Connective Management
www.connectivemangement.com
1.
Opening – 10 min
Introduction - Brad Closson and Mike Leamon
Agenda Review
Next Slide
4.
Intro: Visual Planning & War Rooms - 5
5.
Warm Up – 5
6.
Activity: Design a BA War Room - 20
7.
Value to YOU? – 7
8.
Your next steps – 8
9.
Q & A – Remainder - 5
2

Your experience levels?

2 way street information exchange
 You learn about War Rooms
 We learn about Business Analysis

NOT a full War Room enablement
 It’s a “Mentored Discipline”

Top of mind questions to address during the
session?
3
www.connectivemangement.com
Simple
Personal
Planning
Advanced
Visual
Management
War
Room
5

The Cabinet War Rooms were used by Winston
Churchill throughout the Second World War from
1939 to 1945.

Churchill announced, "This is the room from which I
will direct the war." “….the chief task of the officers
manning it was to collate and summarize all
relevant information on the war's progress and
present it on maps, which would be constantly
updated.”
6
“War Room”
Team Room
for Meetings
Emergency
Control Center
Team seating
“Bullpen”
Management
Cockpit
Project
Management
Room
Visually
Facilitate the
Project Story
7

Help people accelerate the process of solving real business
problems or capturing strategic opportunities

The highest level of a War Room is where a story is told and an
army of story tellers are created.

Stories organize people - they affect the way people identify
themselves, collect data, and most important, how they behave.

Pictures, graphics and other dramatic techniques for the sake of
the story and solution are crucial.
8
Classic
War Room
Design
Start
Desired
Outcomes
Ending
Implementation &
Accountability Plan
Root Cause Problem Solving
Purpose /
Charter
Current State
How it works + pain & opportunities
Future State
Design Solutions
9
Activity
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Activity
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
Agree the context / Top level story

Brainstorm the story line
 Parent level elements

Drill down into some visual planning tools
 Child level elements

Key Questions
12
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
More effective meetings and projects
 Our brains are built to process pictures, and we think in
pictures.
 The visual part of the brain takes up half of the brain
processing power.
 A study from the 1960s shows that we can remember
pictures a year later with 63 percent accuracy.
 We remember only 10 percent of what we hear or read
(without pictures).
 Source: http://mydesignnotes.com/why-visual-
storytelling-is-so-powerful
14

Analytic – Allows groups to handle a LOT of data / information

Associative – Allows jumping around / simultaneous solving

Creative – Encourages messy exploration / Taming the swirling vortex

High Involvement

Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand!
 Leverages the wisdom of the organization – people’s knowledge, expertise, etc…

Leveling – Respectfully call BS /Best solution wins / Politics aside / Check your role, status,
titles & org at the door Low tech – Push technology out of the way of face to face interaction

Results oriented – Charters, expected outcomes and actions keep everyone clear on how results are
defined, achieved and measured

Shared – Build real time understanding & agreements

Story based – Instinctive, memorable and motivating way to engage participants

Visual – Makes invisible information and ideas tangible through mind maps, graphics, etc.
15
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
The name we use for the facilitator / owner

Architects the content structure

Content “Author”

Can be the Project manager

Facilitates waves of contributors

Gets out of the way when possible
17
•
•
•
Don't start a War Room that you will not
finish
Never let it go stale
And avoid over commitment based on lack of
war room experience
18
Ready
Watch out for over
committing to a War
Room effort which is
beyond your
capabilities!!!
War Room
Practice or
Apprenticeship
Leading
High Stakes Open
Planning
19
Architect’s War Room
Competence
Group’s War Room
Competence
Context
and Content
Complex
High
Expert
In Flux
Political
Intermediate
Medium
Stable
Beginner
Low
Non-Political
Simple
20
Charter
SIPOC
Process
Mapping
Wire Framing
Data Schemes
Brainstorming
Report Design and
Examples
Project
Management
War Room
Planning
Horizons
Storyboarding
Presentations
Visual
Management
Board
21


Agenda check
Call to action
“I feel a war room coming on”
War Room articles/tools at
www.connectivemanagment.com

Q&A
22