I’m Not Wandering Aimlessly – I’ve Got A Map!
Earlier today, I sat in my hotel room studying a map of the city I’m visiting and the surrounding region. I have some downtime before work begins tomorrow, so I planned to explore the city. For me, that’s not unusual! Wherever I travel, I get maps of the area. I like to have an idea of where I’m going and what to expect. Maps are helpful and in a strange land, essential.
Maps are not limited to geographic locations. There are chronological maps that chart history. Action maps plot the future. We use information maps to show the flow of processes and work. Life maps highlight the major events in our life. There are mind maps to help us think. Maps can be about our work and our life. Maps are great; they can guide and inform. We use them to make decisions.
Over the years I have collected quite a few maps, some unusual. Unsorted, in drawers of my filing cabinet are maps of places like Tolland, Boblingen, Tainan and the Grand Plaz. Elsewhere is a 1914 Officer’s map of the Normandy area. Stored with other Star Trek memorabilia is map of the Alpha Quadrant. Hanging on my wall, as a reminder, is an unusual map - a copy of a 1600’s map that shows California as an island. (Some of my underwriting friends believe it’s prophetic.)
The original maps correctly showed California connected to the continent. In the early 1600’s a Carmelite friar wrote a manuscript, based on the observations of two navigators and a merchant, suggesting that California was an island. This led to the map showing California as an island. Other cartographers began to create similar maps and it took nearly a century for these maps to be corrected.
Today we look at that with humor. We know better. We wonder, “How did they get that wrong?” What if you did not know and had to make decisions based on this map? You would believe that you need a boat to travel from California to the mainland. In planning a trip inland, that boat becomes a critical item for you. Therefore, you would keep it with you as you travel through the mountains and down to the coast, looking for a place to sail to the mainland. Eventually you would wander in the desert, clinging to your boat, like some early 17th century explorers did.
In our world today, we draw maps of what we are trying to create and where we are trying to go. We draw our maps based on what we think we know. If our data is faulty, our maps will be inaccurate regardless of how colorful and detailed they are. Decisions made from inaccurate maps are flawed.
It is still early enough in 2006 to check your personal and organizational maps. You will rely on those maps for many of your decisions this year. Here are some questions to think about as you review your maps...
• What is the source of the data I am using?
• How current and accurate is my data?
• What happens to me, to others, to the organization, if my data is wrong?
• What will be the warning signs that my maps are wrong?
Mapmaking is a science and an art. It requires logic and creativity. So think first and use both to draw your maps. If you need some help, let me know.
From a Tapas bar in Sant Cugat, Spain, encouraging you to get your maps right, so that you don’t wander in the desert…
Charlie