Thinking about your people is often the easiest way to start understanding how a business works. Placing the characters within the business and the roles they carry out is a way to set some boundaries and define the framework into which you can then understand the processes, technology and also the cashflows, measures and risks- the full set of Big Picture symbols.
As a starting point think about key individuals and the type of activities they are involved with. We provide a team symbol as a red sticker as shown or playing piece then by adding a name or memorable feature you can start to build your Big Picture. Place your people over the template in the relevant position- starting with your key people at the highest management level.Some people say Big Picture works better for larger, more complex organisations where you use the Team symbol to represent groups of people, teams, departments and use the notes to indicate the number of people working in that area. We have a multiple people symbol to put on your done-up Big Picture to reflect shown here.
Others say Big Picture works best for smaller organisations where there are individuals carrying out several key roles within the business. We suggest you reflect the different and multiple activities each person is responsible therefore you're ready to fill those roles when the business grows and the current team are ready to move on and up.
Think about the relationships those people and teams have with each other. Check that the interactions you know your teams have on a day-to-day basis are reflected on Big Picture in that way they are laid out and the lines that can join them together.
Once you're happy draw in the boxes that represent their area of responsibility and add a heading using the same term the business owner uses.
Once you've completed this for the key areas of the organisation you'll see the structure forming that follows a pattern of the template but is unique for that business. You'll see areas that have not being defined, often Customer Care. As a quick gap analysis Big Picture can guide your thinking towards these areas to find out more or note as Opportunities to think further about.Click on the case studies to see how team is used for a range of different business types.
