by Lisa | Sep 11, 2019 | Business, Money
Crazy as it may seem, the end of the year is quickly approaching. Before you know it you’re going to be pulling out winter clothes and then putting up your Christmas tree. However, if you’re managing a company budget and have some excess you’re probably looking for a way to spend it in a way that will benefit the company. Here are a few ideas:
Strategic Planning with a Graphic Facilitator
With the team developing new ideas for the upcoming quarter or even the upcoming new year, bring in a graphic facilitator! Through graphic recording, you can really get the ideas flowing and new strategies to the forefront. The See in Colors team loves helping your company develop plans of action to really help your ideas shine and get things done!
Animation Video showing your accomplishments for the year
There’s no better time to reflect than the very end of the year which conveniently falls in line with your end of the year budget. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can pull in an animator and highlight all the accomplishments and high points of the previous year. It’s a great way to end a year and hype your team up for what’s to come in the new one.
Professional Development for your team
There are always more skills and developments that can be learned. Technology and science are constantly evolving and keeping your business updated is a great way to ensure success in the long run. Professional development is costly, but if you have a lot of leftover in your budget this is a great way to invest that money back into your business through education and making your team more effective.
Staff Retreat
Staff retreats are a great way to pull your employees together and help them get to know each other outside of a typical work setting. Your office is increasingly more effective when your employees all get along and know each other on a deeper level. This is also just a great way to treat them and thank them for being such a great team!
Sign up for a conference
Conferences are a great way to educate your employees, but they get everyone out of the office and hold a lot of networking potential. If you can find a conference in a great location that’s not too far but also contains fun things to do in addition to lectures, your employees will be able to view it as a type of staff retreat rather than just an informational business trip.
Want to learn more about how our services can help you prepare for the end of the year? Check them out here!
by Lisa | Aug 28, 2019 | Facilitation, Productivity
Upcoming brainstorming session on the schedule? We have some go-to bits of advice for you to incorporate into your next team brainstorming meeting to ensure that the time together is a success! These are the 5 ground rules for facilitation a brainstorming session for you and your team.
Rule #1 – There are no dumb ideas
Encourage your team to share any and all ideas throughout the process. Make the disclaimer at the start of the session that each idea is a great one and could lead to a stream of thoughts that could benefit the rest of the group.
Rule #2 – Replace any instances of ‘but’ with ‘and’
Use any idea as a chance to build on ideas and not tear them down. Instead of rebutting an idea, add to it and see where it could lead. This also goes back to the first rule of encouraging everyone to share everything. Create a safe space.
Rule #3 – The more the better
You want to focus on the number of ideas as well. The more you throw out there, the more you can evolve ideas into something really spectacular. Consider a speed round of sorts to get team members to not second guess their ideas and contribute to the number of ideas in the group.
Rule #4 – Everyone participates
As a facilitator, you will need to keep up with who is and is not contributing. No need to call anyone out on this, but encourage those who have not spoken up to share what they are thinking. The more quiet team members may have been in deep thought over an idea and just haven’t felt confident enough to share just yet. Give them the opportunity to contribute.
Rule #5 – No distractions
Tell team members to silence phones and shut down laptops. You may need to collect all technology at the start of the meeting if you are worried about team members being tempted to check those notifications. Use your own discretion.
These quick and easy rules can really improve a brainstorming session for your team and company! Try them out next time you have a session on your calendar. Make sure to go over the rules before starting the meeting as well to set expectations!
Need help with facilitating a brainstorming session? Check out our sketchnote services to help get ideas flowing!
by Lisa | Aug 14, 2019 | Business, Community, Education, Event Planning, Graphic Recording
Everyone loves the chance to get away. A chance to get out of the office and have a change of scenery! Your work environment could be the best out there – full of great co-workers and a fully stocked snack pantry, but I bet that any one of your coworkers would love an opportunity to get out from behind their desk and check out a new place.
When planning a staff retreat for your team there are so many options to consider, but all exciting things for sure! You may want to keep things more relaxed or keep things structured – either way being strategic about your agenda is key.
Use your staff retreat as a chance to show your team how much you appreciate all of their hard work. Recognize some key players, but acknowledge the team as a whole during your time together. Present certificates, awards, or gift cards to recognize behaviors and performance. Let them know how important they are to your company’s success. They will love the gesture, and it will increase team morale as well!
Another item to add to your agenda is a period of reflection of the past year. Create a safe space for each team member to be heard and allow your group to connect at a deeper level. Give each person time to share their thoughts.
To compile the discussion together – hire a graphic recorder to visualize and capture the input, ideas, and key points. Visual summaries tell a story and bring emotion to your meeting by incorporating colorful images to the activities. One of our clients recently held a staff retreat and shared with their team, “Your ideas are important to us, we want to hear you, that’s why we hired See In Colors to draw out what’s being said.” Let your team know you want to understand their point of view and allow each opinion to be valued.
Want to add graphic recording to your staff retreat? Learn more about our services here!
by Lisa | Jul 31, 2019 | Art, Graphic Recording, Productivity
You need the right tools for the right job! Sounds like something a handyman might say but it’s true! Curious about my go-to supplies for graphic recording and graphic facilitation? Keep reading. These are a MUST for each event, meeting or conference we attend. They are full of our favorites along with some other tools of the trade. In today’s post, I am sharing all about what is in my kit! Check out the photos below as well to get a better picture.
My Toolbox
My ArtBin Sidekick supply box holds everything I need with a little bit of room to grow as well! This product is perfect for when I have to travel and compact enough to take with me anywhere. It fits so well in my carry on next to my clothing and personal items. It stays locked shut, so I don’t have to worry about any ink spills happening in my suitcase. It’s super durable and effortless to clean. This product has three different sections for storage, and I have each spot filled with items.
Section One – Personal Items
This part of my ArtBin storage box has miscellaneous personal items that are great to have on hand during any job. I have hand sanitizer, lotion, business cards, and See in Colors pencils to hand out to clients and connections that I make at events. I always make sure to keep a plastic bag handy in case there is not a trash can close by, or I need to clean up some items in my workspace during an event.
Section Two – Work Supplies
In the final two parts hold the majority of the items I use during my graphic recording process! In this particular section, I have chalk, a pencil sharpener, erasers and some markers included. I always make sure to have child-proof scissors in there because they are TSA-friendly for when I travel! Whiteout is also an item I double check for when packing because it is so useful whenever I have a small error to fix or something to cover up on a drawing.
Section Three – Work Supplies (part 2)
This division holds my Neuland marker collection along with some refill ink. Artist tape and duck tape can always be found in this spot too! Duck tape is a universal go-to tool to keep in your kit. I like to keep some on hand at all times.
Want to learn how you can draw ideas with visual notes? Sign up on our interest list for the Learning Lab. Be the first to know about online courses, coaching and public workshops.
by Lisa | Jul 17, 2019 | Event Planning, Graphic Recording
When you work with See in Colors for an event, you can expect the quality of service with a splash of fun incorporated in the experience. In previous blog posts we covered what preparing for a graphic recording event with us looks like, what we do on event days and in this post, we are sharing more about what happens after an experience!
While the event itself has most of the fun with the drawing, colors, and conversation, we love what happens next with our visual summaries. After the event has wrapped up, we hand over the physical artwork. The visual notes are yours to keep! Have your event coordinator display the physical charts in a high traffic area or frame it (great for speaker gifts, or the head of your department). We can give you lots of ideas to get extra mileage from our graphic recording!
Here comes the Big bonus…you will also receive digital copies in JPEG and PDF formats. Including the digital rendering in your services package is our pleasure. Your digital images are great to include in your final report, newsletter, or website. Share the visual notes with sponsors or team members that were unable to make the event. This is how your bring the uniqueness of your event to the masses.
One more great idea! The digital images are great for promoting future events to potential partners. You can also use them to get the team excited for other opportunities down the road. Plus posting your digital copy on social media is always a good idea. Followers love the colorful, fun, one-of-a-kind design that comes out of a presentation through visual notes.
You can share these materials online, internally or externally to keep the conversation going long after the event is over.
Want to learn more about our services and how we can help your business? Visit our Graphic Recording page through the link here!
