Category: Model

Storytelling in a Nutshell

I came across this great infographic regarding storytelling.

Storytelling in a Nutshell
The Clues to a Great Story

Why do I like it? It’s visual, and it puts a structure on something that you know implicitly yourself but you might not have found the pattern.

Source: https://blog.ted.com/how-to-tell-a-great-story-visualized/

In case you want to know more, I suggest that you read The Hero with a thousand Faces. But be warned, it’s a tough read, simply because it is now (due to this book?) so obvious.

 

Visual Thinking with IBIS

Finally.

I released the first version of my IBIS notation editor to the Mac App Store today. Over the next weeks will I need to polish it and beautify the supporting material like screenshots, etc. But have a look here: https://kneupner.de/software/visual-thinking-ibis

So what is IBIS? I found this page as an introduction. The same author did one more blog on the topic. The author (Chris Tomich) did a good job. If you want to understand more, read the book from Paul Culmsee and Kailash Awati.

I disabled the comments for this blog post. Please comment on the software page. 

How Tesla will Change your Life

I want to make you aware of this great blog entry that is named similar as this posting. The author (Tim Urban) goes a lot deeper than many other articles that I have seen on this topic. It is a homage to Elon Musk and his Tesla company, but you get a lot more out of it. Having known most of it I am still impressed. Well researched, nicely elaborated on the context, skilfully put together. 

Why am I so impressed by this article? Because the article goes way beyond the usual superficial answers. It is the best application of the “5 Whys Model” that I have seen so far. The outset of the article is about the Tesla car company. But to provide the full understanding of the material the author goes back to evolution. 

The authors blog is worth looking at.

The Dancing Guy, Second Interpretation

I already posted this video earlier as an example course in leadership. But now I found a second interpretation around consumer adoption. 

Some background to this version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_lifecycle (Moore’s Chasm version is an adoption of Rogers’s version)

Which version do you like better? And now we need to think, is the guy with the green shirt the first follower or the first customer? If he is the first customer then what did he buy? Or is there no real difference between first follower or first customer. 

Did you find a 3rd interpretation? 

Please let me know…

Business Motivation Model

I mentioned the Business Motivation Model earlier. The Business Motivation Model is a model that explains core terminology for an organisation. The model is an OMG standard.

I got aware of the model during a conference when one of the main authors (the Business Rules expert Ronald Ross) explained it briefly. It doesn’t surprise that he uses the model to explain how Business Rules fit into an organisation.

I used the model to define the strategy of our department. The big advantage is that it explains easily the difference between concepts like “Vision”, “Mission”, “Goal”, “Objective”, “Strategy”, and “Tactic”. Having the clear distinction of these terms facilitates discussions that allow focusing on the “why” behind your activities. The terminology and relationships between the concepts provided by the model make it simple to see the bigger picture and how everybody’s work relate to our goals.

The model includes further related concepts as can be seen from the diagram on the right side. 

The “Why”

Sometimes, so see/hear/learn something that immediately connects with some loose ends that you have in your mind. During my MBA did “learn” about the importance of strategy. How everybody needs to understand the connection between the current work and the overall direction. Every now and then you can extend your understanding. On a conference in June about EA and BPM for example, did I learn about the “Business Motivation Model” which can be used to describe the main concepts like vision, mission, goals, and strategies. And now, on my “Leading Others” course, this video was shown. Another tidbit, that connects some pieces of the puzzle. Enjoy.

New Mindmap: Enterprise Architecture as a Strategy

I released another of my mindmaps. This is on an Enterprise Architecture book that I can recommend for people working in the EA area or for people coming from the business side to IT. I refer to the 4 maturity stages on a regular base as the model sets the scene for much of my current work.

Knowing a bit more about myself

One of the most interesting things in life for me is to understand myself better. How do I react to my environment? And why do I react the way you do? Since I started thinking about myself I am able to work on myself. Patterns arise and understanding grows. Knowing myself allows me to playing to my strengths and therefore improves my personal happiness.

One of the things that I enjoy are self-assessments. A good self-assessment explains some facets of your personality. The most interesting for me was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). In case you are interested: I wrote my personal result on my webpage.  The quickest assessment so far was a PI assessment that I had to provide prior to my interview for my current job. HR draw a very precise picture of me just on the base of a few selections of mine. Stunning! I found another interesting test a couple of days ago. It is called PersonalDNA. I quite enjoyed it and realised that the results are quite consistent with what I know about myself. I quite like as well the Johari Window. Make your own Johari Window here.

Good luck on your own journey to yourself. Clearly, assessments are only a small step on the way. But nonetheless, please let me know if you know good assessments.