Looking Back, Looking Forward!

My mantra for 2022 was “Go with the flow” and the journey in 2022 took me to some very interesting places. By nature, going with the flow means there will be interesting twists, turns and hurdles that we need to find our way through, much like the stream of water that alters it course as it flows.

I started as a solopreneur in year 2021 – something that I always wanted to do. Being a solopreneur enables me to express myself fully through my work in more than one areas in a way that adds value to the customers. It has been and continues to be an exciting exploration of the world outside and within.

For the first time in 16 years since I started this blog, I had to take a few months of a break from blogging. I plan to get back to regular rhythm of blogging in 2023. In the world dominated by algorithms, blogging continues to be the original social media for me.

Here’s a rather quick/short summary of key highlights of 2022 for me:

Book Illustrations

• The year started with the buzz around my friend Krish Shankar’s new book “Catalyze: Power up your people ecosystem” that was released in December 2021. The book contains visual chapter summaries in form of my sketchnotes.
• Through the year, I also worked with my friend Yogesh Soni to illustrate chapter summaries of his new book titled “Digital Belonging: Building Human Centered Organizations”. It is a well-timed book at a time when organizations are still struggling with creating a sense of engagement and belonging in a hybrid work environment.

More about these books here.

Podcast Appearances

In April 2022, I had a great time interacting with my friend Becky Robinson on “The Book Marketing Action Podcast” where I shared my journey of sharing ideas and building an audience. Becky came up with a wonderful book titled “REACH – Create the biggest possible audience for your message, book, or cause.” which I reviewed here. Here is a sketchnote summary of insights I shared with Becky Robinson.

You can listen to the full episode here.

In the same month, I also had a huge privilege of being on my #sketchnote guru Mike Rohde’s Sketchnote Army podcast where I shared about how I integrate visuals into my training and consulting business. I talked about things like visual co-creation and helping businesses gain clarity through visual thinking tools.

Listen to all my podcast appearances here.

Visual Thinking Workshops

Monthly visual thinking workshops were attended by participants from 17 countries through the year. It’s heartening to activate people visually in their pursuit of learning. The workshop also went to some of the renowned organizations globally helping people/teams with visual thinking strategies.

Amongst other highlights, I delivered a virtual keynote address at International Sketchnote Camp 2022 held in Sczcecin, Poland.

The workshop has found relevance in various domains from product design, learning, problem-solving, sense-making, communications, research and academia. I conducted a visual thinking workshop for research and post-graduation students of IIT Gandhinagar in September 2022. I also conducted a workshop for Open University, UK this year.

Consulting and Facilitation

This year also saw excellent growth in coaching, consulting and facilitation engagements. The work ranged from visually facilitating strategy off sites, coaching program for new leaders and enabling strong organizations through senior leadership coaching. The diversity of exposure and interactions from this experience has been a great learning experience.

My work in facilitation and consulting took me to places like Goa, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Chennai this year.

Looking Forward

I am excited about two new books that are coming out in 2023 with my illustrated case studies and chapter summaries. These books are written by people who are renowned thought leaders and practitioners. My consulting association with customers will continue with new challenges and new opportunities to make a difference (and learn a great deal in the process).

I continue to go with the flow and operate with the spirit of exploration and generosity of contributions. That intent will hopefully take my work to different and unexplored territories.

Gratitude 2022

I am eternally grateful to so many people who support my work, share it along and believe in what I do. I am thankful to all customers and partners of QAspire Consulting who bring in challenging work and opportunities. I am thankful to YOU – the reader of this blog for being around and sharing my work.

Here’s to a glorious 2023!