154 VIsuaL thInKIng desIgn 154 Explore Ideas play A visual business model also provides opportunity for play. With the elements of a model visible on a wall in the form of individual Post-it™ notes, you can start discussing what happens when you remove certain elements or insert new ones. For example, what would happen to your busi- ness model if you eliminated the least profi table Customer Segment? Could you do that? Or do you need the unprofi table segment to attract profi table customers? Would eliminating unprofi table cus- tomers enable you to reduce resources and costs and improve services to profi table customers? A visual model helps you think through the systemic impact of modifying one element or another. idea trigger The Business Model Canvas is a bit like an artist’s canvas. When an artist starts painting, he often has a vague idea—not an exact image—in mind. Rather than starting in one corner of a canvas and executing sequentially, he starts wherever his muse dictates and builds the painting organically. As Pablo Picasso said, “I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.” Picasso saw ideas as nothing more than points of departure. He knew they would evolve into something new during their explication. Crafting a business model is no different. Ideas placed in the Canvas trigger new ones. The Canvas becomes a tool for facilitating the idea dialogue—for individuals sketching out their ideas and for groups developing ideas together. Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas Explore Ideas play A visual business model also provides opportunity for play. With the elements of a model visible on idea trigger The Business Model Canvas is a bit like an artist’s canvas. When an artist starts painting, he often bmgen_final.indd 154 6/15/10 5:41 PM