Visual Support for Strategic Meetings

Complexity Conference: Improving the NHS through the lens of Complexity
University of Exeter 24/25/26 September 2003

Here are four pictures I drew at the conference.Their purpose is to trigger learning conversations at your workplace this week about what you got from the conference with your colleagues when they ask you, "..so what did you get out of that conference, then?"

Using these Pictures
Each thumbnail has a larger printable version attached. Print out the pictures and display them on the wall in your office, have them lying around on the table at a meeting, or explicitly engage a colleague in a discussion. Please let me know if these pictures do spark off any new trains of thought or informal discussions with your colleagues. If you would like better quality versions or high quality colour copies please contact me.

Rational pathways? [Larger printable version]	Dancing not marching [Larger printable version]
The Mask of Composure [Larger printable version]	Drowning in 400 targets [Larger printable version]
*Visual Dialogue* Visual Dialogue is a process in which pictures are used to encourage people to speak more specifically and personally about their work. This naturally promotes sharing of experience which is the key to developing the better working relationships that lead to improving performance. *The biggest barrier to change is the way we talk about it!* My experience is that in many organisations conversations on change can be smothered in abstractions, generalisations and theories. The language used is distant and vague. The result is that meetings and workshops become disconnected from People's experience leading to confusion, a lack of clarity and little or no action. Yet the difficult but important subjects are avoided, or made safe and unthreatening by generalisations in which the truth gets hidden away and lost. This way of speaking is so ingrained that we are barely aware that we do it. The process of making and using pictures is a powerful way to change the way people talk at work about what is really important. Complexity: a new perspective for the NHS and its partners 17/18/19 September 2002 - University of Exeter - Graphic facilitation outputs
Drowning in 400 targets [Larger printable version, 350kb ]	Silencing the self [350kb version]
The fantasy of control [300kb version]	Which paradigm? [2 50kb version]
To see more examples of graphic facilitation outputs from other workshops and conferences go to my home page for further information please contact Julian Burton 0208 516 6447 / 077 9000 7560 julian@delta7.com