{"id":15973,"date":"2026-05-20T08:49:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/?p=15973"},"modified":"2026-05-20T14:59:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:59:21","slug":"exploring-the-future-of-visual-sensing-in-strategic-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/exploring-the-future-of-visual-sensing-in-strategic-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Future of Visual Sensing in Strategic Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\n
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Over a few months last year, the authors of this paper facilitated a strategic-planning exercise for a large corporate business unit (BU) client working in the North American fibre-based packaging industry. The BU was seeking to refine its business strategy, create a new vision for a revamped management team and to position itself as an attractive investment opportunity for Head office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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Strategy consultant Iryna Baturevych explored how AI might enhance the exercise; Oksana Kandabura, a visual artist, used visual sensing and scribing techniques during the sessions to help the strategic-planning team better capture what was happening during them; and Mark Hollingworth, president of 5i Strategic Affairs, concentrated on hosting and facilitation. Although we knew each other, this was our first time working together on a consulting mandate. By collaborating, we sought to enhance the cold, hard data and analysis generated by models and conversations, while also sensing and capturing the equally important \u201cwarm\/living data\u201d tied to participants, which was ever-changing during the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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This article aims to explore how AI can help humans better interpret and learn from visual scribing\/sensing imagery that is generated during strategic-planning meetings. Three AI tools\u2014Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT (using the Aiden Cinnamon Tea Sensibility Simulation Protocol 2.0)\u2014were asked during the sessions and afterwards to interpret Kandabura\u2019s artwork from each of the three two-day off-site retreats. Their outputs were merged for this article. We invite you to spend a minute or two observing this work (presented below) before reading the subsequent texts. What do you see\/sense? How do you interpret them?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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SESSION 1<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"Session<\/div>\n
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The introductory session<\/div>\n
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The introductory session brought together 20-plus team members from several facilities and geographic locations to create a shared intention, complete a diagnostic, and establish the \u201cdeep dives\u201d required over the summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What did the artwork say to us?<\/div>\n
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The team wanted to come together but weren\u2019t there yet; they were aware that their decisions might not be supported by corporate; they had choices from a range of options\u2014some clearer options were better than others; \u201cmore of the same\u201d was still on the table; they wanted to come together as one going forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How did AI tools interpret the image?<\/div>\n
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This image captures a team at a strategic crossroads\u2014not a straight path but a junction signalling uncertainty, choice, and multiple possible futures. The team framed its first meeting not as refinement of an existing plan, but as redirection.<\/p>\n

On the left, a clustered group aspires to be \u201cagile & aligned\u201d; on the right, a lone figure stands apart near a green circle, while red circles appear along the road. The visual creates stark tension: cohesion versus separation, aspiration versus hesitation. The group appears unified but passive\u2014close together but not moving. This may reflect a compliance-versus-commitment gap: the team knows the language of agility but does not yet feel it.<\/p>\n

The most emotionally charged elements are the questions: \u201cObjective?\u201d and \u201cWill we be empowered to change?\u201d The lone figure near the green signal may represent leadership or decision rights that feel concentrated rather than shared\u2014hinting at a history of top-down or predetermined planning.<\/p>\n

Red circles\u2014more numerous than green\u2014suggest perceived obstacles. The team seems ready but is waiting to see whether the light turns green. This is not misalignment; it is a threshold moment. Psychological safety and genuine empowerment are the real hurdles. Without them, red signals multiply into cynicism. With them, the crossroads becomes momentum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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SESSION 2<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Session<\/div>\n

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In the second session<\/div>\n
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In the second session, the team worked on scenario planning and the identification of different visions for how the BU could move forward while Oksana created the following image.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What did the artwork say to us?<\/div>\n
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The image reflects the challenge of building a strategic plan while many pieces remain in motion\u2014inviting patience and the willingness to move forward without complete clarity. At the centre sits a solid brown rectangle representing the company\u2014stable but not a puzzle piece, hinting at the tension between stability and uncertainty. Around it, a vibrant mix of circles, puzzle pieces, stars, and confetti conveys playfulness, creativity, and lively collaboration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How did AI tools interpret the image?<\/div>\n
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This second image reflects a shift from the first meeting\u2019s anxiety toward energy, integration, and possibility. Interlocking puzzle pieces represent interdependence and diversity\u2014strategy is no longer a straight path but a complex system. The bright colours, spirals, and lightning bolts signal that the team has moved from skepticism toward enthusiasm and psychological safety.<\/p>\n

Overlapping circles along puzzle seams highlight cross-functional collaboration: value appears to emerge at the intersections, not within isolated pieces. Yet the centre remains symbol-rich and somewhat chaotic\u2014many ingredients, but not yet a clear narrative. The rocket is ready; its trajectory is still undefined. If the first drawing reflected the anxiety of the unknown, this one expresses the joy of construction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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SESSION 3<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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The final session<\/div>\n
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The final session focused on in-depth discussion of plausible alternatives, refining the draft \u201cStrategic Temple\u201d (a visual metaphor used to illustrate a company\u2019s strategic plan on a single page) for the BU, and constructing strategic maps for its five facilities, located in different geographic markets across North America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What did the artwork say to us?<\/div>\n
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This piece captures the bright, colourful energy of the team and the dynamic complexity of both the planning process and the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) environment in which the BU operates. The spirals and intersecting lines suggest ongoing development rather than closure: learning through iteration, revisiting key questions at deeper levels. The team appears to have found a rhythm together. Overall, the image represents energized collaboration, courageous truth-telling, systemic thinking, and a surprisingly clear shared vision emerging from complexity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How did AI tools interpret the image?<\/div>\n
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This third image shows a further stage: from crossroads (decision) to puzzle (integration) to spiral field (flow). The rigid puzzle borders have dissolved\u2014only flowing, interwoven spirals remain. The familiar colours no longer sit in separate domains; they overlap and blend. The team has moved beyond \u201cwe fit together\u201d to \u201cwe are intertwined.\u201d Multiple spiral centres may reflect distributed leadership and parallel initiatives. The earlier skepticism has evolved into shared ownership and psychological safety.<\/p>\n

Across three meetings the movement is: separation \u2192 fitting together \u2192 flowing together. At its deepest level, the image feels less like a plan and more like an identity: strategy as patterned movement and shared momentum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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Process Evolution<\/h3>\n

As the AI noted:
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\nThe journey moves from anxiety and hierarchy \u2192 integration and construction \u2192 flow and systemic coherence and from questioning voice \u2192 assembling purpose \u2192 generating shared rhythm. It is a progression not just in strategic clarity, but in the increasing relational maturity of the group. The group stopped negotiating authority and started experiencing collective movement\u2014a team ready not just to execute a plan, but to navigate complexity together with agility and mutual trust.
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Ten Lessons Learned<\/h2>\n
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1.<\/h2>\n

We used AI post-process and in private to glean the maximum from the images. In the future, we would use AI \u201cin situ\u201d\u2014in front of participants at the end of each session\u2014to provoke deeper discussion, and we would allocate significantly more time to the exercise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2.<\/h2>\n

The main value of the AI tools interpreting each artwork was that they made explicit what was largely implicit to the team members: factors, connections, paradoxes, and irregularities were \u201cput on the table\u201d for all to see, without requiring any individual to have the courage to voice them. They certainly highlighted elements that neither we, as facilitators, nor the participants consciously voiced or noted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3.<\/h2>\n

Although we used three AI models, one may be sufficient. Formats and styles differed, but no single tool proved clearly superior. It comes down to personal preference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4.<\/h2>\n

Simply having someone in the room tasked with sensing the experience in each moment\u2014and capturing it through art\u2014changed the social field in the space, and for the better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5.<\/h2>\n

The major challenge for facilitators is to create an atmosphere of openness, creativity, and (serious) play at the onset that welcomes visual sensing as a legitimate strategic-planning tool. Having someone formally appointed (and highly visible) in that role amplifies that openness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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6.<\/h2>\n

It takes courage to introduce visual sensing into corporate decision-making. As with anything new, you must be willing to fail\u2014or learn. Nothing of value may emerge. But you will never know unless you try.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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7.<\/h2>\n

You do not need artistic talent for visual sensing\u2014although it is obviously an asset. You do need to set aside judgment and allow your hands to move freely. The golden rule: \u201cNever second-guess yourself. If it feels right, let it happen.\u201d There is no good or bad creation (after all, visual scribing\/sensing is a form of \u201cbrainstorming\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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8.<\/h2>\n

When showing the art to the strategic-planning team in order to gather their insights and opinions, it is important for facilitators to emphasize that no comments are \u201cgood or bad.\u201d Those with more comfort with \u201cmodern art\u201d may offer more insights but an absolute novice may offer a viewpoint that proves invaluable and that no one else could see, feel, or express. They will only do so if they feel comfortable enough to share.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9.<\/h2>\n

\u201cWarm data\u201d elements such as buy-in, engagement, motivation, trust, and connection are vital to decision-making and change management, yet tough to capture in KPIs or PowerPoint. Capturing them in works of art may be the only way to articulate them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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10.<\/h2>\n

The left side of the brain seeks to understand and control the world in fragments\u2014language, logic, explicit facts. The right side of the brain, excelling at implicit knowledge, ambiguity, paradox, and emotional intelligence, sees the world as an integrated, dynamic system. The left brain is naturally dominant; visual sensing allows the right brain to come to the fore. Perhaps this is what the world needs today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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The \u201cBig\u201d Insight<\/h3>\n

In the right hands, the use of AI for data collection and analysis at each step of the strategic-planning process and to assist with the creation of the final plan can save a lot of time and create a lot of value. The drawback is that it increases the focus of the strategic-planning team on what the \u201ccold,\u201d hard data and facts might tell them.<\/p>\n

In order to expose, include, and highlight the \u201cwarm,\u201d soft data that is equally important in the process, we believe that the use of visual sensing will prove essential to counterbalance the \u201cleft-brain\u201d dominance and tendency. Never forget that strategic planning is as much a human \u201cchange\u201d experience as a rigid exercise in analyzing data.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, the client was happy at the end of the process: The BU created a shared vision of where the team was going and a roadmap to get there and had attained a high level of buy-in from all participants. \u201cOur hypothesis is that AI, the social arts, and strategic-planning exercises constitute a perfect strategic-planning triad.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n

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\"Mark_Hollingworth\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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By Mark HOLLINGWORTH
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Consultant expert in Team Management, Strategic Planning and Change Management<\/div>\n
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Further reading on this topic:<\/div>\n
– The Recipe for Successful Leverage of AI: Human Beings Being (more) Human!<\/a><\/div>\n
– Enhancing Scenario Planning With AI
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About Authors<\/h4>\n
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Iryna BATUREVYCH<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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MA (publishing\/journalism), is a goal-focused strategy consultant and program development manager with extensive experience developing impactful strategies for publishing businesses, government, and cultural non-profit initiatives. Baturevych combines data-driven decision-making with a creative, results-based approach. In 2009, she founded Chytomo, a leading web portal on publishing and culture in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. She holds a certificate in Supporting the Creative Economy from the British Council (in partnership with the Cultural Associates, Oxford)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Oksana KANDABURA<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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MA (business\/managerial economics), is a visual artist. Through diverse work and volunteer roles across industries and multicultural environments in Ukraine, Mauritius, and Canada, Kandabura has gained a unique perspective blending business, artistic, and teaching experience. With a background of more than 10 years in project coordination, process improvement, and budget oversight, she brings a solid foundation in business operations alongside strengths in creative problem-solving, adaptability, and clear communication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Mark HOLLINGWORTH<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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M.Eng, EMBA, president of 5i Strategic Affairs, is an expert in strategic leadership who has worked as a management consultant, workshop leader\/facilitator, educator, and ontological coach for clients in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors for over 30 years. In his mission to help \u201cpeople, companies, and society prepare for sustainable success,\u201d Hollingworth acts as process leader, guide, trusted supporter, and, when necessary, devil\u2019s advocate, using his talent and experience to help individuals and organizations make crucial decisions that result in concrete action and change. In Canada, he has worked with industry leaders such as ArcelorMittal, Bank of Montreal, CITI, Cogeco, Dillon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Discover how visual sensing and embodied practices can strengthen strategic planning, leadership agility and collaborative decision-making in complex environments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"13764,13748,13806,9241,9103,13365","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15973"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16138,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15973\/revisions\/16138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.setym.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}