation with a set of questions to

allow for even the quiet ones to participate and to allow a diverse group of stakeholder inputs

so as to leverage from each other’s strength.

Application

I started the process by allowing everybody enough airtime to speak and as they speak, I

would jot their thoughts and ideas on a whiteboard and using a lot of colour. We used a lot a

picture and the more we achieved agreement with the people and others understanding

better, they could align themselves with the idea.

The idea was to get all the Small Micro Medium Enterprise agencies (SEDA, SEFA, IDC,

NYDA, Absa, LED etc) from the private sector and the public sector as well as customers to

work together as a team for the benefit of the customers seeing that we were all offering

these SMME’s funds to grow their business. We did not want to confuse the customers

hence it was important for the customers to understand how concepts are working as we

tried creating visual scenarios.

What I would do for the activity because I was afraid of groupthink, I mixed the different

stakeholders among themselves so that each group could have a representative from each

business unit that is different to strengthen their relationships as well as to have access to

those parts of the brain, the parts that we are not using and the ones that allow us to think in

a nonverbal way – to tab into those brains. Each group would receive a big white poster with

colourful markers and colourful sticky notes to jot their ideas down on how to work together

as a unit to advance the economy of North West as well as to grow and support the

SMME’s. While at it, the stakeholders would have to answer systematic series of questions

which are: What Is, What If, What Wows and What Works?

The What Is question would explore the current reality and it helps uncover unarticulated

needs that generate really differentiated solutions and gives us solid and ideally deep insight

into what our stakeholders truly want and need which reduces the risk of failure with a new

idea.

The What If question is where the different stakeholders would begin to generate ideas and

explore possible solutions

The What Wows question is when we hit the wow spot by breaking the concepts into a

manageable number where the chance of significant upside for our stakeholders matches

our organisational resources and capabilities and our ability to sustainably deliver the new

offering.

The What Works is transforming the concepts into something a potential customer can

interact with a prototype.

After the different stakeholders’ discussions, feedback is provided by a representative of the

group and insights are captured on a flipchart for consolidation in picture formats or graphic.

Insight and Approach

Going through this visualization process was extremely interesting because my fear has

always been that I am not an artistic person and I will never get it right, but I even surprised

myself that I could mobilise different stakeholders in working together to achieving a

common goal which we all have co-created through this process. One of the biggest learning

was the power of collaboration and practicing our listening skills during this process. I also

realised that people are not interested in the correct answers we give but rather in the

powerful questions we ask that we don’t have answers to. During the exercise I would give

them time to reflect and allowed for respectable disagreements which were inefficient for the

exercise but was necessary to have such insight.

Overall/ Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to always have a learning mindset, a broad repertoire and truly

being deeply interested in details of customers lives as people not as categories or

consumers and putting customers problems rather than your own company’s solutions at the

centre of everything you do. The closer we get to customers lives, to their problems and their

frustrations, the better we will be at creating new value for them.


Visualization Challenge and Selection The first tool I used was the tool of visualization or visual thinking and the reason the choice was that I felt it necessary to tap into the untapped parts of the different stakeholders ’ brains and to allow them to think in a nonverbal way . It was important for me to have everyone on board and for everyone to take accountability of the plan that we will all co - create in order to get buy - in and ownership of the plan . I use this approach often with new stakeholders that are interested in joining a mighty team as well as with the current stakeholders that wants to become complacent . I have used the technique of visualisation with a set of questions to allow for even the quiet ones to participate and to allow a diverse group of stakeholder inputs so as to leverage from each other ’s strength . Application I started the process by allowing everybody enough airtime to speak and as they speak , I would jot their thoughts and ideas on a whiteboard and using a lot of colour . We used a lot a picture and the more we achieved agreement with the people and others understanding better , they could align themselves with the idea . The idea was to get all the Small Micro Medium Enterprise agencies ( SEDA , SEFA , IDC , NYDA , Absa , LED etc ) from the private sector and the public sector as well as customers to work together as a team for the benefit of the customers seeing that we were all offering these SMME ’s funds to grow their business . We did not want to confuse the customers hence it was important for the customers to understand how concepts are working as we tried creating visual scenarios . What I would do for the activity because I was afraid of groupthink , I mixed the different stakeholders among themselves so that each group could have a representative from each business unit that is different to strengthen their relationships as well as to have access to those parts of the brain , the parts that we are not using and the ones that allow us to think in a nonverbal way – to tab into those brains . Each group would receive a big white poster with colourful markers and colourful sticky notes to jot their ideas down on how to work together as a unit to advance the economy of North West as well as to grow and support the SMME ’s . While at it , the stakeholders would have to answer systematic series of questions which are : What Is , What If , What Wows and What Works ? The What Is question would explore the current reality and it helps uncover unarticulated needs that generate really differentiated solutions and gives us solid and ideally deep insight into what our stakeholders truly want and need which reduces the risk of failure with a new idea . The What If question is where the different stakeholders would begin to generate ideas and explore possible solutions The What Wows question is when we hit the wow spot by breaking the concepts into a manageable number where the chance of significant upside for our stakeholders matches our organisational resources and capabilities and our ability to sustainably deliver the new offering . The What Works is transforming the concepts into something a potential customer can interact with a prototype . After the different stakeholders ’ discussions , feedback is provided by a representative of the group and insights are captured on a flipchart for consolidation in picture formats or graphic . Insight and Approach Going through this visualization process was extremely interesting because my fear has always been that I am not an artistic person and I will never get it right , but I even surprised myself that I could mobilise different stakeholders in working together to achieving a common goal which we all have co - created through this process . One of the biggest learning was the power of collaboration and practicing our listening skills during this process . I also realised that people are not interested in the correct answers we give but rather in the powerful questions we ask that we do n’t have answers to . During the exercise I would give them time to reflect and allowed for respectable disagreements which were inefficient for the exercise but was necessary to have such insight . Overall/ Conclusion In conclusion , it is important to always have a learning mindset , a broad repertoire and truly being deeply interested in details of customers lives as people not as categories or consumers and putting customers problems rather than your own company ’s solutions at the centre of everything you do . The closer we get to customers lives , to their problems and their frustrations , the better we will be at creating new value for them .