The stories below describe how a combination of 3D methods and insightful questions asked in the moment deliver quick and powerful results when facing problems such as future visioning, decision-making and planning.
Twelve farm workers learn to run a farm
Twelve South African farm workers with no business experience, many of whom were unable to read, inherited a farm as a result of land redistribution. They needed to become business people, fast. We had just two hours to help them understand their business reality and come up with a practical strategy. Talking was not going to do it - what they needed was a picture.
We cleared the room of chairs, turning the floor into the farm. Card and felt-tip pens positioned the river and fields, upturned chairs became the barns and buildings, a bowl of flowers was raided to become trees and crops. The workers then walked on their 'farm', answering my questions about chickens, corn and fertilizer. Timing of the planting, quantities of seed, source of supply and equipment became easy to comprehend. Understanding costing, cash-flow and strategic planning happened instantly and simultaneously. Their future became reality under their feet because they could see it and touch it.
The session ended and they left equipped, yet they had written no notes. They had not needed to because the picture of the future they had created was burned into their brains. It was theirs, as were the steps they had visualized to achieve it.
Eighteen leaders agree on their vision
Eighteen senior leaders had one morning in which to agree on their strategic vision. They needed to be sure that each person would be heard and the group would come away with one truly common perception and understanding of the vision.
To facilitate the sharing of personal perceptions of the vision we cleared the tables of pens and paper and built individual sculptures of wood and clay. Each person then described their sculptures, a non-threatening way to be heard and understood.
One clear, physical picture of the future emerged for all to see and we able to record the common ground that had been established. Each person now had the same vision.
A group learns to innovate together
A group at a two-hour university innovative thinking session was experiencing difficulty in generating ideas, the process complicated by dynamics in the group. To sidestep the dynamics problem, we traded worksheets and pens for 3D objects from which each person built a representation of a proposed solution.
This method ensured that everyone had the chance to share his or her idea while the rest of the group could literally see the solution. The list of ideas grew considerably, providing ample solutions by the end of the session.
A small-business owner moves forward
A small-business owner had reached a plateau in her business and was immobilized. How could she work on the business rather than in the business and move on to new success?
We chose a quick and cost-effective way to explore future scenarios – we turned them into 3D models. The business owner could now fully visualize her ideas. Before the morning was over she could also see how she would get to the scenario she chose. She had created a way forward and a logical action plan followed easily.
3D. Think a whole new box.
