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A Brief History of Visual Thinking
Visual thinking has shaped strategy work for decades, from Arnheim’s 1960s theories to the whiteboard sketchers and infographic craze. But without structure, it too often drifts into decoration instead of decision. This piece traces that history and sets up why I developed Structured Thought - a way to turn visuals from creative flourishes into business advantage.
If you want to talk more - I certainly do.
Let's set up some time to explore how Structured Thought can be used to help your business transition into the ‘Age of Experience’.
🎥 Carry-On, 2024 - ★★★
I like both actors - so despite the warnings of ‘the new diehard’ I ploughed ahead. it was a fine movie - but both actors have substantially better performances and films/shows on their cv.
🎈182/366 The Monkees Predicting ATS software THIRTY YEARS before it appeared.
A friend on LinkedIN recently made a comment and referenced a video clip in support of his argument, which truth be told, I can’t recall - but it definitely wasn’t about ‘ATS’.
🔗 📼 This is the video clip .. it’s a scene from the Monkees TV show - this particular one directed by Bob Rafelson, written by David Panich - who I had never heard of - but given the subject matter of the clip, was intrigued enough to look him up .. IMHO - serious writing chops.
All this to say that if you have EVER been on the wrong side of one of those bloody ‘ATS’ machines that sift resumes before any human gets to it - this clip will resonate. It is from 1966 Series 1, Episode 3. The reality of ATS in business kicked off THIRTY YEARS LATER.
🎈180/366 My goodness - Apple really do not want you to embed an HTML signature into Mail - do they?
🔗 How to do just that - just 23 steps - but very thorough instructions.
🎈178/366 📺 Blackbird
Why it took me so long to watch Blackbird I have no idea. But oh so good.
Blackbird on 🔗 Reelgood
You can listen to the whole thing 🔗 🎙️here, but if this 40 seconds doesn’t make you sit up - don’t bother.
🎈176/366 AGE - It Catches Up On You.
I read this today
in 🔗 Austin Kleon’s Newsletter.
Now let me be clear - I am not so old that I ever used one, BUT
I do know what it is and where it was used … and sadly I am old enough to have had a boss who did have such a thing on his desk.
I just looked up Austin on Wikipedia - we aren’t that many years apart … FTW.
LATER THOUGHT - In my younger years I was in the U.K. and Austin will have been in the U.S.A. (Clutching at Straws?)
🎈173/366 I know Mighty Networks aren’t the only show in town but she is not wrong. I remain amazed how people keep building THEIR communities inside the silos. You explain and the response often includes how they have so many people in their ‘socialsilo’ group. I can’t be bothered to explain any more.
🎈172/366 I know it’s my fault - it always is .. but nevertheless having seen this before can’t help wondering what I did.
🎈171/366 📸 🌊 Been waiting for a better shot all day - but other than different levels of light - this is has been ‘it’ for the day. All day.
🎈170/366 Over on Substack, Tom Cox dispatched a newsletter : All The Life Coaches Have Life Coaches.
There were some comments, but nobody seemed to be looking at the title, which prompted me to remark that I thought it was Hawking that introduced ‘turtles all the way down’ to a broader audience and went on to wonder if this refinement relates.
If all life coaches have a life coach can that life coach coach the life coach that coaches his life? Or is it life coaches all the way down?
🎈169/366 The most immediate existential threat to the world is not climate change, or nuclear proliferation, or growing the population, or anything else. It is Trump. No more. No less. Don’t sit back and think that this is just an American problem.
🎈168/366 Guestbooks, Blogrolls, Reciprocity and Paying It Forward
Trying to tie it all together for the occasional visitor.
It all started with Guestbooks. ( 🖇️ I have one ) and yesterday I caught up on reciprocating and getting ahead of the curve. ✅
I then created a new page that is connected to and referenced from my guest book page - so that there is a quick check for those I have visited. 🖇️ You can find that here. - and anyone signing mine can move on to the next …
And then I added a new blogroll. If I sign your guestbook, I add your feed to my NetNewsWire and from there it appears on my 🖇️ ’Guestbook Blogroll’
Enjoy.
Image courtesy of ChatGPT 4o - prompt - “Guestbooks, Blogrolls, Reciprocity and Paying It Forward”
🎈167/366
I kid you not, so frustrated earlier today that I have had to calm down. All my iOS stuff not currently in use is kept in a single place. Yesterday the pile was - shall we say - ‘organised’. All stuff in same place - just a neater pile than usual.
Today, I went to pick up iPad and 🍎Pencil - and the pencil was missing. Nowhere. Seperated all devices out - and checked off one by one. Still nothing. I went to the places I usually use it - nada. Lifted couch cushions. Nothing. Stopped search. Started search. Frustration doesn’t even get to it. Two hours and then some. Negotiating with myself - that clearly it was a message from above that my old pencil had run its course - and I could now justify a super duper new one.
Here’s what I think happened.
The bank manager got hold of that rationale and somehow planted in my brain that I should take one more look. I did.
Did I mention the tray that sits beside the ‘iOS stuff’? I mean it’s there. It’s clearly not hiding - and I had looked under and all around it. The lip of the tray curves down so you can’t see anything behind the lip if you look ‘underneath from the side’. But I knew that and had already looked. I mean - how could anything really be there? It would just fall down again.
TODAY I LEARNED …
.. that the tray has sufficient Nickel plating that it can attract a magnet in say something like an Apple Pencil and snap that puppy nice and tight into and under that lip.
😬