Michael Lissack
This spatial metaphor made the abstract concept of organizational boundaries tangibly real. Employees could visualize the “walls” that needed to be removed and understand their role in creating a more open organizational landscape. Emotional Engagement Landscapes engage both analytical and emotional processing. Unlike purely rational frameworks, landscape images evoke emotional responses that influence how we approach challenges and opportunities. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he described the compa- ny’s precarious position using landscape imagery:
“Apple is like a ship with a hole in the bottom, leaking water, and my job is to get the ship pointed in the right direction.”
This simple landscape metaphor communicated both the urgency of Apple’s situation and the necessity of changing course before addressing other issues. It created emotional engagement with Apple’s predicament in a way that financial statistics alone could not achieve. Dynamic Representation Business environments aren’t static—they’re constantly evolving. Landscape metaphors naturally incorporate this dynamism through con- cepts like erosion, growth, seasonal change, and weather patterns. When Reed Hastings described Netflix’s competitive strategy against Blockbuster, he used river imagery:
“We’re like a small boat in a fast river, with a big waterfall ahead—Blockbuster’s dominance in physical rental. We can’t fight the current directly. Instead, we’re building
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