the visual that helped Emma’s brain make the
connections and have those “aha” moments.
after the session she said,
“Wow. I thought I knew everything
there was to know about my own
story, but seeing it drawn out
helped me notice patterns I just
hadn’t been aware of, and that
was unexpectedly powerful.”
40 DRAW A BETTER BUSINESS
visual thinking is powerful
As well as spotting patterns and making
connections, working visually can help you:
generate more ideas
think more expansively (non‑linear)
retain information for longer
understand information more fully
get clarity from complexity
recall content more fully
solve problems
communicate more effectively
increase engagement / buy‑in
increase compliance
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2 WORK VISUALLY
Working visually gives you some serious cognitive
assistance. I’m not going to tell you how to think,
because that would be weird. What I hope
though, is that as you engage your visual thinking
brain and use the skills in this book, you’ll start to
see the benefits for yourself.
drawing
The whole of the next section focuses on drawing,
so I’m not going to say much more at this point,
except this: you can draw, but if you’re feeling
doubtful, don’t worry, I get it. For now, just trust me
when I tell you that by the end of this book you’ll
be drawing yourself solutions, plans and ideas that
are going to help your business. Remember I’m
not talking about ART, I’m talking about
FUNCTIONAL DRAWING.
If you’re thinking, “Yes, but do I really have to draw
this stuff? Can’t I just use image‑search tools on my
computer?” then I offer you this:
I’m going to give you some of the science, but
for me it boils down to one thing: drawing fires up
a part of your brain that tapping on a keyboard
never will, helping you think and work differently.
Oh, and it’s also a whole lot more fun, which I
guess makes two things...
42 DRAW A BETTER BUSINESS
43
2 WORK VISUALLY
equipment
You don’t need much to work visually, but here are
some items that you’ll find useful along the way.
Felt tips (lots of black ones, but also colours).
Chisel tip marker pens. Again, black ones
but also some colours are good.
Paper. A4 paper, flip chart paper and if
you can get your hands on it, some of the
big stuff.
Sticky notes. Ideally 4 or 5 different colours.
Index cards.
Stuff to stick with. In my toolkit I have Scotch
tape and white tack.
Sticky dots, for voting.
Washi tape. I find it useful for making
connections when I’m working up on
the wall with sheets of paper, index cards or
sticky notes.
A blank‑page A5 notebook.
A cheap sketchbook. Mine is A3.
If you want a linked kit list, then you can find one
you’re designed to
be visual
3
why?
46 DRAW A BETTER BUSINESS
the evidence as to why
we should all be working
more visually is pretty
overwhelming
