The map that matters

Today's email is not a casual encouraging thought. It's an exercise that will take some time and effort, and should get you a valuable result, if you're up for it.

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When you're trying to get somewhere you've never been before, you'll want a map.
(Digital, mobile, printed, hand-drawn -- whatever.)

I'm guessing that right now, in your daily work, you're actually doing that:
trying to take your mission and your organization further than it's been before.

So where is the map?

Here's a simple step you can take today to start building a map that will help you get where you're trying to go.

First, recognize that any accomplishment you can make is based on relationships.

(Sure, as an individual you can do things like learn the piano or get six-pack abs all on your own; but we're talking about an organization that both relies upon and helps people. In that world, literally nothing happens "all on your own.")

Just as any journey you could undertake consists of moving from one landmark to another, so any progress your organization makes toward a goal must consist of navigating through real human relationships with real human beings.

So we accept that: no relationships -> no mission accomplishment.

Next, ask yourself: Exactly who are these relationships with?

I'm actually asking you to stop here (right now, or at a scheduled time today), pull out your favorite distraction-free writing device (if you're me, that's a pencil; if you're anybody, it's not your phone) and write down your response to this prompt:

List the categories of people (as many as you can) whom your organization must relate to in accomplishing its mission.

I told you this was an exercise, and I genuinely believe it matters:
If you don't have such a list handy somewhere, you need to make one.
Start by drafting it today.

Just to clarify, when I say "as many categories of people as you can," I suggest that you categorize people by the way your organization relates to them. Is there a category of people whom you serve? Do you serve people according to various categories? Is there a category of people upon whom you rely? Do you rely upon various categories of people? Try to give all those categories names, and write them down.

(You could, for example get a very large number of categories if you decided to list everyone by ZIP code. But I suspect that you probably relate to all your people the same without regard for their ZIP code, so that's not a worthwhile distinction here. We're just looking for the categories that indicate the different ways you relate to your people.)

Next we'll talk about what you could do with this list.

For now, just write it.

And if you can, take a few minutes look over those categories and notice any thoughts or feelings that come to mind.

Those will actually start to matter very soon.

All the best,
A.