The power of visualization
The first time I really grasped what visualization can bring was years ago at a leadership bootcamp at ABN AMRO. The facilitator was Mark McGregor, a brilliant, highly energetic and positive Canadian leadership development guru. The central theme of the bootcamp was 'being on mission’. All exercises could be linked to the ‘being on mission’ theme, even getting up before the sun for a run and bootcamp with the group. What stood out for me was ‘The Indiana Jones Bridge Riddle’ exercise. Which is all about getting Indiana Jones, his old companion, a random passer-by and a foxy lady to safety, because they’re about to be killed by a train on a bridge or caught by the bad guys. And although I like adventure, and - don’t tell anyone - I had a childhood crush on Indiana, that’s probably not why I remember this exercise. The thing is: at first you think you cannot save all people in danger, you even start discussing how to minimize the damage (who to sacrifice). But in this case with the help of visualization a paradigm shift can happen. Mark conveniently didn’t mention this up-front...
“Kind of obvious that we were not doing well..”
Let me take you back to this leadership bootcamp. Imagine a room full of young, eager future leaders of this big bank, trying… really, really hard to find a solution. After a while it was total chaos, everybody talking, volume louder and louder. You could feel the confusion and friction in the air: were we really supposed to sacrifice someone? And if so, who should it be? If you have ever been to a training like this you know the type of people in the group and how they usually act when together. Focussed, ambitious, full of ideas, probably a bit cocky, but this time puzzled and not able to solve the riddle.
This was the moment Mark had waited for. He gathered everyone around him and asked how we were doing. Kind of obvious that we were not doing well. That’s when he suggested using visualization to solve the riddle. We all went back to our groups happy to try this method that could maybe help to fix the problem. Looking back there were at least two ways to use visualization to find a solution. One, drawing the scenario’s on a whiteboard and two, simulating the scenario's via acting. Both proofed to be very effective, because they led to Indiana Jones saving his old companion, a random passer-by and not to forget, the foxy lady. We fixed the problem...
Three reasons why visualization works
So what happened? Process-wise there were three challenges that visualization resolved:
1. Getting on the same page.
When working together with a group on a (life threatening) problem it is important to understand each other. No reading between the lines. When working with people this is always challenging. An international environment with different levels of directness makes it even more complex and confusing. Visualization helps to get a clear view of the situation, because you not only hear the details, you also see them. That way it’s easier to understand what the other person means and it’s also easier to spot a bottleneck.
Visualization to explain used methods in project.
2. Seeing if a solution actually works.
Initially there didn’t seem to be a perfect solution in the Indiana Jones case. And since we were only talking about it, it was quite complex to see what the result of a solution would be. It actually felt like we were having the same discussions over and over again. We even started designing solutions that were sub-optimal, at best. We started using visualization, in this case really acting out the scenario’s. So one person was Indiana Jones, someone the random passer-by et cetera, from that point it took maybe 5 minutes to solve the problem. If a scenario didn’t work you could tell within seconds and when we were (finally) going in the right direction visualization made that obvious.
Visualization of customer experience.
3. Easy decision making.
Last but not least: easy decisions. We visualized the problem and all our perspectives together by drawing and we acted through the solution. Together we created a common view, every team member drew a part of the picture an therefor became co-owner of the solution. In the end the decision making had already taken place during the process. It didn’t take a lot of effort at all.
Score card for decision making.
Long story short: just do it!
If you’re working with a group of people on a challenge and you want to create a common view, find a solution that actually works while not spending too much time on decision making, use visualization! I can hear you think: Great idea, but how?? Well, just do it! Buy a nice set of markers or start by acting out scenario’s. Don’t be shy, you will get immediate results and trust me, it is fun and you will get better at it every day!
The Indiana Jones Bridge Riddle - do try at home
Indiana Jones, his old companion, a random passer-by and a foxy lady are being chased by bad guys. They need to cross a very small bridge over a long and deep gorge. The bridge only has one track and Indiana has a small cart that needs to be operated manually and only 2 persons fit on it. It is so dark that it is impossible to cross the bridge without the usage of the cart. The party has just one cart, so whenever two people cross, they are constrained to the speed of the slower person. Indiana Jones can cross the bridge in 5 minutes. The foxy lady can cross in 10 minutes. His old companion needs 20 minutes, and the passer-by needs 25 minutes. In one hour a train will pass by. What can they do to escape the train and the bad guys?
And what about the picture accompanying this post? In 2010 I visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia where the Khmer used visualization to preserve their history. A beautiful place worth visiting that gave me a Indiana Jones vibe.
