Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Simplifying complex ideas through fun and insightful sketches. Explore topics from science, creativity, psychology, and more explained in pictures.

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Recent sketches

Finishing lines

“Just remember that finishing lines are good, but their most important role is to get you over the start line in the first place.” This little piece of wisdom is from Stevie Smith (not the poet). Stevie embarked on a human-powered journey around the world—Expedition 360—and reached Hawaii under pedal power*. I learned about him from a little chapter in One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter. As soon as I finished the chapter where he speaks with Stevie I immediately reread it. Mike also shared this deeper and more poetic version of the same insight: “Happiness is the acceptance of the journey as it is now, not the promise of the other shore” *Stevie’s companion Jason Lewis completed the circumnavigation of the world 13 years after they began. This quote, modified to a lovely two-page spread, features with a number of others in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures. You can also listen to us discuss this sketch with the brilliant Brendan Leonard in the Sketchplanations podcast episode on Finishing lines Also see: Forcing function The doorstep mile…“Just remember that finishing lines are good, but their most important role is to get you over the start line in the first place.” This little piece of wisdom is from Stevie Smith (not the poet). Stevie embarked on a human-powered journey around the world—Expedition 360—and reached Hawaii under pedal power*. I learned about him from a little chapter in One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter. As soon as I finished the chapter where he speaks with Stevie I immediately reread it. Mike also shared this deeper and more poetic version of the same insight: “Happiness is the acceptance of the journey as it is now, not the promise of the other shore” *Stevie’s companion Jason Lewis completed the circumnavigation of the world 13 years after they began. This quote, modified to a lovely two-page spread, features with a number of others in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures. You can also listen to us discuss this sketch with the brilliant Brendan Leonard in the Sketchplanations podcast episode on Finishing lines Also see: Forcing function The doorstep mile

11 Jul 2020

Hope

I hadn’t given much thought to hope, beyond it being a nice feeling to have, until I heard of CR Snyder’s cognitive model for hope which shed a new light on it for me. He proposed a model of hope where (paraphrasing) an individual may be hopeful if they have: Goals they desire. If you don’t or can’t picture any future state you’d like then you won’t have a lot of hope. Pathways. You need to see some ways that you may make step-by-step progress towards a goal. Willpower or agency. You need to be motivated and believe that you have the ability to succeed at your goal. With all of these you can imagine feeling hopeful. Without any one of them and you probably won’t so much. The mountain is the Ogre, a wholly impossible looking peak scaled by Doug Scott and others for which I would have had zero hope to climb (no pathways, no willpower) and yet they remarkably did. HT once again to Brené Brown in Dare to Lead.…I hadn’t given much thought to hope, beyond it being a nice feeling to have, until I heard of CR Snyder’s cognitive model for hope which shed a new light on it for me. He proposed a model of hope where (paraphrasing) an individual may be hopeful if they have: Goals they desire. If you don’t or can’t picture any future state you’d like then you won’t have a lot of hope. Pathways. You need to see some ways that you may make step-by-step progress towards a goal. Willpower or agency. You need to be motivated and believe that you have the ability to succeed at your goal. With all of these you can imagine feeling hopeful. Without any one of them and you probably won’t so much. The mountain is the Ogre, a wholly impossible looking peak scaled by Doug Scott and others for which I would have had zero hope to climb (no pathways, no willpower) and yet they remarkably did. HT once again to Brené Brown in Dare to Lead.

4 Jul 2020

Sexy value

Sexy Value is what you get when someone can launch something that is not only cheaper but also better. It’s a near irresistible proposition. Most new things that are better don’t tend to also be cheaper—increased quality usually has a corresponding increase in cost. So Sexy Value is often made possible through a new technology or approach. It’s like when the first taxi apps started appearing. To me, the first experience was just so much better than what I was used to—no trying to catch a taxi in the rain, seeing when the cab would arrive and simple, non-awkward, no swinging by the ATM payments—and yet at the same time, it was also cheaper. Sexy Value is not the only way to compete. If you make something better, people will pay for the value it provides them. But you’re on to a winner if you can also do it cheaper. Sexy Value is a name, I believe, from Ogilvy and Mather. You might also like another model of theirs: The Big Ideal…Sexy Value is what you get when someone can launch something that is not only cheaper but also better. It’s a near irresistible proposition. Most new things that are better don’t tend to also be cheaper—increased quality usually has a corresponding increase in cost. So Sexy Value is often made possible through a new technology or approach. It’s like when the first taxi apps started appearing. To me, the first experience was just so much better than what I was used to—no trying to catch a taxi in the rain, seeing when the cab would arrive and simple, non-awkward, no swinging by the ATM payments—and yet at the same time, it was also cheaper. Sexy Value is not the only way to compete. If you make something better, people will pay for the value it provides them. But you’re on to a winner if you can also do it cheaper. Sexy Value is a name, I believe, from Ogilvy and Mather. You might also like another model of theirs: The Big Ideal

26 Jun 2020

Solstice

From the combination of sol (sun) and sistere (cause to stand or stop) the solstice marks the highest or lowest points of the sun’s path in the sky each year. In summer, for instance, the sun’s arc in the sky stops its daily ascent at the longest day of the year. There it reverses, beginning its descent to the autumnal equinox — with equal day and night — and eventually to its lowest point at the year’s shortest day, the winter solstice. At that point, its descent finished, the sun once again begins its slow climb towards the summer solstice. Also see: Equinox Seasons…From the combination of sol (sun) and sistere (cause to stand or stop) the solstice marks the highest or lowest points of the sun’s path in the sky each year. In summer, for instance, the sun’s arc in the sky stops its daily ascent at the longest day of the year. There it reverses, beginning its descent to the autumnal equinox — with equal day and night — and eventually to its lowest point at the year’s shortest day, the winter solstice. At that point, its descent finished, the sun once again begins its slow climb towards the summer solstice. Also see: Equinox Seasons

20 Jun 2020

Analytics maturity

There are lots of questions you can ask of data. I like this model as it gives a framework for the different types of questions you might ask. It was introduced to me as the data science pyramid with descriptive analytics — measuring what’s happening — being the foundation on which others are built. You don’t have to go in order, but it’s a nice approach to consider how the questions you’re asking of your data might evolve. To take our school Summer fête as an example, for a long time takings were all in cash and put into one bucket at the end for counting. You end up with one number for how much you raised. But you might move to collecting more descriptive data on the takings for each stall — whether the bar earns more than the tombola, for example. You then might be able to ask diagnostic questions like figuring out why one fête earned more than another with a different mix of stalls. If you know how many people came you might be able to make some predictions on the takings of a future fête based on number of people and stall types. And if you get fancy you might start to use your data to figure out how you could raise more money for the school in future. There are many ways to slice and dice data and the questions you ask, but I like the clarifying simplicity of this one. As far as I know, the framework is the Analytics Ascendancy model, or Analytics Value Escalator, or other such business sounding name from Gartner.…There are lots of questions you can ask of data. I like this model as it gives a framework for the different types of questions you might ask. It was introduced to me as the data science pyramid with descriptive analytics — measuring what’s happening — being the foundation on which others are built. You don’t have to go in order, but it’s a nice approach to consider how the questions you’re asking of your data might evolve. To take our school Summer fête as an example, for a long time takings were all in cash and put into one bucket at the end for counting. You end up with one number for how much you raised. But you might move to collecting more descriptive data on the takings for each stall — whether the bar earns more than the tombola, for example. You then might be able to ask diagnostic questions like figuring out why one fête earned more than another with a different mix of stalls. If you know how many people came you might be able to make some predictions on the takings of a future fête based on number of people and stall types. And if you get fancy you might start to use your data to figure out how you could raise more money for the school in future. There are many ways to slice and dice data and the questions you ask, but I like the clarifying simplicity of this one. As far as I know, the framework is the Analytics Ascendancy model, or Analytics Value Escalator, or other such business sounding name from Gartner.

14 Jun 2020

Net Promoter Score

Pitched as the one number you need to grow your business, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a way to find out from your customers how many love what you’re doing enough to tell their friends vs how many are ambivalent or negative about your business. The resulting number, your NPS, ranging from +100 to -100 has been shown to be an indicator of companies’ future success. To calculate your NPS ask your customers how likely they would be to recommend your business to a friend—or variations thereof—and give them a scale of 0 (not likely) to 10 (very likely) to answer with. Those who answer 9 or 10 are your biggest fans or Promoters. Those who answer 7 or 8 are passively satisfied—they like your business but are unlikely to shout about it. And those answering 6 or below are your Detractors. If they talk about your business it could well be negative. Your NPS is your % of Promoters minus the % of your Detractors. For example, if you received 100 responses, 35 as 9s or 10s, 37 as 7s and 8s, and 28 as 0–6s then your NPS would be 35 minus 28 = 7. Keep track of your NPS over time and you’ll get a sense of how your business is doing. Follow up with qualitative feedback, for instance, “Why did you give this rating?”, and get a recipe for improving your business. Simple. Learn more in the original Harvard Business Review article, “The One Number You Need to Grow” by Frederick F. Reichheld.…Pitched as the one number you need to grow your business, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a way to find out from your customers how many love what you’re doing enough to tell their friends vs how many are ambivalent or negative about your business. The resulting number, your NPS, ranging from +100 to -100 has been shown to be an indicator of companies’ future success. To calculate your NPS ask your customers how likely they would be to recommend your business to a friend—or variations thereof—and give them a scale of 0 (not likely) to 10 (very likely) to answer with. Those who answer 9 or 10 are your biggest fans or Promoters. Those who answer 7 or 8 are passively satisfied—they like your business but are unlikely to shout about it. And those answering 6 or below are your Detractors. If they talk about your business it could well be negative. Your NPS is your % of Promoters minus the % of your Detractors. For example, if you received 100 responses, 35 as 9s or 10s, 37 as 7s and 8s, and 28 as 0–6s then your NPS would be 35 minus 28 = 7. Keep track of your NPS over time and you’ll get a sense of how your business is doing. Follow up with qualitative feedback, for instance, “Why did you give this rating?”, and get a recipe for improving your business. Simple. Learn more in the original Harvard Business Review article, “The One Number You Need to Grow” by Frederick F. Reichheld.

6 Jun 2020

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