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

RoundMap® is a portmanteau: a new word created by blending two or more existing words. One part is the ROUND trip. The other is the road MAP. We’re here to discuss the second part: How do you get from A to B?

Unfortunately, we need to start 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, not distance. 

My mnemonic device is: (A) is where we are todAy, while (B) points to where we want to Be in time.

So, to get to where we like to be, we must first know where we are today.

Some of the guiding 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?

The last couple of questions are often a trigger to initiate change. Regardless, we’ll need a (B), often described in a Vision Document. It is our view of the future, 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. What will growth look like?
8. How do we measure progress?

Vision, strategy, mission, and purpose are critical 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.