Paint A Compelling Picture

Visual story maps lend a human touch to abstract communication.

- Tracey Swanepoel And Lisa Shippey

A number of years ago, we got a call from one of South Africa’s largest petrochemical/mining companies, their frustration clearly evident. Having just been through a significant restructuring exercise, they had called in various big consultancy firms for this process. They had created a new operating model, a new vision, and an ideal/aspirational culture. Being a firm of highly-structured industrial engineers, they had spent the previous year trying various approaches to onboard employees, and to roll this out—including workshops and brown paper sessions. They were astute enough to realise that they were getting nowhere fast, and they were keen to try a different approach. When we look at their operating model (Figure 1)it is clearly evident why it was not catching on. Although a beautiful piece of theory, its abstract nature made it unattainable, forgettable and confusing—despite the highly skilled nature of the employees.