Home //

Create Shared Understanding to Solve Problems with These Visualization Tools

You see problems in the organization, and others don’t. But you can’t fix these problems alone—you need those other people and their cooperation. Instead of talking through the problems, learn to create and share visualizations: Force Field Analysis, concept mapping, and connection circles. When you collaborate on creating the visuals, you set the stage for joint problem-solving.

Bring paper and a pencil, because you will practice.

Outline:

  1. Discuss the kinds of problems you can’t solve alone. For example, all the cultural agility problems: fund teams, not people; move from resource-efficiency to flow-efficiency thinking; focus on collaboration, not individual “productivity.”
  2. Explain Force Field Analysis and when to use it.
  3. Explain Concept Mapping and when to use it.
  4. Explain Connection Circles and when to use it.
  5. You will practice in pairs. Choose your visualization, agree on a problem, and work through your problem with your colleague.
  6. We will debrief together.

Johanna Rothman

About Johanna Rothman

Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice for your tough problems. She helps leaders and teams learn to see simple and reasonable things that might work. Equipped with that knowledge, they can decide how to adapt their product development.

With her trademark practicality and humor, Johanna is the author of 18 books about many aspects of product development. She’s written these books:

  • Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility
  • Become a Successful Independent Consultant
  • Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer
  • Modern Management Made Easy series: Practical Ways to Manage Yourself; Practical Ways to Lead and Serve (Manage) Others; Practical Ways to Lead an Innovative Organization
  • Write a Conference Proposal the Conference Wants and Accepts
  • From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams (with Mark Kilby)
  • Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver
  • Agile and Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization
  • Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects, 2nd edition
  • Project Portfolio Tips: Twelve Ideas for Focusing on the Work You Need to Start & Finish
  • Diving for Hidden Treasures: Finding the Value in Your Project Portfolio (with Jutta Eckstein)
  • Predicting the Unpredictable: Pragmatic Approaches to Estimating Project Schedule or Cost
  • Manage Your Job Search
  • Hiring Geeks That Fit
  • The 2008 Jolt Productivity award-winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management
  • Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (with Esther Derby)

In addition to articles and columns on various sites, Johanna writes the Managing Product Development blog on her website, jrothman.com, as well as a personal blog on createadaptablelife.com.

More About Johanna »

ARE YOU READY TO GET STARTED?

Two and a half days of insightful sessions, inspiring ideas, and meeting your peers. Learn the skills and methods that will take your organization to the next level.

REGISTER NOW