This one pager was for a series of performance coaching sessions I was Thank You for Being Late was the best book I read in 2019. I've since read it "What's the question you've not even thought to ask yet?". This one pager I spend a lot of time studying IBM's history. Not out of interest or nostalgia, mission critical thinking for executives”. I wanted to learn but because that's where I find inspirational stories that will shape our future. giving around “ twice again and captured the notes I scribbled in the margins onto this one was from an intense week studying the great science communicator and more about the OODA framework used for decision making and quality pager. It's an excellent read but requires your undivided attention, because it media celebrity Neil deGrasse Tyson, to prepare for a complicated keynote Oratleast a future where IBM has the ability to help. control in manufacturing, but I discovered that it’s also a powerful decision- challenges you. It talks about how long before COVID-19 we were already about Quantum Computing. making framework used by the military – most notably by the US Navy overwhelmed and in the middle of not one, not two, but THREE major crises. I was once encouraged by a senior exec to “become a student of IBM's “ .” history" because the future of progress will follow many similar patterns and SEALS. (Globalisation, technology and climate change). It's not enough to be right, you need to be effective processes of the past. WhenSEALSneedtomakeadecisionin a mission critical environment (read The way that Tom Friedman thoughtfully explores the crisis of "Markets”, Tysonis arguably the best science communicator around today. Whether he's during battle” or an “engagement”) they can’t afford to waste a second People often overlook this important aspect of their job because they “ "Moore's Law" and "Mother Nature" shows you exactly why he has 3 Pulitzer talking about quantum physics and the cosmos, or explaining the scientific because people’s lives depend on it. prizes to his name and has received the most ‘audience engagement’ in the method, he exudes the two qualities that matter most for any communicator. mistakenly think the past is not relevant. history of the New York Times, where he works as an opinion writer. . IBM helped to put man on the moon. It’s a company that has gifted 6 Nobel OODA means [Observe - Orient - Decide - Act]. It’s about survival of the Clarity and Energy fastest. And it’s as relevant in the boardroom as it is on the battlefield. I was lucky enough to spend some time with him in 2019 and was curious to Laureates to the world. It was founded by a guy who sold pianos to farmers find out how he became one of the world’s most influential journalists. “I’m Simplifying complexity by explaining something highly technical (in a in exchange for cows. He then handed the company off to his son who had no SEALCommanderMarkDivinesaid,“Whoevernavigates their OODA loop the not a journalist” he replied – “I’m in the heating and lighting business. Either language that anyone can understand) is a valuable skill that can be learned technical background whatsoever. IBM doesn't have a cool West Coast story fastest will always have the upper hand”. I’m illuminating something for you, so that you see it in a way you’ve not with a little effort, but few people possess. When you listen to a great about being founded in a garage, it talks about trying to make the world seen before – or I’m creating heat by stoking up an emotion in you”. communicator like Tyson, you often find yourself attracted to their positive work better by putting good humans in control of clever technology. Most of the notes on this one pager come from Mark's book, The Way of the energy and completely engaged with what they say. The words of great SEAL. I highly encourage you to take some time to understand more about Great advice for any thought leaders out there wanting to share their advice, communicators transfer energy to their audience in a way that creates an Making a one-pager of your company is time well spent. It’s a good exercise the OODAloopyourselfandhowitmayhelpyoutobemoreeffective. opinions and world views with anyone. Maybe that’s where we’ve been going emotional reaction. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a master at creating clarity and that helps you to not reduce everything down to a cliché mission statement wrong? Instead of thinking of ourselves as writers, we should really put energy. I highly recommend his lessons on Masterclass.com or his Cosmos or bumper sticker slogan. Why was your company (really) founded? What ourselves in the audience’s shoes and remember that we’re actually in the Series on Disney+ if you'd like to see him in action. might inspire your team and your colleagues to think differently? Go on an heating and lighting business. expedition as if you were an archaeologist looking to unearth the hidden * If you really want to geek out on Neil (and you should), watch him talking stories behind your company. I promise you, it will feel like an adventure and about his fountain pen collection and love of hand drawn notes on YouTube! no amount of time will be wasted. This one pager doesn’t look particularly inspiring, but it changed my life. One pagers help you to think differently. I needed to lead a few design “By being natural and sincere, one often can create revolutions without “Sustainability” is one of those over-used buzzwords that seems to be attached Drawn at the beginning of 2020 before I had any concept of what COVID-19 thinking workshops and I wanted to add my own spin as a communicator, having sought them”. to everything at the moment. A few short years ago #BigData, “social was about to unleash upon us all, I drew a plan for what I wanted my job to differentiating from every other design thinking workshop my audience had commerce” and the “fourth industrial revolution” seemed to be the answer to becomeandthenewbusinessunitwithinIBMthatIwantedtocreate. been in before. This graphic is far too dull to do any kind of justice to design This one pager helped me to process a point of view I was struggling with everything (no matter what the question was). Today it’s SDG’s, ESG, triple thinking, but is more an exercise in me thinking with my pen as I read the around personal and luxury branding. Christian Dior founded Dior when he bottom lines and sustainability. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because . Well worth a read. IBM prides itself on it’s entrepreneurial spirit which is why I often refer to the excellent book Change By Design by Tim Brown of IDEO wasaged42afterseveral failures (inspiration for all us forty-somethings), but sometimes you need to get people to do the right things for the wrong organisation as a 110-year old start-up. It’s a nice phrase, but actually acting as his fashion brand started to grow, he came under pressure to ‘brand’ reasons, but still, it’s fair to say that there is a huge amount of corporate green- “ like a start-up is 10X more complicated than talking like one. So on New Years It's not tools that you have faith in. Tools are just tools. They work or they himself. He tried. He exercised. Ate a healthier diet. Took spas and had washing going on these days. The Danish architect Bjarke Ingels is one of my Day I drew this one pager containing everything that I thought I needed to don't work. It's people you have faith in or not..." massages. Bought new suits. He even wore a flower in his buttonhole. He favourite humans who became an architect when he realised he couldn’t have a embrace personally. If I was to think more like a start-up entrepreneur within hated it. Acknowledging that the gap between his “imaginary” personal career creating comic books. Bjarke came up with the concept of “Hedonistic the complexity of working for a company with over 300,000 employees I Design Thinking is all about problem solving my putting yourself in your brand and reality was too wide, he just went back about his business and Sustainability” which suggests that living sustainably should not be a sacrificial knewIneededaplan! customer’s shoes and seeing things from their perspective. I wondered if I accepted who he was. “A well-fed gentleman in a neutral-coloured suit”. Dior investment for the greater good. Sustainable design should be fun. It should could “invent” a slightly different process that might help people to avoided schmoozing with the social elite and the people who thought he also be vibrant and improve the quality of life for individuals. It worked. I shouldn’t have doubted the process! One year after creating this communicate better. needed a brand. Instead, he preferred to hang out with nature. Whenever he one pager, I moved into a global role leading a purpose-driven storytelling needed inspiration, he wandered around his rose garden. And when he Living sustainably often means doing without. Don’t drive your car… eat less practice and owning a process called Communications Thinking which didn’t MaybeCommunicationsThinking? needed to design an important collection, he hid away in the forest with his meat… switch off the lights.. Watch less TV… take shorter showers... But what if exist until I started drawing these one pagers. All I knew was that I wanted pencils and sketchbooks for a couple of weeks. Sounds like heaven. living sustainably meant that you could have the life you wanted, while my job to impact a “triple bottom line” (people / planet / profits). I knew I Goodartists copy, great artists steal? protecting the planet and serving your local community at the same time? It’s a wanted to speak more about sustainability. I knew that I needed to become I really admire the carefully crafted personal brands of business leaders like provocative point of view but an interesting one. I couldn’t decide if it was a customer’s” with “audience’s” I wrote down “problem more inspired by scientists and I needed to be able to write more like poets, Just by replacing “ Tom Ford, but I think we often worry far too much about our own “image”. clever marketing gimmick to promote Bjarke’s practice or a genuinely preachers and philosophers. So for 2020 all I did was watch, read and listen solving by putting yourself in the audience’s shoes and telling a relevant Especially on social media. I prefer Dior’s more romantic personal brand sustainable business model. So I drew his TED talk and studied his manifesto. to the small group of leaders who I wrote here. It’s one of the few new years story that resonates with them.” values. The ones that include spending time to think in your garden; armed My one pager helped me conclude that it was the latter, mostly because it resolutions I have actually kept. And it made ALL the difference. only with colouring pencils, paper, a glass of wine and some good cheese. doesn’t just appeal to environmentally friendly middle class eco-warriors. It’s a AndsoCommunicationsThinkingwasborn. concept that could work for everyone. And it might even save the planet.