To become a visual thinker requires three shifts.
The first shift is from consumption to creation.
This is the decision to not just passively take in new information, but actively create something in response to what you’re learning about or working on.
The act of creation takes energy, which often feels in short supply, but the effort you put in comes back to you many times over when you consider the lifetime value of a useful artifact.
The second shift is from words to visuals.
For many of us, this means moving away from what we’re most comfortable with. Since our education system de-prioritizes drawing toward the end of elementary school, that’s when most of us stopped doing it.
We’ve gone years without making any type of mark besides letters. But bringing visuals into your system of sensemaking unlocks a new avenue for understanding. It gives your brain something to latch onto, something more tangible than a string of words.
Like the first shift, this one requires effort too, not to mention a bit of discomfort as you overcome a fear of drawing or the perceived childishness of making simple sketches.
As Adam Grant tells us in his book Hidden Potential, embracing discomfort is a key character skill for those who want to achieve great things. Once again, the payoff is worth it.
The third shift is from fragments to frameworks.
It’s not enough to just draw a little sketch for each of the key ideas you’re working with. That provides some benefit, but it misses out on the thing that makes visual thinking so powerful: the ability to make systems visible.
That’s why I encourage you to make models. Bring together the ideas you’re working with into a cohesive diagram or drawing. Look for connections as you seek out an overarching structure that all of the details can fit into. Solve the puzzle.
This shift toward synthesis once again requires effort, but the satisfaction that comes with finding a framework that fits makes it all worth it.
From consumption to creation.
From words to visuals.
From fragments to frameworks.
These are the shifts in your system of sensemaking that result in visual artifacts that will allow you to think, act, and communicate in alignment with the best of your mind, not just the first thing that comes to mind.
I’d love to help you or your team makes these shifts. Check out our programs to learn more about how.
Cheers,
-Doug