THE TOOLKIT
The Big Picture
As people develop professionally, there is an expectation that we will continue to broaden our view of the organization and industry. As such, we are expected to be able to communicate this higher, more strategic viewpoint. The Big Picture is a communication template that takes daily projects and initiatives and communicates their impact at a higher, more strategic organizational and/or industry level. It demonstrates how your daily actions have impact at the higher business levels. The idea behind this tool came while flying over the Midwest on a trip from the West Coast to the East Coast. Sitting on the tarmac, it’s difficult to see that America looks like a patchwork quilt. However, as you take off and slowly climb 5,000, 10,000, even 20,000 feet, you lose sight of cars, buildings, and people; rather, you see the lines found in the plowed fields of the American farmland. This arrangement of plowed fields and crops begins to look like a patchwork quilt. The key is to get out of the details and view your workload from a 30,000, 40,000, or even 50,000 foot perspective. There are 5-6 elements in this framework. Each step comes from answering the question, “So what? What’s the most immediate impact?” in regards to the step just before it. You can either craft your message and share it from bottom to top or top to bottom.
- 50,000 View: At the top of the template, you should connect to key business drivers Top 10 Business Arguments (e.g., money, quality, customer-service, market value, etc.). This should be your broadest, highest level impact or most strategic perspective.
- 40,000 View: Ask yourself, “So, what? What’s the most immediate impact? What’s the most immediate advantage?” from the step you just completed.
- 30,000 View: Ask yourself, “So, what? What’s the most immediate impact? What’s the most immediate advantage?” from the step you just completed.
- 20,000 View: Ask yourself, “So, what? What’s the most immediate impact? What’s the most immediate advantage?” from the step you just completed.
- 10,000 View: Ask yourself, “So, what? What’s the most immediate impact? What’s the most immediate advantage?” from the step you just completed.
- Ground Level: Share a few sentences about your current project, idea, initiative, solution, or recommendation.
Objectives
There is a point in our careers when we are expected to share a broad, strategic view. This means speaking to larger, longer-term, higher level implications. This communication template helps you share your daily projects and initiatives connecting them to impact on a higher organizational level. It accomplishes the following objectives:
- Organizes your thoughts to come across as understanding the impact of daily projects and initiatives.
- Demonstrate a broader, more strategic perspective.
- Motivate and encourage others around vision and strategy.