Steve Clean Mapping the Unknown – The Ten Steps to Map Any Trade

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

 Lǎozi 老子

I simply had lunch with Shenwei, one among my ex-students who had simply taken a job in a mid-sized consulting agency.  After a little bit of catching up I supplied he was trying a bit misplaced. “I simply obtained handed a mission to assist our agency enter a brand new business – semiconductors. They need me to map out the house so we will work out the place we will add worth.

Once I requested what they already knew about it, they tossed me a tall stack of business and inventory analyst reviews, firm names, websites, blogs. I began studying by means of a bunch of it and I’m drowning in knowledge however don’t know the place to start out. I really feel like I don’t know a factor.”

I advised Shenwei I used to be pleased for him as a result of he had simply been handed an superior studying alternative – how one can quickly perceive after which map any new market. He gave me a “straightforward so that you can say” look, however earlier than he may object I handed him a pen and a serviette and requested him to put in writing down the names of corporations and ideas he examine which have something to do with the semiconductor enterprise – in 30 seconds. He shortly got here up with a listing with 9 names/phrases. (See Mapping – First Go)

“Nice, now we’ve got a begin. Now give me a couple of phrases that describe what they do, or imply, or what you don’t learn about them.”

After a couple of minutes he got here up with a serviette sketch that regarded like the image in Mapping – Second Go. 
Now we had some progress.

I identified he now had a starter listing that not solely contained corporations however the starting of a map of the relationships between these corporations. And whereas he had a couple of details, others have been hypotheses and ideas. And he had a ton of unanswered questions.

We spent the subsequent 20 minutes deconstructing that sketch and mapping out the Second Go listing as a diagram (see Mapping – Third Go.)

Observe that even with simply the sparse set of data Shenwei had, within the backside right-hand nook of his third mapping cross, a relationship diagram of the semiconductor business was starting to emerge.

As the knowledge fog was starting to elevate, I may see Shenwei’s confidence returning. I identified that he had an actual benefit that his project was in a recognized business with a lot of out there info. He shortly realized that he may hold including info to the columns within the third mapping cross as he learn by means of the reviews and websites.

My suggestion was to make use of the diagram within the third mapping cross as the start of a wall chart – both bodily (or nearly if he may hold it in all in his head). And each time he discovered extra concerning the business to replace the connection diagram of the business and its segments. (When he identified that there have been present diagrams of the semiconductor business he may copy, I advised that he ignore them. The aim was for him to grasp the business properly sufficient that he may draw his personal map ab initio – from the start. And if he did so, he may create a significantly better one.)

When lunch was over Shenwei requested if it was OK if he checked in with me as he discovered new issues and I agreed. What he didn’t know was that this was solely step one in a ten-step business mapping course of.

Epilog

Over the subsequent few weeks Shenwei shared what he had discovered and despatched me his more and more refined and up to date business relationship map. (The 4th  mapping cross confirmed up 48 hours later.)In alternate I shared with him the information that he was on step one among a ten step business mapping program. Different the subsequent few weeks he shortly constructed on the business map to reply questions 2 by means of 10 beneath.

Two weeks later he handed his management an business report that coated the ten steps beneath and contained a complicated business diagram he created from scratch. A far cry from his unique serviette sketch!

Six months later his work on this mission satisfied his firm that there was a big alternative within the semiconductor house, and so they began a brand new observe with him in it. His work gained him the “finest new worker” award.

The Ten Steps to Map any Trade

Primary Trade Understanding

1. Diagram the business and its segments
   1. Begin with something
   2. Construct your studying by successive iteration
   3. Who’re the important thing suppliers to every section?
   4. How does this business feed into the bigger financial system?
2. Create a glossary of business distinctive phrases
   1. Are you able to clarify them to others? Are there analogies to different markets?
3. Who’re the business specialists in every section? For your complete business?
   1. Financial specialists? E.g. business analysts, universities, suppose tanks
   2. Know-how specialists? E.g. universities, suppose tanks
   3. Geographic specialists?
4. Key Conferences, blogs, websites, and so forth.
   1. What are the perfect opensource knowledge feeds?
   2. What are the perfect paid sources?

Detailed Trade Understanding

5. Who’re the market leaders? New entrants? In income, market share and progress charge
   1. Within the U.S.
   2. Western international locations
   3. China
6. Perceive the know-how flows
   1. Who builds on high of who
   2. Who’s important versus who could be substituted
7. Perceive the financial flows
   1. Who buys from who on this business
   2. Who buys the output from this business.
   3. How cyclical is demand?
   4. What are the demand drivers?
   5. How do corporations inside every section get funded? Any variations in capital necessities? Ease of beginning, and so forth.
8. If relevant, perceive the personnel movement for every section
   1. Do folks transfer simply between their segments or up and down by means of your complete business?
   2. The place do they get educated?

Forecasting

9. What’s modified within the final 10 years? 5 years?
   1. Diagram the previous incarnations of the business
10. What’s going to vary within the subsequent 5 years?
    1. Any massive perception on disruption?
    2. New entrants?
    3. New know-how?
    4. New international suppliers?
    5. Diagram your mannequin of the business in 5 years

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