In 10 Words Or Less
From GPWiki
 NEW - 2010 - TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND: HELLO - THE ARENA FOR CHANGE - CHANGING THE WAY THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANIZATION THINKS AND WORKS - ALL THINGS CAN BE SOLVED BY 24 CONVERSATIONS - AND THEN VISIT THE 'PIXAR' OF CONSULTING - The 21st CENTURY ORGANIZATION - WICKED PROBLEMS - THE AWESOME POWER OF MEANING - SIGNS - STRUCTURED VISUAL THINKING™' - 4D™ - THE MEANING MAKING MACHINE - 4D™' - WINNING THE BIG BIDS - 'KEVIN HOFFBERG'S 'BLOG' AND JOHN CASWELL'S 'JUST THINK' BLOG - MAIN PAGE - THE TRAINING SECTION - THE TECHNOLOGY VISION- INSIGHTS AND CREATIVITY AT WORK - EXPLAINING HOW TO CREATE A VISION MODEL - LATEST THINKING |
Friday 03 of September, 2010
Keeping it Simple?
  Discovering New Meaning
Developing New Meaning
Deciding New Meaning
Deploying New Meaning
Communicating Complexity Our aim is always to find the best possible way to move our work from 'thinking' and 'deciding' to 'engaging' and 'communicating' with the enterprise. See also Visual Displays, The Innovation Lounge - Go to the demonstration of the Vision Model Creative And Logical Systems This model represents the logical model. It demonstrates that all our systems thinking and the sustained communication that emerge from it is built on a rigorous logical model and architecture. Go to Global Model, SVT Technology Vision The Platform for connectivity In this image you can see that complex schema's are underpinning a simple user interface. This means users are able to access almost infinite degrees of richness governed by robust logic and design. Go to the SVT Technology Vision, The Scenario Configurator, SVT Live' Everywhere. Anywhere By thinking differently about users and the possibility of 21st Century devices and technologies we now have the ability to dynamically engage both remotely and virtually by smart devices. Go to Augmented Visual Thinking Demonstrating Application We have proven the efficiency and power of these tools in training education, induction, knowledge transfer and general awareness. Go to Vision Model, 4D™, The 'Pixar' Of Consulting, A Vision Model |
Over the last 10 years we've been challenged to describe what we do simply - it's not easy. It has meant we've described it in a million ways. Our feeble attempts at it are below in ~ 10 words or less. Let us know if you are still confused
Firstly A short background
Some people suggest that if you can't describe what you do in ~ 10 words or less - give up. Well what we do is wide ranging. It's about conversations leading to agreement. Agreements leading to Value. Value leading to Sustained Success. Applying 'design' thinking to enable better business working. We work on the side of the client. We apply structured visual tools. We facilitate, coach and mentor. We co-create. We accelerate decisions, value and practical outcomes. We solve the problems any business has.
Then it gets complex - Translating the intangible complexity of business thinking into practical simplicity and operational delivery. But it works.
The Common Ones
"Giving businesses the tools to survive in the 21st Century."
"Helping our clients avoid solving the wrong problems really well."
"Solving complex problems and creating valuable opportunities."
"Changing the way business thinks and works - structured - visual - thinking!"
"Clear thinking through decision frameworks."
"Think better. Work better."
Frameworks That Create Value
“A logical compass to navigate an illogical world.”
“4D™ - 'Look - See' - the best business thinking technology.”
“Enabling every company to really 'see' its strategic path. Itself.”
"The future of your business in a map you created yourself."
"Build The Map of Your Business. For your Business"
"You built it yourself so that you can navigate your business future. Yourself"
"Realizing. The practical and executable journey your business needs to take."
"Telling the single story from multiple perspectives"
"Making sense of business complexity."
"Redefining the meaning of the business - enabling a 21st Century Organization."
The Long Term Value
"Sustainability Frameworks. Framing the way to Success and Achievement."
"Creating accessible frameworks for strategy, transformation and change."
"Joining the dots between strategy and execution"
"Persistence through Relentless Intention"
"Unlocking business potential and human capability"
“Direction through representation.”
“Conversion through conversations.”
"Putting business issues into context. Putting solutions into action."
“Simplicity. A lens to sharpen focus on complexity.”
"A conversation based on frameworks delivers a business built for success."
“A platform for a better perspective on the future.”
Out There
"Redefining the art of strategy"
"I work? I think? You work! You think? We work - you think!"
"The 'Pixar' of Consulting."
"Thought Processing."
"Imagining new futures; discovering the unexpected"
"Co-creating the right answer to the Exam Question."
"Collecting Thoughtfully. Thinking Visually. Informing Meaningfully."
Decision Quality & Tools
"Decision capability for leadership and the enterprise."
"Structured Visual Thinking. Solving Vital issues Together. Seeking Value Together."
"Collaborating to visualize success through structure visualization and thinking."
"We've built paradigm busting technology - an answering machine."
"Tools to think differently - cause mindset change!"
"Drawing better distinctions - causing smarter conclusions."
And some funny/strange ones
"We came, we draw, we conquered..."
“Giving business back the keys to the car for the 21st Century.”
"A much better alternative to wrong."
“Your strategic path and the best framework for the future. Discuss.”
"Afraid? No, we are not afraid. We are absolutely terrified. That's why we experiment like hell."
"An x-ray for your business, delivering sonar, built by laser."
“Business Thinking 4.0.”
"A picture compels a thousand herds."
"Drawing simplicity from complexity."
"Leaps of imagination not Jumps to conclusions."
"The 'Life Support System' for Leadership."
“Your business future? You thought it now you can see it."
But Our Clients would say...
OK, so we find it hard to settle on one.
Below is how those who have been through it describe the experience. Maybe we should leave the last words to them. The following list of over 200 client comments is faithfully recorded in their own words. They describe the value they feel they get from the work we do. We are constantly adding to this list.
Automotive
"The client's immediate reaction was one of immense relief that she could discuss the intricacy of her issues with people that could help her put them in context and perspective” Alan Thompson, Team Principle, Daimler Chrysler.
“It brought into sharp focus the things that we were doing just as quickly as those essential ingredients that had been overlooked. The Contextual Framework became a conscious barometer for the whole business. It helped demystify many elements of the communication mix and most essentially gave credence to what was going on behind the scenes in a way that all people could understand and buy into. The Contextual Framework liberated thinking and brought much needed light, understanding and finally empathy to many an erstwhile blinkered ‘Doubting Thomas". Strategy and Marketing Director, Mazda Cars.
Corporate Innovation
"Just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you all again for your time, great inputs, kindness and help that each one of you gave to us this week! We can't describe in words how much this meant to us and how important these 2 days were for this project!
We hope you have enjoyed the past 2 days as we did! It was a pleasure to work with you and we hope that we can continue this relationship! Once again thanks for your support! Best regards Bianca, Bruno, Paula and Viviane Senna. The Senna Family. Institito Ayrton Senna
Telecommunications
"Thanks to u all for a very successful few days. We like surprises and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome and the manner in which the contribution was made by the overall team. There were clearly some ‘ah hah’ moments for us all, including myself, our little mantra that we developed viz. ‘translation of the brand promise into...’ I think was significant on top of the whole yellow print concept. The subsequent response has also been amazing since our return to the office – it is clearly making an impact and I already sense the start of a different approach by some our senior managers (not often the case!) It was a big group, under the circumstances I think we did well, so thanks to all of you for help making it happen." - Brian Gouldie MD MTN Consumer Business South Africa.
"Thanks John. I'm sure I speak for the team when I say that your effort, drive and of course the end result were superb! Look forward to working with you further." - Mark Mamone BT Global Professional Services
"Hi John, Great to finally meet and many thanks for all your efforts as you saw they were both very much appreciated but also extremely well received. Speak soon. Regards." - Nick Scully BT Global Professional Services"
Pharmaceutical
“I very much enjoyed the process, and the flow. I can see how clients find your approach both refreshing, and results oriented. And the short period of time to create that level of output was impressive.”“An extremely valuable tool to both help the customer really drive out in their mind what the real business drivers are and why outsourcing may be the best alternative.”“Will give us the insight to create a much more meaningful response as opposed to just ‘answering the mail.
“The workshops helped us look at the entire business which guided the team to reach a consensus as to where the business is today and where it should go tomorrow… For the first time there was a unanimous agreement among all key players as to where efforts should be placed.”The forthcoming workshops will allow the team to prioritise and allocate resources accordingly based on these key business decisions.” Jane Kidd, Director of Global Marketing, Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Financial Services
"John: The pleasure was entirely on our side. As you may have seen and what I was alluding to, the bank announced a fairly major reorganisation, templated on IT Shared Services. Now, we will matrix the entire IT organisation. I would like to think about you helping us modelling out the “strategy” element for the CIO's of the bank." Lars Gustavsson, CIO, ABN Amro.
"Hazel, Just a note to say that you have very expertly and impressively managed to pick up all key points made---it's really quite something to see what has been produced in both hard and digital form!! I know that Fortis is going to be very pleased with what's been handed to them on the day... and day after. Really great job. Jim will send along a few points later this morning that we think might be useful to add in the strategic outcomes section. Our aim is to forward this to Fortis later today or tomorrow...ahead of our follow up meeting Monday. Thanks again and all the best" Jim, Fortis
Mining and Minerals
"Dear John and Hazel,This is a brief note to say many thanks for giving us a most successful Water Summit. I don’t think I did either of you the justice you deserved in ensuring this was such a successful event. There have been many complimentary inputs from those that attended and all agreed that the facilitation and visual framework was the key in the events success. A number of people said that they were “blown away” by the map, and I think that is quite an appropriate description of its effect. Best regards" Dave Salmon, Anglo Technical Division
UK Government
"I just wanted to say a big thank you to you and your team. We were all pleased and impressed with the way the last two days went. We covered a lot of ground in a sensible and useful way and came away feeling that we had achieved something. I have no doubt that we have a long way to go and our action plan will need to be tightened up but we already have another half day in everyone's calendars to achieve this and we aim to try and keep the momentum going. John's masterpiece is up on the wall in the Directors' area and I am already getting favourable comments on the vision and values." Kate Smith. BSc MBA DipM MCIM. The Meteorological Office.
“I left our session on Friday feeling that we had achieved a great deal out of the two days. The main objective was of course to help inform Koren and the Results International team as they move into the program development phase, for me two other important things were achieved:-Firstly as a result of the 'coming together' of the two teams there was a sharing of knowledge and engagement, an understanding of the benefits of working together.
"Secondly we gained some real clarity around the end to end business process, a foundation that we need to build on. Your contribution to achieving the end to end clarity was invaluable.” Robin Williams. Head and Regional Offices. Job Centre Plus, Department of Work and Pensions, UK Government.
"I had wanted to send this out last week but as some of you will know nature intervened and today is my first opportunity. The message is simple. Thank you for your contribution to the day. I believe the event was very successful and whether your input was 'on the day', arranging and coordinating or, indeed, poetic license and preparation! or all of them, the combination was impressive. Having spoken with Andrew today I m also pleased to report that the official 'story' of the day, as represented by John Caswell's amazing illustrations, should soon be available and every attendee will be receiving a copy. (Andrew - I do not have John's contact details and would appreciate your passing on my thanks for a remarkable capture of the subject matter. Also, I would like to thank the staff at the 'box' for all their work in managing the refreshments and organisation of the day). I don't think anyone will be surprised by the evidence of work still to be done but having at last found the party (or started it), we need to open the bottles! This will be the subject of a de-brief meeting with John Powls in the near future. Again, thank you all for you particular effort and contribution". Brian Elmes UK National Offender Management. HM Prisons.
“With real thanks to you and the team we now have structure, clarity and direction. I know of no other approach or method that would have got us here, and certainly not this efficiently. Once again it has delivered beyond expectation. We needed this and it will have won us back at least 6 months in our ability to plan and create a clear strategy for the agency at a critical time.” Mark Grimshaw. COO. Child Support Agency.
US Government
John and Hazel,What a pleasure and an honor to have worked with you this week. Renee and I will be reaching out to you soon. We look forward to completing this engagement successfully, as well as planning our future endeavors with you. Without you, we will build a system; with you, we build our future. Many thanks and blessings. Barbera Bridgewater CEO Fourthought Group on The Medicaid Transformation program for the State Of Nebraska.
Creating strategy and planning change are easy when placed in the most relative terms. Our agency's main challenge is effectively communicating the new vision to leadership, stakeholders and staff directly affected by the changes. We asked Group Partners to partner with our agency and assist in our communication efforts. As the two-day workshop progressed, our varying thoughts and biased opinions of the proposed vision seemed to magically coalesce into one single strategy. The very talented facilitators guided us through a visual transformation that truly tells our story in the most simple, yet exciting way. Thanks to Group Partners, we are prepared to hold personal conversations, train large groups, and build the commitment and support necessary to see our vision come to full reality. - Tammy Williams, OKDHS / Family Support Services Division
Group Partners artfully guided us through a powerful two-day conversation that visually articulated project goals, illustrated distinct efforts essential to realize them, and revived consensus. - Jim Struby, Programs Administrator, OKDHS / Family Support Services Division
Professional Services
"John. First many thanks for the session yesterday. We felt that the day was really productive and very helpful in moving us forward. The methodology was robust and very credible whilst maintaining a good degree of flexibility. Particularly the graphical representation of the As-Is and To-Be was very good. There has been a positive response from the consortium (xxx,xxx) who engaged in the process, providing inputs, sharing information etc. Looking forward to the next phase". Olivier Djolian. Cap Gemini
"There was lots of good buzz about our day. I was at one end of the table so I didn’t get it all, but people really felt good. Catharsis. Feeling that the energy was going in the same direction. Good table setting. A sense that as much as anything, the job is to free up an massive organizational constipation. I think many people have in the back of their heads that it’s this or nothing. I wanted very much for this to not be her meeting and felt like we accomplished that" Kevin Hoffberg,
Retail, Consumer Goods and Services
"John, The Customer Journeys and overall connected strategy work was so powerful, thank you. This work is critical to the next stage of this change in the business. Head of Strategy. Marks & Spencer
"John I just wanted to say you both did an awesome job today. The approach worked beautifully, you facilitated with great touch and most crucially you got the client to the right place. Really well done to both of you. Big thanks.I'd have no hesitation in recommending you to others". Scottish & Newcastle. TK
“It really is unique and also great fun! I'd recommend it to any Board struggling to get their heads round future direction and key issues. And what Board isn't?” At last, I feel like we now have the picture on the jigsaw puzzle box.” Jo Howard. Business Strategy Director. WH Smith.
“The work we did together at WH Smith was really inspiring. The Contextual Framework enabled us to get real breakthrough thinking around the brand, in the context of the whole business. In any strategy work it's critical that the Board have shared understanding and alignment about where the business is going and the key issues it faces, and that they can see the whole business context, not just the immediate problem. However, in my experience, it's rare to achieve this. Your process delivers both". Jo Howard. Business Strategy Director. WH Smith.
Technology and Manufacturing
"The session achieved significant alignment around and motivation towards the challenge facing the DA Exec team to determine what we want to be in 20 years time, the shape and scope of the legacy we intend to secure for our successors, and the main levers that will need to be deployed in order to achieve this " Tony Woods Managing Director Rolls Royce Defence Aerospace
“This has completely exceeded our expectations, it is so critical to our business and without this event we would be in the dark ages forever.” Jim Devlin. President. Invensys Home Controls Division.
"At virtually no notice, John engaged on a critical workshop we had just picked up for an important client. Without fuss, John stepped in and blew them all away. Having also worked with John when I was at Microsoft, I can confirm that this is typical of John's level of engagement and output. I can not recommend John and Group Partners enough. Jim Lawn. Former Head of Innovation Microsoft. CEO Polecatting
"John - thanks for the prompt note and the feedback - internal feedback has been very positive with real engagement, motivation and interest across the extended leadership team - we have certainly kindled a thirst for more involvement which was the overriding objective together with an improved degree of acceptance and ownership. Sincere thanks to you, Hazel and Kelvin for your excellent preparation and work to facilitate and bring 'co-creation' (it's now in my dictionary!) to life on the day - despite my initial concerns it worked - extremely well ! We could not have scripted the feedback and style of Tim Flesher to be more apt also in my view - a better choice than even we realised at the time". Tony Wood. Managing Director - Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace
"John, Hazel. I trust you are both now home and can relax (hopefully no event tomorrow!). Thank you both very much for today and your input and expertise in moving the RRDA team forward. Tony's overall feedback on the two days as I left was "we probably delivered more than I expected; I'm a happy customer". Well done."
"With respect to my learning then feedback much appreciated, I felt very much the beginner again, learning a new language and framework different to my usual approach…but enjoyed in hindsight the experience. I'm sure the opportunity will occur with RRDA to work together again over the next few months but I hope we can find, if you feel it appropriate after today, the opportunity to work together again somewhere else. Would happily play second fiddle to someone else if you ever need an extra hand." Kelvin.
Communication Services and Media
"Thanks John. Great to hear and good work as ever. Nick Bishop was asking about you. Worth giving him a call. I am sure he would like to work with you from Grey. Glad to hear others think China is attractive!" Sir Martin Sorrell. Founder and CEO WPP Group plc
Energy and Utilities
"I've worked with John and Group Partners in two different roles now, inside the Cabinet Office and at United Utilities.
John and his team but particularly John bring unique insights into the issues that you're inevitably facing - whatever your industry you're probably up against internal silos that stifle progress, a lack of clarity on your vision and how you will execute against it, incomplete views of your customer and partners needs and inconsistent ways of managing and rewarding your teams. And 1001 other issues like this. --- John will absolutely bring a twist on the traditional views you and your company hold and will develop a roadmap for how to resolve them, presenting it in an unbelievable off-the-cuff freehand drawing that will allow you to present and discuss the issues to and with the rest of your business." Alan Mather
Travel
Structured Visual Thinking™ Group at Linked In 
John Caswell’s ‘Just Think’ Blog
Group Partners on Facebook 
John Caswell’s ‘Quotes’ Blog & Archive 
John Caswell @johncaswell on Twitter 
John Caswell on Facebook 
John Caswell at Google 
Contact John Caswell on SKYPE at johncaswell... 
John Caswell on Visual Thinkmap 
Visit our 21st Century demonstrator at Second Life 
Check out anything on Spezify Go to: 4D™, Structured Visual Thinking™, The Mission “The session was excellent. Thank you." Martin. P. George. Director of Marketing and Strategy. British Airways
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