Visualizing your business strategy

I love going to my office not only because I enjoy working in marketing, but my favorite toy lives there - my whiteboard.

My whiteboard and I go way back. We've buzzed with enthusiasm over the creation of hundreds of new ideas, and powered through strategic development for many hours together. The core of our relationship represents a crucial element to any marketing or business decision - visualization.

It all starts here
When you visualize something you've already begun the creation of it. Whether you want to acquire something or create it, it all begins in the mind. That dinner you might have cooked the other night began it's life in the beautiful engine behind your eyes. You could probably already taste that delicious, spicy pasta or honey-glazed chicken before you walked into the kitchen by visualizing it first. My salivary glands are kicking in as I type. Funny isn't it?

Our minds allow us to see an idea fully assembled before it's been created in real life. The inventor, Olympic athlete, or the kid who wants to grow up to be a fireman all have the first step complete in the idea process when they decide what their goal is.

Begin with the end in mind
My first rule for all of my business and marketing projects is to 'begin with the end in mind.' This is where the whiteboard comes in. When I moved into my office I did so with a clear goal of having maximum whiteboard space to outline projects for my clients. My board becomes a daily Jackson Pollock painting of business strategy, website development and marketing processes.

Idea creation requires visualization for many reasons, the most essential of which comes in the form of a roadmap or strategic board which serves to simplify the many complex facets of business today. When your project or business model is drawn out it's easier to see it's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats [S.W.O.T.]

Visualization techniques allow for big picture clarity that otherwise couldn't be reached by the mind or interchange of conversation and basic note-taking alone. There are many stories from business folk of great ideas worked out on cocktail napkins, because the idea popped up out of nowhere and needed to be worked through.

Can't you see it?
Finally, many in the marketing or creative industries are often gifted and/or well-practiced in their mind's eye and make the assumption that their clients are too. It's easy for a creative to see how the project would look, but not the client - they spend the majority of their time being experts at their chosen craft instead.

Visualization in a client meeting is a great way to bridge this gap and will make the entire project process much easier. I often draw out an idea as I'm explaining it because it helps both parties see what's vivid to me in my head.

I just recently discovered MindNode - a great mindmapping tool, which I've been using to great effect as a supplement to the whiteboard and great for branching the idea tree during business travel.

What tools do you use for visualization?

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