In the world of bikablo, colors play a central role. If it helps clarify information while also supporting the poster layout, a tree may sometimes even be orange, or a lightbulb green. At bikablo, however, no matter how colorful things may get, grey is still the “color of all colors.” Our bikablo trainers have put together seven new color palettes to show which color combinations work best for both beginners and visualization pros. Into the light: bright shades that stream upwards, with light blue as a point of contrast Color plays a very special role in the bikablo technique. It creates structure, highlights...

Last week I had coaching calls with people from around the world; based in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Vietnam, Amsterdam, Singapore & Cambodia. Our conversations were centered around the virus and how it was impacting work and life. Before the Pandemic tsunami hit, some of them had been given new jobs, new roles, new projects are suddenly left rudderless as they don’t know what the future holds. Working virtually people are discovering that they can be more blunt or confident because there is no physical proximity to embarrass or intimidate. Virtual communication also makes it harder to pick up...

I really needed something to take my stressed mind off the worldwide pandemic. I had done the Mindfulness Unraveled colouring posters before but not mindfully. Now was the time to revisit them and hopefully take in the benefits of doing anything (in this case colouring-in) mindfully. The poster was open and waiting, the pencils sharpened and ready for action. I took the time to check-in with what was going on in my mind, heart and body; how I was feeling mentally and physically. Taking slow but deep breaths I started. As I coloured I observed the physical experience of colouring-in;...

I’ve been working from home long before the current COVID-19 situation demanded it and taking a morning walk before starting my workday really helps me. These are some of my tips: Structuring your day with what you will do and when you will do it; create a to-do list. Get started early: It’s best to start your to-do list as soon as you can before your motivation wears off. Behave like you are going to office by setting an alarm, making coffee, having a shower and wearing nice clothes. It can make you more productive. Dedicate a room or surface...

Upskilling is a process of learning new skills to aid you in your work. In the fast-paced world of today, you need Upskilling as it: enhances competencies and thereby ensures job security boosts employability brings new opportunities with added benefits opens up new possibilities with changing job perspectives With the current uncertainties this is a good time to learn something new or practice a skill, put on the backburner because of a lack of time.   I’m using this time to work on my flipcharts, practicing the Bikablo icons. By looking again at the icons I can see newer and fresher...

An Interview with Sylvain Mahe, Enterprise Agile Coach at Palo IT. Singapore.Sylvain was very happy to talk to All Lined Up about how Bikablo has transformed the way he works and the positive impact it has had on his company and clients. How has learning Bikablo changed the way you work and communicate? I work in an agile team which is a group of coaches, facilitators and trainers. Most of us, if not all of us, used slides as a standard way of working. Even though we had a lot of experiential activities in our trainings our presentations were slide...

How are you? I just wanted to check in and hope you and your loved ones are doing well. This is an unprecedented time in our history and the pandemic is having an impact on the way we live our daily lives.  How we navigate through this unique and evolving challenge will define us. Some helpful tips; Letting go, calms us and assures us that we can’t fix the world Patience as there are no quick fixes Trust that this too will pass Living in the present and focusing on the here and now Reaching out to people even virtually...

By combining different elements of visual vocabulary, you can develop your own visual language. If you take a playful approach to this, you will often come up with unusual visual translations of the topic under discussion. In combining different vocabulary elements, we use a technique similar to one that the German language is famous for – a grammatical concept called “compound nouns.” In English, we use this technique, too, for words like “notebook,” “skyscraper,” or “sunshine” – but the German language really takes these compound nouns to a new level, with words like “Schlüssel-Bild” (key visual) or “Hochhaus” (literally, high...

        Actually it’s easy and fun. Look at this video  if you don’t believe us    

“If I was in your position….” “That sounds like a good idea….” “When that happened to me, I did this…..” “I would suggest….” How often, when working to develop coaching skills, do you hear interventions like those above, closely followed by a groan and a recognition that once again, the inexperienced coach has fallen into the trap of giving opinions or relating personal experiences?   In my experience one of the hardest things to overcome in coaching is the innate desire to ‘help’ and this generally plays out in giving advice. As we develop our coaching skills we need to recognise...

Whenever we are trying to comprehend complex topics or make difficult decisions, it can be helpful to ask everyone involved to grab a pen. At the bikablo akademie, we call this type of small-format visualisation “thought sketching.” It helps you to analyse everyday problems, arrive at informed opinions, and gain clarity about the situation at hand. Here’s a practical real-life example: A few years ago, a colleague and I were working together to find suitable office space to rent. After one of our appointments to look at an office, the usual happened: we just couldn’t make a decision. Instead, we found...

The world has been experiencing disruption in many places and industries for several years now. Though the Global Financial Crisis felt like a major disaster having worldwide repercussions, the impact of the Corona Virus is more widespread. It is highly contagious and transmits easily from human to human, making it difficult to contain and control. The way for any person or business to cope with disruption is to have resilience.  Most dictionaries define resilience as the ability to recover quickly. In times of continuous pressure and change, resilience is often cited as one of the key attributes of successful leaders...