Making maps

Posted by Kirsten Gibbs
Last updated 13th October 2020
reading time

  • "There are known knowns; there are things we know we know.  We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.  But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. .. it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones."  Donald Rumsfeld

    Part of any consultant's job is to formalise the known knowns and the known unknowns.   To map out the worldview a business owner is working within so that they can share it with their teams, giving them routes to follow.

    In doing that, we achieve something even more important - we surface the unknown unknowns - the areas of the map that have up to now been blank, or worse, have become the abode of monsters signalling 'Don't go there'.  And by turning the 'unknown unknown' into a 'known unknown', we break through to new territories for the business to explore and expand into.

    For me, the brilliant thing is that all it takes to achieve all this is questions.  So this week I'm going to share some of the best mapmaker questions I know, organised around my map of a business:

    I hope you'll join me on the journey.

    Making maps Row 1 image
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