Erik Schön has developed and run strategy for more than 20 years and leads global organizations in complex product and service development. He wrote The Art of Strategy and The Art of Leadership. We asked him how Sun Tzu, Boyd and Wardley mapping fit together.
Purpose first
Erik starts with individuals and teams fulfilling a purpose. Many business leaders miss that. Metrics have a place, and they tell only part of the story.
Maps are for humans
Erik describes how he found Wardley mapping. Maps help people see the external environment. A good map lets a team challenge the map and leave the person alone. Maps keep a team focused and help it reach harmony, which Erik prefers over alignment.
Strategy as a way of thinking
Erik connects maps to Eastern thinking and to Boyd’s view of strategy as a way of thinking. Leadership is everyone’s business. He tells what JFK asked a janitor at NASA, and where he has seen mapping work. Maps help manage risk in VUCA conditions and support success at scale.
A shared map gives a team shared orientation.
What would your team learn if it mapped its environment together this week?
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Written by Ponch Rivera with AI assistance in production. The full conversation is in the player below.