What is… A Venn Diagram
Named after a British logician (who knew there was such a thing), John Venn, the Venn diagram is a way of showing multiple ideas and how they overlap and intersect with other, usually related items. More commonly we see two or three overlapping circles used for a Venn diagram, but that is not a requirement. You can have any number (greater than one) in any shape (though typically circular or oval in nature) to illustrate your points. The modern version, attributed to Venn, dates back to the late 1800s. But there is evidence of similar thinking from much earlier, the thirteenth century, with the design and use cases evolving until finally becoming the Venn diagram we recognize today.
A Venn diagram uses overlapping circles or other shapes to illustrate the logical relationships between two or more sets of items. Often, they serve to graphically organize things, highlighting how the items are similar and different. — Lucidchart
This type of diagram has many use cases, but is most commonly connected to logic, statistics, and other mathematical relationships. In the business world, we tend to see them used to present similar business concepts that have an overlap in the middle that represents the outcome we are looking for. As an example, we may have three circles that overlap in the middle where the outside circles might represent our team, our processes, and our marketing with the customer in the middle as the common thread.
The Venn diagram can be a good way for showing comparisons, where you want to highlight the similarities and differences between multiple concepts. Using the example above, your business processes, marketing, and team are separate and unique parts of your business. But as you move them closer to the middle, they each touch the customer. This helps to illustrate how three seemingly disparate components of your business are also related, and in this case in an essential way, the connection to the customer. It also shows that you will likely have other overlaps between the different areas. How do other processes impact the team? How does marketing connect with your processes? It quickly becomes evident that few things truly stand on their own, and understanding the connections and overlaps between them can be a valuable exercise to explore.
How can you use a Venn diagram to see the logical connections between parts of your business?
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