Edoardo is the first interviewee that we have talked to who really seems to have a talent for Art. He draws still life and seems to be a good artist (even though he’s too modest to say so).
So why does he need to join Janis’ Explain ideas Visually class? Watch the video below and find out.
Watch the full interview below:
The Four-forces debrief
Edoardo - Four Forces Analysis
Edoardo has a background in big corporate roles, but since he moved back to Italy in early 2024, he started his own consulting and coaching business where he shares skills on team dynamics and change management.
He has a long history of studying art - even doing live drawing with models and portrait work. His doodles often include small comic characters or people.
He has also seen the power and value of visual metaphors in his business work - using images to convey ideas in presentations is 'more impactful' and he realised how powerful an image could be to convey an idea.
Between May and September 2024 he became more active on LinkedIn and began following creators like PJ Milani and Janis. He realised that their content - about leadership and personal development - is not dissimilar to his own work.
The fact creators were able to use art skills to communicate business ideas was interesting to him, and he thought it would be a good way for him to process his own ideas, simplify his messages, and potentially create training content to use in his client work.
A side benefit of creating these images was that he could post them on LinkedIn and get feedback on his ideas - so he could refine this, help others, and clarify his own ideas. He began putting serious effort into creating at least 1 infographic carousel per week, and as he saw these getting more traction, he wondered how he could get better.
He thought about PJ Milani's course, but PJ's style is similar to his own - lots of characters and complex visuals - whereas Janis' style is much more minimal, simplifying the idea to its core essence, and he was drawn to learning more so he could learn the thought process Janis uses to come up with these visual ideas, NOT to learn how to create the images themselves.
He joined around Christmas time - once he had completed another course and had the time and space to take this course. He didn't want to buy it and not use it.
He thought about the guided training course - but only wanted a 'glimpse' into the process, and felt he could always add this on at a later date.
Edoardo has previously read through 'The Back of a Napkin' and is curious about new approaches to creating visual images
If Janis had sold a book he thinks he would have bought that over a course
The price was not a major issue - he compares this to the cost of a shirt or pair of shoes - if he got '1 insight he could use then it would be worth it'. He also thought about this relative to the cost of a few hours of in-person coaching - and thought it was 'worth it'.
He says he's stayed on as a customer/user because of the community and the feedback that he gets. This further reinforced the fact that he didn't need the real-time sessions with Janis, as he wasn't in a hurry to get to use these visuals.
The tips on Amplifying an idea, and on looking at different visual styles to try to fit one idea into many different styles was really useful.
He didn't realise the community was there to begin with, but now he uses it and is a big fan - this keeps him coming back to be part of a network of people that are using visuals to communicate and supporting one another.
It seems there are quite a few people who want to create a hobby (or continue to use their hobby) and combine it with their work. By learning how to create visual ideas, he can kill two birds with one stone and enjoy doing something that is also useful.