Challenge : Describe your challenge , including all relevant information . 

 Over the past decade , the financial industry in the United States has faced an unprecedented number of   transformative challenges including sweeping regulatory reforms with tougher compliance burdens .   This   regulatory scrutiny has forced a number of banking institutions , including my client , to begin a journey of   “ defining and driving a culture of risk resiliency across the bank ” . 

 This challenge is what can be easily described as a “ wicked problem ” where the stakeholders of the bank ,   especially senior management , ca n't seem to agree on a definition of what resiliency or even culture is ,   much less agree on a solution or a way of achieve a culture of resiliency .    In essence , as Rosangela Watkins   points out , “ the only way to see if something works is to try it ” . 

 So , our challenge of defining resiliency and developing a momentum plan to drive a culture of resiliency   by aligning a group of 50 + internal stakeholders from diverse backgrounds ( business development ,   technology , operations ) , is an ideal challenge for design thinking , in general and visualization , in   particular . 

 Selection : In your own words , briefly describe the tool you selected 

 I specifically selected visualization because I needed a tool that could avoid endless debates amongst the   diverse stakeholder on how they might define risk , resiliency and culture , all concepts that are complex   and where no right or wrong answer truly exists .   As Rosangela Watkins writes , “ when we´re talking and   we´re verbalizing things we see internally , we may all be understanding the words in a slightly different   way . ”    So , the challenge requires a tool that is able to explore those different internal interpretations , find   common patterns or threads , and begin to think synthesize it . 

 The strength behind this tool is that the stakeholders can all “ tap into a single picture ” . This is critical   because people support what they help to create and visualization is the process of creating a picture of   something – like a culture of risk resiliency – that doesn´t yet exist in this particular organization .   “ It´s   creating pictures of something that will soon be ” .   Rosangela Watkins 

 Application : Describe how you applied the tool you selected to your challenge 

 In order to apply this tool effectively during the actual half - day session whose objective was , in part , to   align around a common definition of risk resiliency and develop a momentum plan to drive a culture of   resiliency across the bank , I took the following steps : 

 1 . Conducted numerous interviews with key stakeholders across three areas ( business , technology , 

 and operations ) to understand their definition of resiliency and consider an appropriate analogy 

 2 . Eight different images where created for each of the most relevant analogies provided by the 

 interviewees , including : resiliency is the plumbing that Wall Street is built on , burying the electric   lines , or the foundation of a house . 

 3 . As the senior leadership team arrived the day of the session , I asked them to reflect on all of the 

 analogies that they had shared with us and asked them to answer “ what the analogies shared in   common ” .   I wanted them to see that in spite of the fact that they were all different , there was a   common pattern that ran through all of them — the fact that these images all represented resiliency   as the “ foundation ” on which the bank was built on . 

 4 . After conducting a number of introductory presentations and activities that helped clarify and 

 align the stakeholder on the rationale for why a culture of risk resiliency was so important now , I   developed a specific visualization activity that asked them to image a time in the future ( say 3 - 5 

 years out ) where , in this utopian ideal , they have been successful in evolving their culture to drive   and sustain resiliency at the bank .   They were then asked to write a headline to communicate their   vision forcefully and optimistically and draw an image that captures what good looks like . 

 5 . After having crafted the headlines to the article , the groups began to converge on a number of 

 different images all of which , except for one , were distinctly different to the original eight   analogies . The groups were then asked to share their work to the rest of the group and focus , in   particular , on the discussions and thought process that went into the image . 

 6 . As the groups began to share their pictures and thoughts , there was a general sense of excitement 

 among the senior leadership team as they began to rally around several of these visuals .   Perhaps it   was because they began to sense that alignment was possible ?    That the future they were   visualizing was possible ?   After approximately 10 minutes , one new image was proposed that   seems to catch on like wildfire — that of Atlas supporting the World .    After a few minor iterations ,   it became clear that the message for this senior leadership team would be that risk resiliency was   “ the power to prevail ” . 

 Insight : Describe the insight you gained from applying the tool you selected to your challenge 

 I would highlight two new , key insights : 

 1 . Visualization helps garner buy - in more easily .   While it is easy to pick apart a sentence by 

 focusing on the dislike or rejection of one word or focusing on the “ interpretation ” of another ,   visualization seems to be a more universal language .   It allows us to first and foremost share in the   joy of “ success ” in aligning around a common picture .   This makes verbalization , or putting words   behind the image , become a much easier feat to accomplish . 

 2 . Visualization also allows for an easier exchange of observations , ideas , and insights amongst the 

 stakeholders .   As the sense of alignment and consensus begins to grow as stakeholders discuss the   different images , it becomes easier to engage an even wider number of participants into the   discussion and deepen the conversation .   Since it is difficult to disagree with a drawing , the   conversation becomes lively and engaging , rather that confrontational .   As a result , it is much   easier to exploit the creativity amongst the group to generate a new and novel solution . 

 Approach : Describe what you might do differently next time -- applying the same tool you selected   or a different one -- and the reason(s ) why . 

 One of the things I would do differently is use visualization jointly with storytelling .   While visualization   allowed the group of senior leaders to achieve alignment around the definition of resiliency and   eventually develop a momentum plan with a number of key initiatives geared to drive a culture of   resiliency , it is important to keep in mind what Rosangela Watkins highlighted when she stated that , “ it´s not   about the list of things we have to do , it´s about the connection that we give to people about a piece of   information that we´re trying to share ” . 

 In this case , I think using storytelling in developing the momentum plan would have allowed the senior   leadership team to create a powerful means of creating a “ purpose ” or a “ cause ” that could have ignited   and united all employees in the organization around the initiatives that they would be in charge of   implementing across the organization .   Rather than create a list of interesting initiatives to “ solve ” the   challenges of evolving a culture of resiliency as we did , storytelling would have allowed us to find a way   to ignite and untie people because stories are an agent of change … they change our hearts and minds . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Challenge : Describe your challenge , including all relevant information . 

 Over the past decade , the financial industry in the United States has faced an unprecedented number of   transformative challenges including sweeping regulatory reforms with tougher compliance burdens .   This   regulatory scrutiny has forced a number of banking institutions , including my client , to begin a journey of   “ defining and driving a culture of risk resiliency across the bank ” . 

 This challenge is what can be easily described as a “ wicked problem ” where the stakeholders of the bank ,   especially senior management , ca n't seem to agree on a definition of what resiliency or even culture is ,   much less agree on a solution or a way of achieve a culture of resiliency .    In essence , as Rosangela Watkins   points out , “ the only way to see if something works is to try it ” . 

 So , our challenge of defining resiliency and developing a momentum plan to drive a culture of resiliency   by aligning a group of 50 + internal stakeholders from diverse backgrounds ( business development ,   technology , operations ) , is an ideal challenge for design thinking , in general and visualization , in   particular . 

 Selection : In your own words , briefly describe the tool you selected 

 I specifically selected visualization because I needed a tool that could avoid endless debates amongst the   diverse stakeholder on how they might define risk , resiliency and culture , all concepts that are complex   and where no right or wrong answer truly exists .   As Rosangela Watkins writes , “ when we´re talking and   we´re verbalizing things we see internally , we may all be understanding the words in a slightly different   way . ”    So , the challenge requires a tool that is able to explore those different internal interpretations , find   common patterns or threads , and begin to think synthesize it . 

 The strength behind this tool is that the stakeholders can all “ tap into a single picture ” . This is critical   because people support what they help to create and visualization is the process of creating a picture of   something – like a culture of risk resiliency – that doesn´t yet exist in this particular organization .   “ It´s   creating pictures of something that will soon be ” .   Rosangela Watkins 

 Application : Describe how you applied the tool you selected to your challenge 

 In order to apply this tool effectively during the actual half - day session whose objective was , in part , to   align around a common definition of risk resiliency and develop a momentum plan to drive a culture of   resiliency across the bank , I took the following steps : 

 1 . Conducted numerous interviews with key stakeholders across three areas ( business , technology , 

 and operations ) to understand their definition of resiliency and consider an appropriate analogy 

 2 . Eight different images where created for each of the most relevant analogies provided by the 

 interviewees , including : resiliency is the plumbing that Wall Street is built on , burying the electric   lines , or the foundation of a house . 

 3 . As the senior leadership team arrived the day of the session , I asked them to reflect on all of the 

 analogies that they had shared with us and asked them to answer “ what the analogies shared in   common ” .   I wanted them to see that in spite of the fact that they were all different , there was a   common pattern that ran through all of them — the fact that these images all represented resiliency   as the “ foundation ” on which the bank was built on . 

 4 . After conducting a number of introductory presentations and activities that helped clarify and 

 align the stakeholder on the rationale for why a culture of risk resiliency was so important now , I   developed a specific visualization activity that asked them to image a time in the future ( say 3 - 5 

 years out ) where , in this utopian ideal , they have been successful in evolving their culture to drive   and sustain resiliency at the bank .   They were then asked to write a headline to communicate their   vision forcefully and optimistically and draw an image that captures what good looks like . 

 5 . After having crafted the headlines to the article , the groups began to converge on a number of 

 different images all of which , except for one , were distinctly different to the original eight   analogies . The groups were then asked to share their work to the rest of the group and focus , in   particular , on the discussions and thought process that went into the image . 

 6 . As the groups began to share their pictures and thoughts , there was a general sense of excitement 

 among the senior leadership team as they began to rally around several of these visuals .   Perhaps it   was because they began to sense that alignment was possible ?    That the future they were   visualizing was possible ?   After approximately 10 minutes , one new image was proposed that   seems to catch on like wildfire — that of Atlas supporting the World .    After a few minor iterations ,   it became clear that the message for this senior leadership team would be that risk resiliency was   “ the power to prevail ” . 

 Insight : Describe the insight you gained from applying the tool you selected to your challenge 

 I would highlight two new , key insights : 

 1 . Visualization helps garner buy - in more easily .   While it is easy to pick apart a sentence by 

 focusing on the dislike or rejection of one word or focusing on the “ interpretation ” of another ,   visualization seems to be a more universal language .   It allows us to first and foremost share in the   joy of “ success ” in aligning around a common picture .   This makes verbalization , or putting words   behind the image , become a much easier feat to accomplish . 

 2 . Visualization also allows for an easier exchange of observations , ideas , and insights amongst the 

 stakeholders .   As the sense of alignment and consensus begins to grow as stakeholders discuss the   different images , it becomes easier to engage an even wider number of participants into the   discussion and deepen the conversation .   Since it is difficult to disagree with a drawing , the   conversation becomes lively and engaging , rather that confrontational .   As a result , it is much   easier to exploit the creativity amongst the group to generate a new and novel solution . 

 Approach : Describe what you might do differently next time -- applying the same tool you selected   or a different one -- and the reason(s ) why . 

 One of the things I would do differently is use visualization jointly with storytelling .   While visualization   allowed the group of senior leaders to achieve alignment around the definition of resiliency and   eventually develop a momentum plan with a number of key initiatives geared to drive a culture of   resiliency , it is important to keep in mind what Rosangela Watkins highlighted when she stated that , “ it´s not   about the list of things we have to do , it´s about the connection that we give to people about a piece of   information that we´re trying to share ” . 

 In this case , I think using storytelling in developing the momentum plan would have allowed the senior   leadership team to create a powerful means of creating a “ purpose ” or a “ cause ” that could have ignited   and united all employees in the organization around the initiatives that they would be in charge of   implementing across the organization .   Rather than create a list of interesting initiatives to “ solve ” the   challenges of evolving a culture of resiliency as we did , storytelling would have allowed us to find a way   to ignite and untie people because stories are an agent of change … they change our hearts and minds .
### Output: 