in
exciting times
1
introduction
18 DRAW A BETTER BUSINESS
Recently I was training a group of executives how
to work visually. Nothing new about that, except
the group was based in New Delhi and I was in
Nottingham in the UK, being live streamed into
their training room. As a child, this was the stuff of
science fiction.
The future is here, and this brings with it a whole
heap of new things to think about. We have
never been more connected or more exposed
to innovation and developments taking place
around the globe.
We want the businesses we buy from and the
people we work with to do better, to be better;
we want to see innovation, empathy and human‑
centred design in everything, from the jeans we
wear to the coffee we drink.
We are dealing with mega shifts in employment
trends. Between huge tech advancements
19
1 INTRODUCTION
and the increase in gig working, the World
Economic Forum predicts that creativity and
creative problem solving are the top skills we will
need in the future.
1
So it’s no surprise that as entrepreneurs and small
business owners it can feel like a tough ask to
keep up. How do we make our business more
collaborative in its approach? More creative and
innovative in its delivery?
I don’t have a magic wand, but what if I told you
there are ways to make it just that bit easier? That
there is a way of working that can help you really
work in a new way, and that you can use these
skills to run a business that is better? Better for you
and better for your clients?
Welcome to the world of working visually. In this
book I’m going to teach you some new skills,
share some ideas and hopefully give you the
knowledge you need to start working differently.
To start working visually.
Now, I’m not talking here about working as a
‘creative’, but I am talking about working more
creatively. Using visual thinking skills and tools
to deliver your existing work more effectively,
whatever type of business you run.
This is a PLUS sum:
Your existing business knowledge and methods
+ visual thinking skills and tools
= business advantage
20 DRAW A BETTER BUSINESS
I hope this book will help you see the world and
see your business through a new lens. This book will
give you skills and knowledge that will enhance
your business and help you meet the demands of
the modern customer, confident that as a visual
worker, you’re bringing something collaborative
and engaging to the table.
knowledge + method + visual thinking
= business advantage
21
1 INTRODUCTION
In this book I’m going to share my knowledge and
experience of working visually with big and small
businesses, and of starting and running my own
small business. This book is a toolkit that you can
use from two perspectives:
inside your business
• It will help you LOOK in a new way, both at
the internal workings of your business and
externally to the context your business is
operating within.
• It will help you MAKE SENSE of what you are
doing and why it is, or isn’t, working.
• It will help you REFRAME situations, challenges
and questions that come up for you, helping
you take new paths and arrive at new solutions.
externally with your
clients
• It will help you SHARE your knowledge and
your
