Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity

Innovation, employee engagement, and organizational productivity are top-of-mind topics today in most executive suites. I receive at least 1-2 books each month on these topics to read and review. I select very few, selecting only those which provide a fresh, new insight. "Visual Meetings" is one of those. Rather than expounding on the need for addressing the topics, Author David Sibbet, a world leader in graphic facilitation and visual thinking for groups, provides much needed tools to use when transforming an organization for success and survival. These are proven tools for increasing creativity, employee engagement, and productivity.In the realm of creativity, I have seen visual tools used successfully in workshops at IDEO. In the realm of employee engagement and organizational productivity, I have seen their use by Ram Charan in planning sessions which have had a significant impact on engagement and organizational focus/productivity. Different tools were used by each facilitator."Organizations are no longer able to handle the complexity of what we are facing. In the face of confusion, people at work and people in meetings retreat into simplistic explanations and intolerant positions of non-listening. Visual language and visual listening can be a hopeful response to these kinds of problems. Visualization is a powerful way to resolve confusions and groups that arise from inadequate or conflicting mental models. This is crucial when those models involve our ideas of how work gets done, how teams cooperate, how to make decisions, how to organize, and how to learn."Visualization works because certain areas of the mind cannot distinguish between what you see with your eyes and what you see with your mind. Patterns, trends and correlations that might go undetected in text-based data can be exposed and recognized easier with visual tools. They connect the heart and the mind, providing access to a deep internal perspective and use of the right brain that is lacking. The author has observed that people working visually have better ideas, make better decisions, and are more committed to producing results.Drivers leading to the adoption of visual tools and visual meetings include:1. Organizations must work leaner and quicker.2. Organizational success and survival demands working across functions, geography, and cultural boundaries.3. It is getting harder to get people to make sense of the avalanche of available information4. Alignment and follow-through from meetings critically important to productivity and engagement.5. Groups must be able to think big picture, over longer periods of time.6. Rapid trend changes require everyone to upgrade their mental models of how things work on a frequent basis. Without this, impatience and resistance will be a major obstacle."Visual Meetings" gives the reader the toolbox and tricks to unlock creativity, collaboration, and breakthrough thinking. The book is organized around the following topics:* What if Meetings Were Truly Fun and Productive?* Why Visual Learning is So Compelling (and Easy)* Mapping Ideas and Finding Key Patterns* Graphics for Enacting Plans* Seeing It All Come TogetherSeveral sub-sections of note include: why visualization is worth 80 IQ points; how using pictures gets people to interact and collaborate; problem solving with visual tools; innovation and change using visual tools; and how to plant seeds of a real revolutions in meetings. Sibbet covers tools such as the use of sticky notes and dots (IDEO's classic visual tool), writing on the wall, the use of graphic templates (provided), visual documentation, the use of tablets in web meetings, and visualizing goals, roles, and action plans.Visual meeting techniques will provide the much needed breakthrough for achieving extraordinary results in innovation, employee engagement, and organizational productivity. This book provides a comprehensive "how-to-do-it" tool kit with clear instructions and many examples of how others around the globe have used these techniques with great success.

I liked the info and was able to immediately incorporate some of the principles and concepts to improve my own note taking. It could be called a sales pitch for the writer's company, though it is somewhat subtle.

I`ve been a David Sibbet fan for many years. You are hereby forewarned that what follows is hopelessly biased. That said, brotherly love only goes so far. If this book were crap, I`d find a way to say so. But blessedly, and predictably, this book is way off scale in the other direction.This is a fully useful manual of David's years of facilitation creativity in a form that is immediately accessible. If you are looking for a set of tools to make an insanely great improvement in your thinking and meeting chops, here you are. If you want some philosophical food for thought about understanding, perception, communication, design, teamwork and awareness, just keep reading. If you want to get beyond the dreary clutches of way too many powerpoint bullets, or you want to do something with a projected image that transcends PP, David's got a practice for you. If you really believe you can't draw, David will gently disabuse you of that notion and have you making intelligent marks in the first few pages.Get a pad of paper and some pens and get reading and doodling. Then watch what happens at the first meeting you go to. After the first thirty pages of getting inspired, I tried some graphic notes on my iPad at the last film festival board meeting. Had a lot of fun, kept me awake, and then at the end the secretary asked to include them with her scribblings. Next week I take on a meeting of my own to facilitate and I'm trying the iPad trick on a projector, mixed with some pre prepared drawings as well. If nothing else, and there is much else, David delivers a dose of high flying courage to us shy people. David is one of the most courageous guys I know. And it comes through the pages nicely.David and his book get five stars. It's always a privilege to spend time with him in whatever form. Please don't miss this chance.

The content and quality needs updating. The quality of the images is so poor in comparison to the Business Model books. The paper is pulpy and cheap, too.The content is helpful, but some of the examples seem really old.

Some of us listen better with a pen or pencil in our hands. A lot of us probably got chastised for this in school -- I certainly did. If you're like me, inside this book you'll find not only a whole support group for your doodling habits, but an explanation for why drawing while listening (or watching someone draw while listening) actually makes it easier to follow a conversation and to retain what was said. It's also a wonderful introduction to the field of visual practice.Visual Meetings is written in a clear, concise style. It explains how to facilitate meetings and engage groups in a whole new way. If you are already a facilitator, this book will take you the rest of the way to start doing it visually. If you are a beginning facilitator, there are lots of tips to help you grow more confident and skilled. And if you're thinking "but I can't draw," don't worry! You can do everything in this book too. Step-by-step descriptions tell you how to do everything from developing a basic visual vocabulary, to hanging large sheets of paper, to managing groups of all sizes and kinds. It's a great resource for practicing visual facilitators, too. I recommend it very highly.

...conseguir executar, muitas vezes, nos falta a capacidade Grafica. No entanto, quando apreendemos a técnica este conhecimento Começa a fluir.

Me parece un libro muy integrado en su temática y que aborda los tópicos más relevantes de una junta en la que se usa la facilitación gráfica.

J'y ai trouvé mon bonheur pour optimiser les méthodes visuelles d'animation de réunion et d'entretien. Et facile à lire même si vous ne maîtrisez pas l'anglais.

Questo libro regala buone idee e la voglia di migliorare la comunicazione anche a livello personale. Va bene anche per chi studia o per chi lavora da tempo ma si annoia un po. Unica pecca e la scelta della carta e la mancanza di colore, che invece ti aspetti. Ma comunque un ottimo acquisto.

On one level this book shares some great tips and guidance on using easy-to-apply tips to get even the most non-artist drawing.On another level it is one of the best books you will find on how to facilitate meetings, people and ideas - and is truly an outstanding book from a seasoned, experienced practitioner who is open, candid and profound.I was compelled to write this after seeing some of the other disparaging reviews posted here.If you are serious about the business of creating and selling ideas, discovering insights and want to make the most of your potential and others - buy this book.