The Wa r R o o m

Strategic War Room 1.0

Finally! The Secrets to Unlock Innovation,

Participation and Collaboration in Strategic
Planning

Join Thousands of People Who Are Using

War Room Tools to Get Faster Results and Winning
Strategies with Less Effort.
Dear Friend,

Hi! I’m Thomas Sechehaye, and I’m passionate about visual strategic planning. And I’m writing you
because I know you want to create collaboration and innovation in building strategic success in
every launch, plan and project.

Many people think of strategic planning as a routine mundane task and reduce it to “dusting off
last year’s plan” in order to meet a deadline set on the corporate calendar. Or in order to get their
website up to make a pre-set launch date.

I don’t know about you, but nothing is the same this year as last year…and so I wouldn’t want to rely
on a funky, old-fashioned process when I need to generate cutting edge strategy to shape the future.

Ever since I started sharing these skills with my corporate clients, I’ve been getting the same
question over and over again:

“How Can I Do What You’re Doing?”

When I decided to offer War Room Storyboarding Tools, I basically just wanted to share what was
working so well in my own business. And if you listen closely you’ll hear many business superstars
and Internet gurus mention these tools.

Just in the last couple weeks, I’ve gotten e-mails and heard references from Dan Kennedy, John
Reese and Rick Sherfen. And they all refer to the power planning using visual maps.

You’ll hear words like: “War Room Tools” “Command Center Planning,” “Charts on the Wall” “Big
Picture Thinking” and “Strategic Show-Me-Profits Maps,” mentioned in their e-mails, newsletters
and training programs.

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It’s clear that a visual display makes it easy to solve problems, understand sequence and
communicate strategy. And it’s true for Internet marketing success as well as planning for creativity
and innovation in offline marketing. But no one, up to now, has really explained how to make it work
for planning your Internet Marketing success.

Anyway, I NEVER DREAMED that I’d be #1 in the Google search for strategic storyboarding and that
thousands of people would want to know about visual blueprints for setting up their own Strategic
War Room.

And I’m floored to see that thousands of people are on a special email list…basically waiting in line
to see what I’m going to release next.

For that, I am very grateful and thankful.

So here’s the deal.

Roughly every 7 minutes, someone sends an email asking if I’ll teach them how to use my War
Room system…or if I have open enrollment sessions…or if I can consult on their specific brand
strategy. You get the picture.

And the answer is…

“Yes, I Can Teach You This Stuff.”

Sort of.

The reason I say “sort of” is because I am the master facilitator for Hands•On Graphics, Inc., and
like the company name says, we have a very hands-on way of teaching and consulting.

But there are just not enough of us to go around. And there is no way I and my team of expert
facilitators can stand shoulder-to-shoulder, next to each and every one of you. And do the very best
job of building the Strategic Command Center EVERYONE is asking for.

With that said, I will be working with a few SELECT people, and I’ll give you more information about
that on June 15, 2007.

“Here’s What You Need To Do Next”

If you’re interested, that’s great.

But rather than asking you to make a knee-jerk buying decision, I want you to see what’s involved in
setting up a Strategic War Room so you can get the WHOLE PICTURE FIRST.

That way, you’ll know if this is really for you.

So, if you’ve already seen MY work…and taken my trainings…and gotten hands-on consulting….
you probably have one question really standing out in the front of your mind.
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And that question is…

Can This Incredible Success be duplicated?

Naturally, my answer to you is “YES!”

…But why should you take my word for it?

I expect you to be skeptical and applaud you for wanting to get ALL the details up front.

I’m the same way. I’m German, after all, and I like to see the logical sequence laid out. I want to get
the big picture. And know exactly how it will help my team make better decisions and build stronger
strategies in less time and with less effort.

That’s why I’m going to take you behind the curtain of how a Command Center really works. I’m
going to introduce you to my clients who get radical results using this system.

These folks were regular people…just like you…who never thought they could think visually, tell
powerful stories from their data or create dynamic presentations of their strategies.

Today, they are getting rave reviews, powerful results and measurable strategic success.

As always, I will talk about any business tools, methods and skills in simple, practical and easy-to-
use language.

But Before I Show You More Amazing Results — I Want to Let You in On
A Huge “Secret”

You have probably been wondering why it seems so “easy” that I am able to generate so many
outstanding results.

After all, how much money could you make if you were able to transform strategic planning from
the mind-numbing dreaded process it is today…and instead get instant buy-in, organization-wide
alignment and fast, positive results from your customers?

You’d be able to print money-on-demand. You’d have an unfair advantage over 99% of your
competitors in ANY professional field that you do business in.

Sound like a fantasy? It’s not.

Without going into too much nitty-gritty detail here in this report (I’ll be showing you more about this
very soon) I’ll just sum it up for you…

In 32 years, I’ve figured out some VERY POWERFUL things when it comes to strategic engagement.
I’m talking about proven, field-tested methods — things that work today and will continue to work
for YEARS to come.

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And I’m not talking about cute fads, expensive software or complex systems like a lot of other
people are pitching. I’m talking about tried and true methods that work teams LOVE. And that allow
my clients to get REAL RESULTS in every strategic planning session. Day in and day out.

I have created a very unique NETWORK with my business and my clients’ businesses. This special
NETWORK gives everyone involved an unfair advantage over the rest of the brand strategy, Internet
marketing, strategic planning and project management community — and we’re only going to get
stronger because of what we have figured out.

The future of strategic planning and project management in a business of any size — from the corner
store to the corporate giant — comes down to leveraging the knowledge, expertise and resources of
other people. If someone can do this effectively, they can basically print money-on demand.

What I hear most often is that planners need one thing:

“ You Need To Match Your Audience”

You have to speak in a language that your audience understands. And when you do, you can make
your strategy message work — fast.

Your strategic message must be:

• Simple
• Visual
• Action-Oriented
• Quick and Easy To Remember

This is more critical when your audience is:

• Multi-lingual
• Cross Cultural
• Multi-generational
• At varied literacy and education levels

And it gets even more crucial when you have…

Super High Turnover like the restaurant business at 137% and your staff is stressed or overwhelmed
with new information.

Plus as if that wasn’t challenging enough…I know your job gets even tougher if you’re delivering
strategic stories about the dry stuff such as…
• Mandatory Certifications
• Regulatory Changes
• Highly Technical and Detailed Information

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And, OK…I wasn’t going to say it…but I hear it:

The Strategic Plan is Downright Boring!

But you STILL Know that your delivery, your message can be and must be engaging, energizing, and
educational…because you are passionate about only delivering Strategy that Works.

This is all a bit complicated, but I want to explain it to you in full detail. It will really BLOW YOU
AWAY and open your eyes to the future of innovative strategic planning.

At the end of this report, you’ll find a link to my blog. I suggest that you go to the Visible Results blog
and bookmark it because that’s where I will have more “room” to fully explain how all of Strategic
Storyboarding skills work, and why with Command Central you will easily beat your competition.

What I have figured out in the Command Center Process is an absolutely critical set of systems
and skills for anyone that’s truly serious about getting results. It has definitely changed the game.
And (not to scare you) but just to let you know…the brand strategy field is about to get a lot more
competitive.

It’s just harder to make money everyday. Well, this is the exact reason we created our unique
network. And it will allow us and our clients to have a major unique advantage over everyone else.

(Like I said, check out the blog for more details. It will truly amaze you.)

Now, I’d like to share with you the insider secrets of setting up your own Strategic Command Center,
aka your War Room. And I’m going to introduce you to some of my clients, and their success stories
so you can see for yourself the power of using a proven process to develop innovative strategy…
(Scroll to next page, and make sure to click on the link go to the Visible Results blog)

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Strategic Command Central:

The Secrets of An Effective War Room

Strategic Storyboarding’s War Room process is a unique method to display, innovate, communicate
and design effective strategies.

This hands-on management tool enables work groups and teams to express ideas, experiment
with telling logical and memorable stories, gather input to collaborate, build and develop powerful
authentic stories.

What is A War Room…What is Command Central?

Here’s the dictionary definition…because of course, I looked it up:

war room
–noun
1. a room at a military headquarters in which strategy is planned and current battle situations are
monitored.
2. any room of similar function, as in a civilian or business organization.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary
war room  
3.   A room in which strategic decisions, especially for a military or political campaign, are made.

A War Room is also referred to as Command Central. According to Wikipedia, “the War Rooms”
used by Winston Churchill were constructed in 1938 and used during World War II. These rooms
included a Cabinet room where Cabinet meetings were held and a nearby Map Room where the
course of the war was conducted.

A Command Central is a physical room set up on a temporary project-only basis with dedicated use
to a specific strategic planning process. The room should have ample wall space to post work-in-
process and multiple areas for storyboards, models, prototypes and displays of work-product.

What are Strategic Storyboards?

Storyboards are a series of frames showing the repeating architecture of a topic. It is also called
“sequential thinking,” “displayed thinking” or “visual sequencing.”

Storyboarding refers to the thought structure that follows a distinct series of steps, each bounded by
a frame. Just like the horizontal frames of a cartoon, a series of steps leads to the destination.

The value occurs not only in each frame but also more importantly— between the frames.

The real “AHA” occurs in seeing sequence and observing relationships. In a visual sequence, new
questions emerge. “What happens in each frame?” and “What happens between the frames?” and
“What is the surprise factor between these two frames?”

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These questions stimulate thinking and conversation to:

• Make comparisons
• Identify cause-effect
• Analyze information
• Tell the story of data

What are the Benefits of Storyboarding?

• Manage Data
Storyboarding helps groups manage data gathered from diagnostics, interviews, and surveys. The
process helps people speak about patterns, insights and metaphors. Using a repetitive architecture
users understand and expose the storyline told by data and survey results.

• Process data into information

The storyboarding process helps the user make sense out of data. The visual depiction helps drive
data into meaningful information, knowledge and action.

• Illustrate context
Each frame of the storyboard shows detailed content. Links between frames externalize the invisible
environment or contextual field. This displayed context makes it easy to spot connection, options
and flow—stimulating greater understanding and systems thinking.

• Manage Information
The storyboard provides architecture for a multi-sensory overview. Participants in the Command
Central have a role in seeing, hearing, creating, documenting and explaining the elements.

The boards provide the structural blueprint for telling the story and recording participants’ comments
and visitor input. The process and tools make it quick and easy to organize information immediately
into manageable chunks.

• Storytelling Engages People

The process makes a storyline visible, tangible and easily understandable. It ignites all senses with
visuals, storytelling, dialogue and live interactive capturing.

The storyboards are frames to fill with information gathered from a wide array of people. In this
engaging process, directors, clients, team members, product super-users and random visitors
express their perception, insights and highlights.

The boards invite input and involvement. At the same time, the boards create a record and ongoing
documentation of conversation.

When is Storyboarding Effective?

Architects, brand planners, executives, filmmakers, lawyers, marketers, planners, project teams,
task forces, writers use storyboarding. It supports creative and sequential thinking that is critical to
success on a project.
It is used to paint a picture of the future, assess current reality, understand data, build and
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communicate innovative strategy and to engage, train and sustain momentum on a project. It is
used in the War Room method to create and communicate innovative strategic plans. Here are a few
examples:

• Understand Processes
Teams and work groups use the storyboarding process to engage staff in understanding core
concepts and processes that form the big picture of their business. This process understanding is
the foundation for structural and strategic improvements, refinements and changes.

• Imagine the Future

Storyboards support imagination and invention. The structure helps organize ideas and portray the
invisible. This is a basic form of visioning is critical to imagining a scenario or future that doesn’t
exist yet…and the strategy that can get you there.

• Understand the Competition

To beat the competition, you first have to understand the overall picture — who the competition
is, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what their niche position is and what is their strategic
intent. While this can also be applied to fighting a battle, it is equally valid in defining a business
strategy — online or offline.

• Express and Structure Thinking

The boards guide and structure thought and expression. The discipline of managing process is
prescribed by the repeating architecture of each frame. The frames show a strategic step-by-step
path that builds a big picture.

• Expand Viewpoint
Each frame shows the unfolding strategic story from a different perspective. Visual templates
encourage looking at situations from different angles.

Each frame defines a stage of process that is a necessary and valuable viewpoint that must be
addressed to have a complete picture.

Research Basis on How Visual Display Works:

This research is based on Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century by Robert
Horn, a visiting professor at Stanford University. It relies on major studies from Wharton School of
Business.

• Make Faster Decisions

A map helps people quickly organize and process a lot of information. In a group shown visual
language, 64% decided immediately after the presentation, while control groups lagged.

• Shorten Meeting Time

Visual language shortens meetings by 24%. Won’t your team be delighted with shorter meetings and
higher quality results?

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• Promote Group Consensus

Groups using visual language had a 21% increase in reaching consensus over groups that did not
use visuals.

• Deliver Persuasive Presentations

Presenters who used verbal plus visual presentations were seen as 17% more convincing than a
purely verbal presentation. Additional studies from University of Minnesota School of Management
found that presenters who use visual aids are 43% more effective at persuading their audience to
take a desired course of action than those who don’t use visuals.

• Reduce the Stress of Information Overload

According to the 2003 report from SIMS, School of Information Management Systems at UC
Berkeley, the amount of information each person deals with has more than TRIPLED in the last three
years!

The SIMS report, “How much information?” quantifies the radical growth of information in the world,
as well as the sources and storage of information.

How The Command Center Process Works:

Every headquarters that makes strategic decisions whether for business, military or politics deals
with input, processes and outputs.
Inputs refers to inbound communication such as data, field reports, research, situational and
progress reports.
Processes covers the interactions of the work group as well as the collaborative dialogue and
participation of advisors, subject matter experts and decision makers.
Outputs are the communications, decisions, stories, messages, presentations and reports that flow
out from the Command Center.

While many of these terms work for a strategic and military metaphor, the processes also can be
viewed in the classic four stages of creativity: input, incubate, output and verify.
Take a look…

Gathering Input

Visual display of Strategy creates a fast, at-a-glance view of a complex process and sequence.
Visual display helps people make faster and better decisions.

Involvement during formation of strategy is a powerful method to build individual and group
participation and collaboration.

Involvement of subject matter experts guarantees that expert insights become part of the core
story and strategy. This builds strength, credibility and focus to information gathering and to building
a cohesive solution.

Input from diverse perspectives insures that the general and specific stories are included from the
beginning.

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Input from Decision Makers helps groups and teams stay focused and down to earth. This early
involvement can save group’s hours and weeks of time and untold frustration by shaping and
directing efforts to the most targeted course.

Encourage Incubation

Collaborative refinement of the story is an ongoing effort. Host teams tell the story and add
their own insights plus input of visitors, experts and advisors. The story goes through multiples of
refinement as new input is added.

Organic evolution of message is a natural outcome of group storyboarding in a Command Center

process. New words, alternative images, different metaphors and diverse storytelling techniques add
a richness and diversity to the message.

Quick ramp-up to meet deadlines and give unexpected presentations. Projects and planning is
characterized by unexpected surprises. Visual display and open incubation of the Command Center
invites participation and helps teams to quickly respond to impromptu presentations.

Generate Output

Faster decision making with visual display is well documented in research. Studies from Stanford
and Wharton show that groups decide 64% when visuals are tightly integrated with text.

This is a welcome relief for task forces and strategic planning teams using the Command Center
method.

Organizing complex projects is faster and easier to do when the elements are easy to see — on
the wall and in one location. This helps anyone involved work more effectively to respond well to
crisis situations and high-pressure changes.

Fast orientation of new team members is easy to accomplish. New members receive a walk-
through from a host of the Command Center. They can easily walk around the room and get an
immediate understanding of the evolution of ideas and the current state.

Fast re-orientation if pulled off project or if urgent situations interrupt planning time. This is often
the situation in a time of transition or turmoil. Focus changes, unexpected situations arise and teams
have to shift gears. Walking back into the Command Center, it is easy for teams to pick up right
where they left off.

Defined space and process to focus on planning helps groups maintain momentum, make
progress and get results. Without a defined and proven process, this can be an unwieldy task of
analysis, selection and evaluation that is too broad in scope for one person or even one team. The
Command Center provides a definite space and Strategic Storyboarding reveals a specific sequence
of thinking templates to get measurable results.

This defined process helps group bypass unnecessary detours of re-design so they can understand,
define and proceed in building effective strategy.

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Get Verification

Confirm direction from diverse people both on and off the project. This wide spectrum confirmation
and verification builds a powerful strategy through continual improvement and refinement.

Rehearsals of telling the story allow for hosts of the Command Center to refine and adjust the story
to match their audience. This gives valuable insight into necessary flexibility, appropriate words,
images and metaphors to shape the message so that it matches the targeted audience.

Ability to see flow and sequence streamlines changes and enables nimble flexibility and creativity.
Owners of the story and strategy can adjust to tell the story whether giving a high-level one-minute
overview or an in-depth formal briefing.

Fast changes in response to input ensure that even up-to-the-moment adjustments can be
integrated to make the message clear, coherent and current.

Shared group decision making puts the power in the strategy, the message and the shared
documentation. The result and out-put does not rely on one person, one charismatic storyteller or
one subject matter expert. The entire group owns the process, the growth, the refinement and the
output.

Confirmation with key decision makers ensures that the output is in alignment with the direction
of top leadership. Because this is an active, participatory process key decision makers can provide
direction and course-correction as needed.

Unique Benefits to Save Time and Make Money

This interactive process works on several levels to create immediate and ongoing value inside your
company:
• Distinguish your associates with a flexible storyboard process
• Create a unique marketing position in your industry
• Apply adult learning theory to immediate business needs
• Use innovative strategic planning experience
• Set performance standards for interactive dialogue process

In addition, the Storyboarding method and Command Center process makes it easy for trainers,
facilitators, HR and organizational development consultants to work creatively with external clients.
Use this interactive process to build an internal business strategy and then adapt the structure to
help your clients achieve powerful results.

• Templates are flexible and fast to use

• Process is supported with a set of practices, questions and tips
• Useable across languages, cultures and industries
• Appeals to people with diverse learning/communication styles
• Usability and engaging information design is built in and not dependent on consultant creativity

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When to Use:

Here is a high-level view of situations where a Command Center and Strategic Storyboarding
process can streamline problem solving:

• High pressure problem solving

• High risk problem solving
• Dealing with urgency
• Complex managerial situations
• Technology dominated problem solving
• Process improvement
• Project management
• Strategic planning
• Transitional uncertainty
• Evaluating business expansion
• Planning for new markets
• Business transition from private to public
• Brand strategy building
• Growth from solo entrepreneur to more formal organizational structure
• Before, during and after a merger or acquisition
• Orchestrating distance teams with diverse skill sets
• Navigating change in leadership
• Building and delivering IPO road shows
• Choreographing sales process improvement
• Organizing for projects that involve global partners

How to Build a Command Center:

Use storyboard templates to go from a room with nothing on the wall and everything in peoples’
minds…to a room filled with charts, diagrams and displayed thinking.

Next, use the storyboards to structure a planned open innovation process that evolves with distinct
phases. These phases help groups go from a bare wall, to a working in-process strategic innovation
space, to a ready-for presentation showroom.

The Natural Phases of Command Center:

The five natural phases are:

Collaboration Builds Trust

Nobody understands your business and strategic opportunity better than you and your team.
However, the strongest approach to building trust and shared strategic vision is to involve a wide,
diverse group of contributors to collaborate in the Command Center.

Involve people in strategic planning and problem solving and they will own the solution. Get a
planning team together who will be hosts for the center.

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Consider expanding who you involve into the Command Center. And then, expand collaborative
input from beyond the team to include customers, subject matter experts, directors and super-users
to get a wide range of input.

Your collaborative effort builds partners from start to finish. Your partners will not only embrace the
problem — they will build the solution. And they will eventually be spokespeople, spreading the word
and sharing the message, so that the strategic solution yields remarkable results.

Process Drives Design

Storyboard templates guide your team through the repeatable and essential process exposing the
critical elements of strategy. Nothing is extra. No random fluff.

This specific design sequence guarantees high quality output. In the process teams address critical
questions, use in depth-research, plan for engagement and organize from the beginning for easy,
memorable story telling.

No matter whether you are creating a global branding strategy or an effective business expansion on
a shoestring, follow the blueprints and get a rock-solid design.

Communication design principles and information architecture is hard-wired into each storyboard
strategy. Without any additional effort, use the Strategic Storyboards to build meaningful messages
that engage people.

With a focused, proven strategy and creativity, your Command Center Team will create stories that
stand out, stick in peoples’ minds and get people talking.

Focus on Results
Without results…why bother? The entire Command Center process is results driven. At different
stages, there are different results to track, measure and achieve.

Measurement is an essential ingredient of a successful Command Center from start to finish.

Maximize Collective Expertise

By combining wide input and collaboration, the strategy is stronger. Each contributor brings different
skills, diverse business experience and distinct expertise.

Contributions to the Command Center weave a unique blend of perspectives that result in an
elegant and effective strategy. This is a strategy that everyone can speak about. At the same time
that people advise and contribute they are also learning about the strategy. And they become active
messengers talking about the story.

This translates into organic growth. It’s easier, faster and more natural to spread a good idea. Shared
understanding and alignment is not an after-thought training program but a seed that spreads like
wild fire.

Now, that’s a smart solution to tapping into the expertise that can shape your unique business
strategy!

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In addition to the specific problem solving and immediate impact of strategy, the entire organization
grows a new expertise in contextual thinking. This is organizational best-practice building in
communication skills. It shows in quality facilitation, innovation, displayed thinking and collaborative
problem solving.

Anticipate for High Impact

Anticipate the needs of the people who will ultimately have to put the solutions and strategies into
action. Build in flexibility and ease of use into the output.

This orientation to anticipation is really all about how to win attention, create engagement and set
the stage for powerful results. Organize from the beginning to make the message simple, memorable
and easy to use. Simplify the words and images used in crafting the final strategic message.

This anticipation is truly “starting with the end in mind.” Anticipate how people in the field will
interpret messages from corporate headquarters. Prepare in advance for any potential pitfalls in
messaging so that every Command Center team member and every expert advisor becomes a
messenger for the strategy. Make it easy for people to remember and share the story and the good
news.

This includes preparing for adaptation and flexibility in all respects. Creatively anticipate how to
communicate in different media from print to web to face-to-face meetings; how to adjust the
message to match specific audiences and how to maintain and sustain quality and focus and the
message goes out.

All the advance planning in anticipation will pay off as the message goes out and people can quickly
adapt, use and understand what’s in it for them.

Collaborate. Process. Results. Expertise. Anticipate.

Developing a great strategy is only half the work. Winning your audience attention and planning
for engagement — with your customers, with your team and organization — is where the real wins
start. This approach to effective strategy building with a Command Center is creative, strategic and
results-focused.

How to Help Your War Room Succeed:

No matter what role you play in the War Room, you can grow your skills and increase your
effectiveness.
Here’s how:

If you are a leader

Help the project team by setting the stage for collaborative work groups. Make sure that people
are protected from being dragged into other projects. Define a place that is a physical safe zone for
collaborative, iterative and innovative thinking and dialogue.

Make sure that people have the tools, process and leadership support for developing and sharing a
powerful story.
Be a contributor and lead by example. Be willing to share your input, provide necessary guidance
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and allow people to contribute in an open, facilitative manner.

If you are a manager

Seek to make sure that team members have the time, budget and space to devote their attention
if they are devoted hosts of the Command Center. Help provide access to leaders so that input is
available and team members don’t waste time and effort on detours that can be easily avoided.

Insure that the process is disciplined for understanding the situation and for approaching the
problem in a structured and repeatable manner.

This includes identifying the problem, generating innovative approaches to the problem, visual and
physical display of the solutions, open dialogue to collectively develop action-focused strategies.

Continue to help the teamwork on several levels at once: problem solving, process focus and story
telling. Plus leverage the group learning with shared documentation and reporting of best practices.

If you are a team member

Stay open to new ideas. One of the biggest problems is that team members hosting the Command
Center can get identified with a particular solution or the favorite strategy of the moment.

In getting stuck on their preferred solution, they can stifle creativity and close off to new ideas. This
can undermine the collaborative process involving subject matter experts, product super-users or
customers. Part of your role is staying open and flexible to receive new input.

Work together to establish a common and repeated process for orienting visitors to the story.
Experiment with telling the story of the visual display in different manners and track effectiveness to
share learnings with the rest of the team.

Several processes will likely occur simultaneously, so team members must work together to gather
input, provide structure, tell the story, record visitor comments, integrate insights and keep the team
involved as the strategic story unfolds.

If you are an expert contributor

Start by listening. Let the War Room hosts provide an overview so that you not only can see the big
picture, but you also understand where they are in the process.

The host group may be starting and need research data to understand the current situation, or they
may be neck-deep in solutions and need your input to see the big picture. They may be further along
and need your expert advice to advocate or verify an approach.

Find out what kind of input the team needs at this point. Be willing to continue incubating and letting
ideas bubble up even after you leave the room. Many people find that solutions arrive after they have
left the Command Center. Be sure to let the team know if you have additional insights.

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There are proven methods for success:

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

Use the proven and tested methods, templates and processes to help your strategic planning
be fast, efficient and creative. Resist the temptation to reinvent the wheel and instead focus on
inventing great solutions within the process.

Less is More…in Words, Pictures, and Documents

It’s hard to communicate strategy in a memorable way when there are 200 PowerPoint slides and
16 different documents. Starting with the end in mind will keep your process and output lean and
effective. In all cases, strive for simplicity and memorability for your end-target communications.

Use Proven Blueprints in the War Room Toolkit

The War Room Toolkit is made up of proven processes and easy-to-use blueprints. Groups and
teams can get started immediately without having to attend costly training sessions or spend weeks
wandering around inventing an effective process. Get started engaging and get busy winning when
you use the proven tools and processes to set up your own Command Center.

Get Expert Help…You Could Be Too Close

It’s easy to lose sight of the strategic purpose and intent when you are very close to the content
and data. Many groups prefer to have expert facilitators guide them in the process and manage the
context for results.

If this is your approach, please feel free to discuss your project with one of our facilitators. We have
skilled, expert facilitators whose only job is to help you execute faster and stay focused on making
progress in your Command Center.

8 Key Questions to Ask a Strategic Storyboarding Company

Not all strategic storyboarding companies offer hands-on tools so you can easily create your own
War Room. Those that do may be more interested in selling you expert services to structure your
process and officiously do it for you rather than ignite your creativity.

When searching for a strategic storyboarding company, be sure to ask these key questions:

• How much will setting up a Command Center cost?

Look for a company that offers practical tools and provides high-quality processes at the lowest
price. Seek one who will provide you with examples of charts and practical skills that you can use
right away.

• Do you offer electronic and offline options?

Instant downloads, DVD technology and FedEx delivery makes it fast to get information anywhere
in the world. You don’t need to be restricted to a date, time and location that are not in your area
in order to get the training and skills. In addition, teleseminars are also a convenient way to get
personalized attention with flexibility for your schedule.

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In addition, look for a company that provides options of ongoing support in the form of a
membership site. Setting up a War Room has specific sequence and stages. It can be overwhelming
if you try to digest all the information at once.

Also look for a company that offers offline courses such as public sessions and on-site consulting
sessions. Offline courses create an opportunity for live interaction, feedback and coaching as you
set up your own Command Center.

• How easy to use are your electronic products?

Seek a reliable provider that has easy to use tools to help you quickly learn the basics and adapt
visual charts and processes to support your own strategic planning.

• Are you an established, trusted business?

Seek a company that has a large and proven client base. Ask how long they have been in business,
how many customers they have and if they are focused on strategic storyboarding for business
results.

• Do you offer individual coaching?

The provider should offer one on one coaching so that you can feel confident in getting the support
you need to adapt the information to your unique content, culture and business environment.
Coaching should be available in a variety of delivery methods — by phone, web conferencing and
on-site to coach individual executives and team members.

• Do you offer customer service?

The training provider should offer a toll-free phone number and live access to real people, right away.

• What type of guarantee do you offer?

The company should also offer a no-questions asked, ironclad money-back guarantee if you are not
satisfied for any reason.

• Can you help me communicating the message?

Find out what additional products and services the provider offers to help you now and as your
strategic planning needs grow into areas including presentation and messaging. Also look for
support at using visual display tools to different aspects of business communication skills:
facilitation, training, coaching and presenting.

Now that you understand the ins and outs of setting up a Command Center, I did promise to
introduce you to my clients who are busy making money and enjoying the benefits of using a
Command Center for their own strategies.

I’ve organized their stories in case studies so you can get a taste of how people succeed whether
they are learning skills to present strategy, build facilitation skills, hire an external consultant or
facilitator to get great results.

But enough of my words…now I’ll let them tell you how it works in their own words.

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Strategic Storyboarding Case Study # 1

Present to Win: Presentation Storyboarding

Description:
Say Goodbye to Presentation Anxiety. Learn how to structure a presentation that gets results.

Discover the architecture of a successful presentation. Storyboarding is a fast, flexible, and

practical system to organize presentations and reports. Learn to translate your material to engage
understanding and create memorable flow of information.

Plan your presentation from start to finish. Use visual maps to streamline the process. Have strategic
conversations between research, planners and directors so that your Story is on target for your
audience. Use specific criteria to gather information, structure flow, anchor key points and drive your
presentation to a winning message.

Practice includes developing a presentation on a current topic in your own subject matter.

Target Market:
Brand Directors and Planners at a top Pharmaceutical Company used this process to develop
strategic stories. With storyboarding, they structured their once-a-year recommendations
presentations to get the eyes, ears and attention of executive management.

They found that the process cut planning time by 50%, and better results. Using the interactive tools
created an inclusive dialogue. The outcome: powerful presentations.

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study #1 PROOF

Present to Win: Presentation Storyboarding

Before…
Brand strategists, researchers and planners told us they frequently up to 400 PowerPoint slides to
create a base for a presentation! In addition, their team of presenters were not the same people as
the team doing researching and planning.

This lead to tons of extra work, data dumps and lots of late nights and weekend overtime.

Because of the volume of data, need for up-to-date numbers and time constraints, brand planners
had a challenging time dealing with the time crunch. Often, the critical ingredient of storyline was
lost.

After full time job of gathering data…everything else fell to the bottom of the list. Visual flow,
engaging sequence and storyline were last minute afterthoughts.

As one planner put it, “There are only so many changes you can make at midnight the night before
the presentation to senior management!”

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After…
In individual coaching sessions, participants told us:

“This process streamlined my work. Using these visual planning tools, I was able to get twice as
much done in half the time. And my client was better prepared because we could focus the research
to tell the story.”
—Brand Planner

“I have always known that the only way for research data to come alive is to tell its story. This
process gets me thinking and pulling all the pieces together right from the start.
—Business Analyst

I just took the training and put it to use right away. I’ve used it already to write a report, design a
mini-training and plan my next presentation.”
—Director of Research and Marketing

“You do great work…I think the tools were extremely useful and they “got” the concept. It does
make the process of putting together a story a lot easier!”
—Manager of Global Training and Sales Organization

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study # 2

Strategic Planning Facilitation

Description:
Make your meetings and planning sessions powerful, effective and memorable. Graphic display
of discussion stimulates participation, creativity and focus. Key ideas are captured in a colorful
combination of pictures and words.

An expert process facilitator helps groups make faster decisions, understand differences and seek
solutions.

Target Audience:
Strategic planning facilitation is a key success ingredient for brainstorming, visioning, strategic
planning, board retreats, focus groups, project and product planning, and mapping transitions.

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study # 2 PROOF

Strategic Planning Facilitation

Before…
I hear comments like this…
“I’m fed up with data-dump planning sessions and endless meetings. In the last session, managers
had a pool to see who had the most PowerPoint slides. Can you please help us do it differently?”
—Field Manager

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“No one really wants to know about regulatory and legislative changes. How can you make even
THAT interesting?”
—Legal Counsel, Pharmaceutical Co.

After…
“My skepticism gave way to enthusiastic support as I watched the facilitator transform disparate
ideas into a storyline with great illustrations…These illustrations add a powerful dimension to any
message to which they are linked.”
—Frank Patalano, President Diversified Products
Zurich-American Insurance Group

“Until you experience this process in action, it’s hard to realize how powerfully it engages
participants.”
—Susan Wade, Facilitator
Teachers Retirement System

“Difficult discussions are made easier, complex problems are shown dramatically and people feel
that they can accomplish a lot... My clients always like it.”

—Andy Owen Jones

Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group

“Thank You! Your charts and maps made our meeting a success. We could never have gotten so
much done in so little time without your help.”
—Project Coordinator, City of San Francisco 2001 Vision

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study # 3:

Focus Facilitation for Strategic Storyboarding

Description:
From dynamic Command Center story-telling sessions to strategic meetings, team members learn
how to bring their unique strengths to facilitation. Participants learn a powerful system to create
engagement. This method is practical, visual, and applicable to facilitate using storyboards for any
content and with any group.

Find out how to create involvement and respond to a groups’ pulse. And still manage the tasks at
hand. Discover how to promote interaction, innovation and understanding using strategic blueprints.

Balance directive/facilitative leadership…for managers, trainers, facilitators and leaders who want
on-the-spot confidence. Get results with tools to engage every group.

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Target Market:
Master Trainers at Compass NAD, Facilitators at BP and U.S. Army MWR Academy now use Focus
Facilitation skills to engage every audience.

Full and part -time brand planners, brand managers, facilitators, managers, and team members
who want a more interactive style and skill set benefit from this practical and engaging approach to
facilitation.

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study #3 PROOF

Focus Facilitation for Strategic Storyboarding:

Before…
Just a sampling of comments I’ve heard from a wide range of clients, in private conversations…

“We had a wide mix in our facilitator group—some very new and others very seasoned. Plus we’d
had a long-standing difference of perspectives between our design team and the facilitators who are
delivering.”
—Field Training Director

“I have had it with facilitation programs that are basically a data dump of techniques. They usually
come with a manual that could hurt your foot if you dropped it! And I still don’t feel able to respond
in the moment to what’s going on in a group.”
—Facilitator

“ I’d really like to know how to deal more effectively with difficult participants.”
—Master Trainer

“I’d like my training team to be able to create interaction…respond to participants’ questions instead
of just presenting the course material.”
—Trainer Manager

After…
“Everyone was so inspired! It’s like a rebirth…exciting…permission to do something different. It’s
clear that you don’t need to change the content, just change the context…in the way you deliver it!”
—Karen Jirik
Director, Field Training Compass USA

“Thank you again for an absolutely stellar training. Everyone is talking about it still! Your style,
the content, and the practicality and applicability of what you shared made it a perfect fit for the
group. We couldn’t have designed it better ourselves.

We’re all looking forward to using our new-found skills and creativity!”

—Bonnie Snedeker
Director, City of Seattle Personal Resource Dept.

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“I personally had my team go through the course to provide a better basis for them to facilitate both
in the classroom and in high-level strategic meetings.

I see my trainer/facilitators using graphics in a new way, working to convey ideas they capture in
clear, concise ways and feeling more adept at how to use visual techniques to make an impact in a
room…and be better at getting results for clients! I would highly recommend this program.”

—Kathy Schroeder
Director, National Learning, Bank One

“Visual learning is a huge aspect of how adults learn and apply concepts…I have learned and
practiced applying creative visuals in my facilitation. I have a better awareness of using visual
learning and how it facilitates adult learning. Thanks for sharing these valuable learning
techniques!”

—Tom McKinney
Corporate Training Services, Delta Airlines

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study #4

Strategic Alignment for Executive Teams

Description:
Create high-level engagement in teams, work-groups and executive leadership. This facilitated
session starts with an assessment of the group, followed with individual interviews. Each interview is
recorded on a visual template on a wall chart.

Individuals present their information to the entire group. Facilitated discussion is captured in large
wall charts to promote interaction, engagement and group decision-making.

Final charts can be used to communicate strategy to the entire organization. Projects are custom
designed to match the organization culture and climate.

Target Market:
Senior executive teams, leadership work groups, project teams, boards and supervisory teams.

Strategic Storyboarding Case Study # 4 PROOF

Strategic Alignment for Executive Teams

Before…
“Individuals on the team don’t speak up in front of the boss. We tend to have a lot of agreement in
the group…but then you hear the downside…in the hallway. I don’t think individuals in this group will
ever come out and say in public what’s really on their mind.”
—Division Director

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“We need to create a safe environment where everyone can express themselves. In front of the top
guy, everyone just says, “Yes.” I know that in the right environment, with the right process we can
get more participation and buy-in. I think you guys have the talent to get inside and help us.”
—HR Director

“Lots of mistrust. Lots of history. Lots of politics. And in our current environment, everyone is just
trying to make their numbers. I’ll be really surprised if you can pull this off.”
—Senior Staff

After…
Participants used the visual charts to tell their own story. Speaking in public, sharing ideas in front of
the entire group including the boss sparked a lot of discussion and dialogue.

After the session, one large wall chart was designed reflecting the entire group agreement. This chart
was used to communicate to each department in the organization.

“I was initially skeptical of this process. But now I can’t believe how much having one map helped
my group. We were able to discuss, decide and focus with this chart. I’d do this again in a second.”
—Field Director

So now you’ve heard all the great news…I’m sure you’re wondering…how can you do what these
folks are doing? How can you set up a room to get this kind of rockin’ results?

I’d like you to know the nitty-gritty of what it takes to build a Command Center so you can build
an effective process and start enjoying the results right away. This is where you can get the tools,
training and everything you need to succeed:

Strategic Storyboarding Enrollment Date

If you’re interested in being like these people that you’ve just met, working with these people and
achieving the same results that they did—I can’t guarantee you by any means that you’ll be able to
take advantage of what we’re going to offer on Monday, June 18, 2007, because of the incredible
demand and how selective we are in working with people.

However, if you sign up for our early notification list, it’ll give you the best chance of joining our club
when it comes out…

I’m not trying to put the pressure on you but here’s how it is, we’ve had 7,000 people standing in line
ready to join up and we’ve gotten thousands more emails. There’s a lot of interest, so make sure to
click on this link if you want to be among the first to know:

Click Here to Join Our Early Notification List

Talk soon,

Thomas Sechehaye
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The World’s #1 Strategic Storyboard Consultant

P.S. All of the people you’ve just met were beginners at using Strategic Storyboarding and
Command Center tools when I first met (at least when it came to depicting strategy), but they all had
an idea or two as to some of the next steps they wanted to take to build winning strategies and tell
powerful stories to share their message.

Maybe you’re a beginner or maybe you’re not, but either way we have created a blog so that you
can tell us what the very next step that you’d like to take in building your visual communication skills:

Make Your Comment On Blog Now

I will be looking at your responses and sharing more case studies and other insider information soon
on the Visible Results blog.

P.P.S. One of the biggest questions I got among the thousands emails that I’ve received in the last
couple weeks was “How much does it cost to join our little club?”

I’ll be announcing the price in the next couple of days, but I can tell you this now:

It will require a considerable investment…

But nowhere near as much as the $65,000 and more that many of the people you’ve just met paid…
and you’ll get everything they got, for joining our little club and a whole lot more.

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