Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Maps and Topographical Intelligence
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Situational awareness is central to effective business strategy but is rarely understood outside military contexts.
-
•
Most corporate strategies resemble random buzzword combinations rather than grounded plans.
-
•
True maps require an anchor, meaning in space, and defined movement to convey situational understanding.
-
•
Stories and frameworks like SWOT lack spatial meaning and lead to poor strategy clarity.
-
•
Mapping business components anchored by customer needs reveals evolutionary stages from genesis to commodity.
-
•
Evolutionary patterns explain why one-size-fits-all methods fail and guide appropriate method selection.
-
•
Economic inertia from prior investments heavily influences the pace and success of strategic change.
-
•
The 'innovate, leverage, commoditize' model drives ecosystems by turning proprietary components into public utilities enabling external innovation.
-
•
Doctrines like transparency and challenging assumptions facilitate better strategy conversations in executive teams.
-
•
Co-creation in mapping strategy is essential; only domain insiders can create meaningful strategy maps effectively.
Notable Quotes
"Very few people in business are able to understand or familiar with the concept of situational awareness unless they served in the military."
"I was literally making up our strategy even though the company was profitable and growing."
"Strategy as a service: you just type in a URL and it will generate a strategy based on nothing whatsoever."
"If I don’t have a map, I can’t see the landscape, I can’t see the patterns impacting it, and I’m left only with purpose and blind action."
"Space has meaning in a map — moving components changes the map's meaning, unlike diagrams where space is arbitrary."
"There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all methods; what works depends on the component’s evolutionary stage."
"The Red Queen effect means you have no choice but to adapt as others evolve faster."
"Political capital is critical; good strategy without support will be crushed in large organizations."
"Only people who work intimately in a space can effectively map that space; outsiders cannot produce useful strategy maps."
"Maps force people to write down and challenge assumptions, improving transparency and strategy robustness."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Creativity fuels design, design fuels innovation."
Dr. Karl JeffriesThe Science of Creativity for DesignOps
January 8, 2024
"The culture between buyer and user impacts feature adoption and overall satisfaction."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"Trust is built by showing you’re there to help make them succeed, not just push your agenda."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"Constant communication is necessary; agreement emails can’t be one-and-done."
Alicia MootyDesign Staffing Models
September 30, 2021
"For the right audience, if applied correctly, humor and music can move people in many ways."
Ana Maria Montero Barrantes Aditi Dhar Michelle Kaplan Nate Osborne Matt LaurenceThe Authentic UX Talent Show
January 8, 2024
"We never compromise on the business goals, but how we achieve them can be flexible and pragmatic."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"I didn’t want to be part of that as a founder, hacking attention just to fulfill engagement metrics."
Sofia QuinteroThe Product Philosophy Behind EnjoyHQ
March 10, 2021
"Innovation is very much a team sport."
Laura KleinUnique challenges of innovation in enterprises
April 23, 2020
"Combining the what we see in data with the why we get from user research is where true insights live."
Andrew MichaelBuilding a Product Insights Team
March 10, 2022
