VIsuaL thInKIng desIgn 147 O c t o b e r , 2 0 0 6 The meeting room walls are plastered with large posters on which a group of 14 people are assiduously sketching drawings and pasting Post-it™ notes. Though the scene almost has the atmosphere of an art class, it’s taking place at the headquarters of Hewlett-Packard, the technology products and services giant . . . O c t o b e r , 2 0 0 6 The meeting room walls are plastered with large posters on which a group of 14 people are assiduously sketching drawings and pasting Post-it™ notes. Though the scene almost has the atmosphere of an art class, it’s taking place at the headquarters of Hewlett-Packard, the technology products and services giant . . . . . . The 14 participants hail from throughout HP, but all are involved in information management. They’ve gathered here for a one-day workshop to literally draw a picture of how a global enterprise should manage information fl ows. Dave Gray, founder and chairman of consultancy XPLANE, is facilitating the meeting. XPLANE uses visual thinking tools to help clients clarify problems involving everything from corporate strategy to operational implementations. Together with an XPLANE artist, Dave helps the 14 HP specialists gain a better understanding of the big picture of information sharing in a global enterprise. The group uses the posted sketches to discuss information sharing, to identify relationships between elements, to fi ll in missing pieces, and to develop a joint understanding of multiple issues. With a knowing smile, Dave talks about a common miscon- ception: that one shouldn’t draw something until one under- stands it. On the contrary, he explains, sketches—however rudimentary or amateurish—help people better describe, discuss, and understand issues, particularly those of a complex nature. For the 14 Hewlett-Packard collaborators, XPLANE’s visualization approach has worked beautifully. They gathered as 14 specialists with deeply individual understandings, but parted with a simple one-page image of how a global enterprise should manage infor- mation. XPLANE’s client roster, which reads like a who’s who of the world’s most successful companies, testifi es to the growing number of organizations that understand the value of this type of visual thinking. bmgen_final.indd 147 6/15/10 5:40 PM