What I Mean by Drawing Business

December 6, 2009 · Comments

I shot a quick video to show what I mean when I talk about drawing a business process.

If you can’t see the video click here.

These are just a couple of examples. I love visual thinking. I got my love of it from my experiences with Dave Gray, founder of XPLANE. It’s a great way to open your head to things, and/or a new way to see things a different way.

What do you think?

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  • This video is really an amazing, good creativity..... Hey Chris i always found nice videos here so thanks...
  • rjmchatton
    Very good ideas here. Thanks for sharing them.
  • Mikonmark
    Just a plug for Dave Gray and the good people at XPlane and VizThink. I met Dave when I started Mikons.com. Dave is the embodiment your philosophy Chris. He has been very helpful and generous with me - a top quality guy. All of us in this visual thinking business strive for two outcomes through visual representations: (1) Connecting people to people, and (2) Connecting people to ideas.
  • Your video Chris reminds me of the book "The back of the napkin". I loved that book because it really helped me visualize my business, and this video is a good reminder of the importance of consistently doing that to simply communicate complex business processes.
  • Hi Chris,

    Thanks for the nice words here and on Twitter! Your triangle drawing reminded me of a great post by Russell Davies from a few years ago. Take a look -- it won't disappoint!

    http://communicationnation.blogspot.com/2005/12...
  • Hi Chris,
    Great post - thanks! Can you elaborate on how you go about getting sponsors?
    Thanks,
    Melissa Dutmers
  • You should really check out Dan Roam from The Back of the Napkin. He's a very smart guy and I think you two would really connect well.
  • It is good to sometimes visualize your business on paper rather than thinking about it. I like to use a dry eraser board and really scribble across the whole thing to keep myself in check.
  • I like the ideas that you are putting to here. I like the simple way that you are explaining things and I also like how the first photo reminded me of a flux capacitor. :-)
  • I love visual thinking, too. It often brings clarity to complex issues and processes. For hand drawing business visuals, I heartily recommend Dan Roam's excellent book, The Back of the Napkin. I use mind mapping software extensively to plan projects, capture ideas and more. It's a powerful, flexible took that helps me to see things differently and to craft creative solutions.
  • I had seen your your video. This video is really amazing and I had got lot of information from this video. I love Visual Thinking. I am greatly impressed by your examples given in the video.
  • Airam Ferrer
    What I really like best about drawing out ideas and business plans is that they are not just helpful, they are also fun. They work on people of any age as an effective communication tool. Everywhere we see signs and symbols to help guide us in our daily activities, and I think it works the same with our careers.

    Pictures help us and the people around us understand each other so we can function efficiently. Illustrations are handy and attractive, so they have the power to literally get everyone on the same page. It makes people listen and look. More importantly, it helps us get our point across fast and clearly when words can be ambiguous.

    It's cool of you to share your drawings with us, by the way. Thanks! :)
  • hackmanj
    Chris - this is great, I often have to diagram things on paper to think them through and visualize the pieces. I had not considered doing this with other processes like improving the way my company functions, etc.
  • Cool to see you're into visualizations Chris, I'm a huge fan of them as well.

    I think they help change perspective more than anything. They're really just little models, right? Models focus only on the essential elements, and give us something we can share easily.

    They also allow us to turn them and see things from different angles, whether a model airplane in your hand, or a idea sketch in your mind.

    Love xplane and all they do too, jealous you got to hang out and see them in action!

    Matt
  • Thanks Chris.

    I love visual thinking and the way it can help lead us to different paths to different solutions. I use it on a regular basis for ideas, business planning and explaining things to customers and even my friends. I like using a pen, my Moleskine or any other piece of paper I can find to jot down what I am thinking - it really gets the creative juices moving.
  • natfinn
    Was that Julien we heard in the background? JK

    I love visual thinking. I think that's why God cursed me with no drawing skills. In the agency office I had us put up many white boards, but most of the place didn't like to use the visual approach to think things out.

    How do you combat that?
  • Hi natfinn -- I've compiled a list of great resources at http://www.squidoo.com/davegray -- I would particularly point you toward the Ed Emberly books which are show you how to combine simple shapes to make pictures of nearly anything.
  • natfinn
    thank you. i bookmarked the page.
  • Saw Dave Gray speak at WordCamp SF 2009. Excellent presentation, inspired an article on my blog. For anyone who was there, my current model consists of having lots of lines in the water, the picture in this case being a fishing boat.
  • I remember that! So glad that idea stuck -- I think sometimes you can paint a picture with words as well as with a picture -- but when you do both there's a much better chance it will stick.
  • Agreed. And for me it has to be analog. Either a white board or a piece of paper. I LOVE the digital word, but when it comes to thinking there has to be a pen in my hand. What about you guys?
  • Visual thinking is all I do since I am an illustrator but putting it in a business context is what makes my company standout. It is not easy for illustrators to cross into the business side of Licensing which requires negotiations, marketing, and planning. I liked your triangle visual, its a very similar model on how my business works but instead of content its art. I especially enjoyed hearing your children in the background..!! nice touch!
  • Visual thinking is all I do since I am an illustrator but putting it in a business context is what makes my company standout. It is not easy for illustrators to cross into the business side of Licensing which requires negotiations, marketing, and planning. I liked your triangle visual, its a very similar model on how my business works but instead of content its art. I especially enjoyed hearing your children in the background..!! nice touch!
  • Great approach!
  • Why I think drawing is important...

    When we use words, we are often describing outcomes and results. This is what we want, but it does not uncover WHY we are getting the results we are getting.

    When we draw pictures, we often describe systems. Systems drive or cause the results that we want or that we're getting.

    So if we need to better understand the why of a problem, outcome, or business as a whole, draw a picture and you're more likely to have a conversation of cause and not just effect.
  • Thanks Chris,

    It's funny how the answers to questions appear at the appropriate time.

    I was scratching my head this morning around the alliance arm of a speaker's series that I have brewing. Your triangle visual hit the mark and helped me realize the direction that I need to take.

    Hooray for the visual thinking movement (albeit slow to take hold). I often couldn't understand why the text-based stuff didn't stick. Now I get it!
  • Thanks for the explanation. I am a visual thinker and I did not get this in my head from the newsletter. I appreciate.

    Also, how did you draw that person? That was really cool.
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