Steve Clean Mapping the Unknown – The Ten Steps to Map Any Business

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

 Lǎozi 老子

I simply had lunch with Shenwei, certainly one of my ex-students who had simply taken a job in a mid-sized consulting agency.  After a little bit of catching up I provided he was trying a bit misplaced. “I simply received handed a venture to assist our agency enter a brand new trade – semiconductors. They need me to map out the area so we will determine the place we will add worth.

After I requested what they already knew about it, they tossed me a tall stack of trade and inventory analyst experiences, firm names, internet sites, blogs. I began studying by way of a bunch of it and I’m drowning in knowledge however don’t know the place to begin. I really feel like I don’t know a factor.”

I advised Shenwei I used to be pleased for him as a result of he had simply been handed an superior studying alternative – how one can quickly perceive after which map any new market. He gave me a “simple so that you can say” look, however earlier than he might object I handed him a pen and a serviette and requested him to write down down the names of corporations and ideas he examine which have something to do with the semiconductor enterprise – in 30 seconds. He shortly got here up with an inventory with 9 names/phrases. (See Mapping – First Cross)

“Nice, now we’ve got a begin. Now give me just a few phrases that describe what they do, or imply, or what you don’t find out about them.”

After a couple of minutes he got here up with a serviette sketch that regarded like the image in Mapping – Second Cross. 
Now we had some progress.

I identified he now had a starter listing that not solely contained corporations however the starting of a map of the relationships between these corporations. And whereas he had just a few details, others had been hypotheses and ideas. And he had a ton of unanswered questions.

We spent the following 20 minutes deconstructing that sketch and mapping out the Second Cross listing as a diagram (see Mapping – Third Cross.)

Observe that even with simply the sparse set of knowledge Shenwei had, within the backside right-hand nook of his third mapping cross, a relationship diagram of the semiconductor trade was starting to emerge.

As the knowledge fog was starting to elevate, I might see Shenwei’s confidence returning. I identified that he had an actual benefit that his project was in a recognized trade with numerous accessible info. He shortly realized that he might maintain including info to the columns within the third mapping cross as he learn by way of the experiences and internet sites.

My suggestion was to make use of the diagram within the third mapping cross as the start of a wall chart – both bodily (or just about if he might maintain it in all in his head). And each time he discovered extra in regards to the trade to replace the connection diagram of the trade and its segments. (When he identified that there have been present diagrams of the semiconductor trade he might copy, I instructed that he ignore them. The purpose was for him to grasp the trade properly sufficient that he might draw his personal map ab initio – from the start. And if he did so, he may create a a lot better one.)

When lunch was over Shenwei requested if it was OK if he checked in with me as he discovered new issues and I agreed. What he didn’t know was that this was solely step one in a ten-step trade mapping course of.

Epilog

Over the following few weeks Shenwei shared what he had discovered and despatched me his more and more refined and up to date trade relationship map. (The 4th  mapping cross confirmed up 48 hours later.)In alternate I shared with him the information that he was on step certainly one of a ten step trade mapping program. Different the following few weeks he shortly constructed on the trade map to reply questions 2 by way of 10 beneath.

Two weeks later he handed his management an trade report that lined the ten steps beneath and contained a complicated trade diagram he created from scratch. A far cry from his unique serviette sketch!

Six months later his work on this venture satisfied his firm that there was a big alternative within the semiconductor area, and so they began a brand new apply with him in it. His work received him the “greatest new worker” award.

The Ten Steps to Map any Business

Primary Business Understanding

1. Diagram the trade and its segments
   1. Begin with something
   2. Construct your studying by successive iteration
   3. Who’re the important thing suppliers to every section?
   4. How does this trade feed into the bigger economic system?
2. Create a glossary of trade distinctive phrases
   1. Are you able to clarify them to others? Are there analogies to different markets?
3. Who’re the trade consultants in every section? For the whole trade?
   1. Financial consultants? E.g. trade analysts, universities, suppose tanks
   2. Know-how consultants? E.g. universities, suppose tanks
   3. Geographic consultants?
4. Key Conferences, blogs, internet sites, and so on.
   1. What are one of the best opensource knowledge feeds?
   2. What are one of the best paid assets?

Detailed Business Understanding

5. Who’re the market leaders? New entrants? In income, market share and progress fee
   1. Within the U.S.
   2. Western nations
   3. China
6. Perceive the know-how flows
   1. Who builds on high of who
   2. Who’s crucial versus who may be substituted
7. Perceive the financial flows
   1. Who buys from who on this trade
   2. Who buys the output from this trade.
   3. How cyclical is demand?
   4. What are the demand drivers?
   5. How do corporations inside every section get funded? Any variations in capital necessities? Ease of beginning, and so on.
8. If relevant, perceive the personnel circulation for every section
   1. Do individuals transfer simply between their segments or up and down by way of the whole trade?
   2. The place do they get educated?

Forecasting

9. What’s modified within the final 10 years? 5 years?
   1. Diagram the previous incarnations of the trade
10. What’s going to alter within the subsequent 5 years?
    1. Any massive perception on disruption?
    2. New entrants?
    3. New know-how?
    4. New international suppliers?
    5. Diagram your mannequin of the trade in 5 years

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