Going from Tod(A)y to Where We Want to (B)e

ROUNDMAP™ is a portmanteau: a new word created out of the blending of two or more existing words. One part is the ROUNDtrip. The other is the roadMAP. We’re here to discuss the second part: How to get from A to B?

Unfortunately, we need to start off with a bit of a downer: in business planning A nor B can be found on any physical map.

Business planning is a process over time. My mnemonic device is:

(A) points to where we are today, while (B) points to where we want to be, in time.

So, to get to B, we first need to be aware of where we are tod(A)y.

Some of the questions we can ask ourselves are:

1. What was before us?
2. What do we solve?
3. How do we do things?
4. What do we stand for?
5. What sets us apart?
6. Can we do a better job?
7. Are we being disrupted?
8. How do we respond?

Obviously, the last couple of questions are often a trigger to initiate change. Regardless, we’ll need a (B), which is often described in a Vision Document. It is our view of the future, of where or who we want to be in 1, 2, 5, or 10 years.

This opens up new questions:

1. How are we going to do things?
2. How do we get from here to there?
3. What do we need to get us there?
4. How fast can we obtain what we need?
5. How will we stand out in the future?
6. Can we defend our new position?
7. How will growth look like?
8. How do we measure progress?

Vision, strategy, mission, and purpose are key to the company’s roadmap, but remember this: it is not about traveling, or even a direction: it is merely a process of change over time.