Mapping the Business Landscape
Thought Leadership Forum - IPMS - Basle Switzerland
John Bolden, TLIR Group
“A Map of the Business Landscape Provides a Firm Foundation for Establishing Direction and Making Decisions about What Is, What Will Be and What has to Happen in Between…”
Here’s an example of an ancient map…Notice the scant detail along the coastline and vast expanses of white spaces, particularly in the interior regions. Notice also the drawings of imaginary creatures in the white spaces!
Why fill in white space with assumptive imaginings? Because no one knew specifically what was there, everybody guessed…
White space replete with imaginary dangers is an excellent metaphor for what we see as a significant void that exists in virtually every business; the absence of a clear, concise and meaningful view of how business functions (processes, systems, information sets and work flows) interconnect, intersect and interrelate across the business...
This void exists because efforts to improve the business are typically governed by linear, insular thinking. In other words, a narrow focus is applied to the vision, the plan and the actions necessary to implement the improvement.
White space in today’s business environment is not so much that which is unexplored as that which is forgotten or overlooked or ignored or taken for granted…
The reason for white spaces in today’s business environment is not hard to pin down; over time a myriad of diverse initiatives created, updated, tweaked, eradicated and rebuilt systems, processes and work flows across the business.
With so much change occurring every day; what was changed and how it fits into the big picture got lost in the rush to build, renew, reinvent…
Quite a Conundrum!
The need for speed is paramount yet the absence of clear, concise maps of the landscape slows progress and hinders attainment of objectives…
With a map of the business landscape in hand; initiatives to transform, reinvent or improve the business will be far less likely to take the wrong route, far less likely to venture into unexplored places and far less likely to find out too late that what were assumed to be mere molehills turn out to be insurmountable mountains!
As the table shows, not one of the 3.500+ projects we examined had a complete map of the business landscape in hand and, the impacts associated with not knowing where one was going, what one had to navigate along the way and not knowing when you had arrived were in all cases unexpected and in most cases, severe.
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Number of Projects by Size
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$500 Million+
21
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$100-500 Million
110
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$5-100 Million
800+
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Under $5 Million
2,500+
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Corrective Possibility
1=Fast/Simple
5=Slow/Complex
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Lack of Business Landscape Map
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All
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All
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All
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All
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1
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When you plan to go somewhere outside of your usual routes and routine – vacation, out of town business trip, etc. – you would very likely take the time to find out where you were going, how to get there and what things you either wanted to avoid or wanted to take advantage of along the way…
Why venture into the equivalent of unexplored places in the business without a map?
Why make assumptions about what lies around the corner without knowing what is around the corner?
Why risk wasted money, delays and ruined reputations simply because one refused to use a map?
A wide angle perspective enables the best decisions about how to improve the business.
Without a business landscape map, there is no wide angle perspective that effectively portrays what is, what will be and what has to happen in between…!
With a business landscape map; management has a firm foundation for establishing direction and making decisions as to sequence, priority, budgetary and resource allocations for any and all corporate transformation initiatives.
Call to find out more about how we can help you start to fill in the big white spaces…
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