Why are toddlers faster to pick up drawing and scribbling images than they are to learn their ABCs?
We learn our first lessons in life by seeing things around us, so naturally, there’s a stronger inclination to recall information from visuals rather than words.
If you have ever used flashcards for exams, you would know what it feels like to have a mental snapshot of one of the cards suddenly appearing in front of your eyes in the middle of answering a question. It’s absolutely magical how your brain stores information visually!
That’s why whenever we see a problem, we can understand it better. Our brains typically perceive it in six ways — why, who/what, how much, where, when, and how. That’s the <6><6> visual thinking framework coined by Dan Roam, international bestselling author of the “Back of a Napkin” and the inspiration behind our own book, The S.T.A.R. System.
The Story, Takeaway, Application, and Reflection system structures problem-solving in business into a simple four-step process. Within it, the <6><6> visual thinking framework plays a pivotal role in breaking down complex issues into manageable parts to encourage an innovative and collaborative solution-finding experience.
Think about a company that you admire, or simply choose your own company. If you visualise it as a pie chart with six parts, you can see that an illustration of the business requires addressing six fundamental questions, each representing a crucial aspect of the whole business.
As you explore these questions, the company’s story begins to unfold. It’s a vital step for promoting a deeper understanding of the business and developing a better management strategy to navigate challenges and opportunities.
Also Read: Rewiring our world: How neuroscience unlocks the secret to sustainable tech
When a business hits a roadblock or a plateau, or when its core messages are derailed amidst a complex and volatile environment, these fundamental questions help in revealing gaps and divergences. The deeper you drill down on each slice of the pie, the richer your discovery of areas requiring action to be taken.
One could write pages and pages of words to break down and analyse challenges, but the chances of a lot of the ideas getting lost in translation are high. However, if you also render your thoughts in illustrations, it’s easier to visually ‘see’ and understand the gaps and retain information relevant to addressing issues that impact your business. This is why the “Draw as I Think” approach works so effectively in business management.
Consider the scenario whereby you are in the F&B industry. When you think about target customer(s), you may draw specific demographics which include members of a family, such as parents, kids and even pets. When you think about customer fulfilment, you may draw what your customers need. Therefore, you are reflecting on Who you cater your offerings to and the decisions you take to satisfy your customers.
What you draw is a reflection on how you process information. It’s an expression of your own understanding. Drawing is a thinking process, not an artistic one. Draw to give greater clarity to your thoughts and improve understanding. Regardless of your artistic abilities, drawing the problems and their solutions, albeit simple stick figures and diagrams, can often reveal possible solutions in a similarly straightforward manner. All you need is paper and pencil.
This article was co-authored by Sherrie Low, and their book can be found here, with workshops available here.
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