#46 🧭💡The Map-Decide-Move framework
For making better decisions about your way forward in specific contexts.
The essence of strategic thinking is about helping you make better decisions about your way forward.
Your way forward generally in life, but also in specific contexts:
Your way forward when it comes to your career;
Your team’s way forward for the following months;
Your organization’s way forward for the following years;
Your way forward in specific endeavours (initiatives, projects, programs)
And in many other contexts where you ask yourself “What do I do next with… (situation)?”
This year, I’ve refined a strategic thinking framework to help people make these decisions about their way forward: Map-Decide-Move
Map: Understand the big picture of the situation
Who are the other people involved in the situation?
What are they going towards?
What is a better situation for me?
Decide: Explore options and pick a proper approach for the situation
What options do I have as a way forward?
What capabilities and help do I have in this situation?
How do I know that I’m progressing towards a better situation?
Move: Prioritize and do realistic actions, given the constraints of the context
What are the first steps?
Who will I be interacting with?
When do I do these actions?
Conceptual background
The framework is a synthesis of tens of other strategy / strategic thinking models and frameworks, including the Sense & Change model that I created a few years ago, Rumelt’s Diagnosis-Guiding Policy-Coherent Action, John Boyd’s Observe-Orient-Decide-Act, Martin’s Where to Play-How to Win, Goal-Reality-Options-What’s Next model in coaching and many others.
Socialization of the Map-Decide-Move framework
I’ve already shared and put into practice the new Map-Decide-Move framework with 150+ people via workshops and training sessions. It seems that it makes sense for everyone, especially as the words used are familiar and action-oriented.
I’ve also refined a Strategic Thinking Toolkit to enrich the framework with practical tools that anyone can use. Will share the toolkit (as collection of templates) for free soon via this newsletter plus there will be an option to get a guidebook (with examples for all the tools) for a small price.
My hope is that you’ll use the Map-Decide-Move framework in your own contexts. As the action-filled autumn with settle down soon, I’ll start sharing guidelines, stories and visual explainers around it, in the next editions of the newsletter. Stay tuned!
Enjoy your ways forward,
Bülent
Special invitation
🧭 Properly using the information available in a specific context is key for strategic thinking and making better decisions about your way forward in that context. For career decisions, project decisions, business decisions and so forth. 🧭
Join me for a 1h knowledge sharing session on Monday about learning to deal with lots of varied information at work. Details and sign up here.
As a Strategy & Organization adviser and lifelong learner, I’m working with Managing Directors, General Managers and Heads of Divisions in mid and large 🇷🇴 Tech companies, to help them make more impact by using strategic thinking at a personal and organizational level. LinkedIn / Strategy & Organization Goodies.