My Top 10 Murals of 2020 (And Their OUtcomes)

Do I miss being in the room?

Yes, as a facilitator, coach and consultant, I miss being with people. 

I miss the awkward silences, the reading of body language, the laughter reverberating off the walls, the high-fives after a big win. I miss the hugs after a really great breakthrough session. I miss struggling with the oversized Post-it Sheets, spilling the Sharpies and hanging the 30x40 engineering prints with blue painter’s tape. 

I miss the side conversations. I miss the snacks.

And, I love the problems we’ve been able to solve as well as the solutions we’ve been able to build together using virtual tools like Zoom and MURAL.

MURAL is a digital workspace that enables innovative teams to collaborate visually and remotely. And, it’s fun. It taps into the part of my brain that loves graphic design (bringing harmony and emotion to a compelling composition), information design (where should my eye go next?) and even the 10-year-old part of me that would sit at the dining table and design board games.

Here are some of the different ways I use MURAL:

• Whiteboard
• Presentation Tool
• Visual Project Planner
• Sketchbook / Journal
• Mind Mapping
• Facilitation Space
• Information Design
• Live Notetaking
• Vision Board
• Sales Pipeline
• Wireframing
• Storyboarding

And, here are the top 10 Murals I created in 2020-2021 (and their outcomes).

10. OBJECTIVES and KEY RESULTS

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a goal-setting framework for defining and tracking objectives (aspirations) and their highly-measurable, time-bound outcomes at every level of your organization.

Outcomes:

• Clarity around your team’s goals, milestones, metrics and work effort
• A measurable (and scalable) method of tracking accountability and follow-through

9. CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP

For organizations with an emerging or reimagined line of business, the Customer Journey Map is a half-day virtual session that helps you make decisions that fit consumer and buyer needs in an environment that’s lively and productive.

Outcomes:

• Identify gaps in your marketing or operational plan
• Define the critical path for your customer and potentially shorten the sales cycle
• Achieve alignment around the voice of the brand
• Develop insight into critical processes and empathy among teams

8. STRATEGIC VISIONING

This academy needed to pivot all of their students and clients from in-person classes to virtual sessions - all while moving their offices within two months! We led a Strategic Visioning session for their leadership team using templates from The Grove Consultants, International. We also provided Executive Coaching for six weeks post-retreat in order to stabilize the operational plan. 

Outcomes:

• Got clear on priorities and which lines of the business needed to be put on pause
  
• Implemented weekly meetings with the team (which weren't happening)  
• Created a visual strategy that got hung on a wall and not stuck in a drawer

7. STORYBRAND

StoryBrand is a marketing messaging tool that allows organizations to clarify their message using a seven-part process that leverages the power of story. Used correctly, this powerful tool can help your business become a valuable asset in the lives of your customers.

Outcomes:

• Promote a customer-centric culture
• Craft rich, customer-centric language for the marketing team to immediately test and iterate
• Gain clarity around your organization’s unique value proposition or offering

6. VISION BOARD WORKSHOP

Forget the magazines and glue sticks! In this fun and interactive workshop, we took inventory of our wins and accomplishments and set a bold trajectory for our big 2021 milestones. 

Outcomes:

• A personal Vision Board for 2021
• Coaching tools to turn setbacks into opportunities
• New connections with people fired up and ready for the future

5. VISION AND VALUES

For a quickly-growing team, this session included the creation of a Vision Statement, Mission Statement and the definition of Core Values. Using a basic Design Criteria (must, should, could, won’t) we identified key aspects of the Mission as well as themes that would later become the OKRs.

Outcomes:

• Team alignment and clarity around a 3-5 year vision
• List of observable behaviors that support the values
• Fun, interactive kick-off to a four-day retreat

4. DiSC WORKSHOP

Using the DiSC Assessment, teams separated by style to discuss the do’s and don’ts of communication and leadership. A final roundtable invited the teams to share insights about the easy and magical ways they might work better together.

Outcomes:

• Immediate insights into natural and adaptive communication styles
• Improved communication among the team
• Increased morale, less conflict
• A strengths-based map of the team to use in sales, project planning and onboarding

3. DESIGN SPRINT

This was a fast-paced, fun and interactive multi-mural event for the internal RIDG team. During the challenge, the participants received the resources and toolkit required to create a digital prototype, refine it, make their pitch and declare one team the innovation champions!

Outcomes:

• Refined a replicable process for teams to implement design thinking and prototyping skills
• Making experimentation (and even failure) fun

2. MY PERSONAL PROJECT BOARD

From sketching out high-level concepts and project planning to tracking my sales pipeline and outlining blog posts, MURAL has become my primary playground for problem-solving.

Outcomes:

• One place for all my ideas - no more searching through Evernote, Google Docs or my journals for that one great idea. 
• A big celebration when I move something visually into the “End Zone”

1. WILDERNESS RETREAT

This wilderness-themed retreat features a labyrinth, breakout sessions, dangerous animals, river rapids, a campfire session, gallery walk, and a hidden Bigfoot!

Outcomes:

• Able to bond and build teams in a nature-based environment 
• Clear line of sight into stakeholders, challenges and a vision of success 
• Peer-facilitated conversations on how to overcome VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity)

​Do you need help building an amazing Mural of your own? Schedule a Discovery Call today. Call Joran at (727) 771-5656 or e-mail [email protected].