Aug ’25 – Being Strategic When All the Sh#t…
Week 2 – The Strategy Map
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Week 2 – The Strategy Map
Last week we explored the powerful concept of strategy mapping, a tool based on Michael Porter’s “activity systems”, to help visualize and execute organizational strategies. Here’s a quick breakdown of some ideas we covered.
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Key Elements of Strategy:
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What vs How: Strategy maps show both the goal (what you want to achieve) and the activities (how to achieve it). The map makes it easier to connect the dots between vision and execution.
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The goal is to keep activities focused on what makes your organization unique. If something doesn’t align with your core strategy, it’s best to leave it out.
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The Role of Critical Decisions:
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Decisions that define what you won’t do can be as important as what you will. For example, Southwest Airlines intentionally chose not to offer meals on flights, focusing on their low-cost and no-frills approach, which helped differentiate them.
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Connections and Interconnectedness:
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A strong strategy map shows how different activities and goals connect and reinforce each other. If an activity doesn’t connect to the broader strategy, it’s likely a distraction.
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Strategy mapping isn’t just about listing activities. It’s about ensuring every element aligns with your vision and communicates what’s truly important for success. The process encourages reflection, iteration, and focus, helping to ensure that your strategy is clear, actionable, and meaningful.As always, the session was a great opportunity to break down complex concepts into actionable steps and collaborate on applying these ideas in our own work.
If you missed the session, you can skim the recording below and peruse our strategy maps in the Miro Board.
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