The Next Next Common Sense
“We’re like a river valley with several established set- tlements. Our company controls the high ground near the river junction, where all trade must pass. Our main competitor has established a position further upstream, where they can potentially divert water and resources. Several nimble startups are exploring the surrounding hills, looking for new passages that might bypass our po- sition entirely.”
This landscape description instantly communicates relationships, threats, and opportunities in a way that abstract analysis might miss. The executive can “see” how changes in one part of the landscape might affect others and identify potential strategic responses. Intuitive Navigation Landscapes provide intuitive frameworks for navigation. Unlike ab- stract strategic frameworks that require specialized knowledge, landscape metaphors build on innate understanding of concepts like “uphill strug- gle,” “distant horizon,” or “dangerous rapids.” When Jack Welch described his vision for GE’s boundaryless organi- zation, he used landscape imagery:
“In this company, if you can picture the house, the house got taller and taller and taller. As we grew in size, we added floors. The house got wider and wider and wider. As we got more complex, we built walls functionally. The objective of all of us in this place is to blow up the inter- nal walls—the floors vertically and the horizontal ones. That’s the game we’re at, that’s what we are fundamen- tally after.”
73
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease