The Graphic Facilitators Guide: how to use your listening, thinking and drawing skills to make meaning

Looking to the past, I amgrateful that I stumbled into Grinnell College . I had no idea what college reallymeant, but I had an intuitive pull to that tiny, intense campus in the middleof Iowa. Grinnell was the perfect environment to foster my critical thinkingand independence. Thank you to Jim, Aaron, Ross, Amihan, Dan, Gwen, Shea,Kathleen and many others for their enduring friendships. Much love to mydearest friend Rebecca Kresse, who reminds me that life is too short, but Illalways remember her heart and how she shone.

Thank you to MGTaylor Corporation for the incredible window into how people worktogether, both our teams and our clients. After wandering out of Grinnell,classmate Kathy Clemons helped me stumble into an Ernst and Young office thatused MG Taylors processes. I discovered that my love of drawing and thinkinghad the name of graphic facilitation, and what the heck a knowledge workerwas. My three most important lessons were iteration, documenting your process,and how to form teams for the task at hand.

I know Im so darn full ofthanks, but Id also like to thank my editor Jenni GroverProkopy . We started out as friends of friends who both happened tobe expanding our businesses in the same directions. I thank Jenni for hercompassion, camaraderie and editing to make this book stronger.

I thank you for taking the time to read this book. Ihope it enables you to do great things and facilitate others in doing greatthings.

Last, I want to share a quotethat gives me chills. It is from architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham.When I first read this quote, it connected to my love of Chicago:

Make no little plans.They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not berealized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble,logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone willbe a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember thatour sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let yourwatchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.

DanielBurnham
Chicago architect
1846-1912

Years later, I reread the quote and it bowled me over withhow it resonates with my work as a graphic facilitator. One hundred plus yearsafter this was written, lets stir womens blood too, and explicitly add thedaughters and granddaughters.