15 Diagrams MBAs Should Know

15 DIAGRAMS
YOU SHOULD KNOW
BEFORE LEAVING
BUSINESS SCHOOL
janice fraser.

janice@luxr.co
For Presidio GSB, Sept 2010

WITH DIAGRAMS
YOU CAN
COMPARE THINGS

(c)2010, janice@twotopLABS.com

THE PIE CHART
compares subjects on one dimension of data
...like market share
Source: Flurry
(c)2010 janice@twotopLABS.com

...or lines of business.

SCATTER PLOT

Compares items on two dimensions of data.
Good for demonstrating messiness.
Source:: services.alphaworks.ibm.com

also good for making fun of artists.

source: thisisindexed.com

TWO X TWO
my favorite

it’s the King of market positioning.

source: Dave McClure, 500hats.com

...and competitive analysis
source: unknown...if it’s you email me and I’ll give attribution.

COMPARISON CHART
many items, many variables
source: Watt Bike

...good for product comparisons

EXAMINE THE
RELATEDNESS
OF THINGS


VENN DIAGRAM
source: laughingsquid.com
the classic.

PROTIP
You want
to be here


CYCLE DIAGRAM

shows how components connect
to make a workable system.

source: Eric Reiss, The Lean Startup

THE VALUE PYRAMID
Pyramid symbol can either represent quantity
source: Dave McClure, 500Hats.com
(top = small, bottom = large)

...or the pyramid can represent ideas
like “foundation” and “pinnacle”


MIND MAPS
help you ﬁgure things out
source: unknown...if it’s you, send email and I’ll give attribution

...and can communicate a lot of
information, loosely structured, in a
dense format that’s easy to digest.
source: XMind

PUT THINGS
IN ORDER


PROCESS DIAGRAM
(This is a process diagram for deﬁning the strategy of a startup.)

value chain

“this is our
opportunity”

“critical point
of failure”

source: Unknown...if it’s you, send email and I’ll give attribution

ROOT
CAUSE
MAP
Like a process
diagram, but instead
of sequence,
arrows point away
from causes.

Last one is it.

source: http://www.clarkeching.com/aggressive_schedule_crt-thumb.jpg

source: http://www.clarkeching.com/aggressive_schedule_crt-thumb.jpg

COUNT
THINGS


POWER CURVE

Power curve of men who would date an 18-
year-old woman, mapped by age

source: blog.okcupid.com

Power curve of contributions to UGC
websites, by effort required.

source: Ross Mayﬁeld, Chairman, Social Text

THE BELL CURVE
can help you describe identify outliers

source: edgehopper.com

and regular liars.
source: blog.okcupid.com

HISTOGRAM
is a bar chart for counting things.

source: Flickr, Phil Gyford

“ROI” of User Experience Projects

GENERIC BAR CHARTS
can be very revealing.

source: nngroup.com/reports

UP-AND-TO-THE-RIGHT


For showing audience growth.

source: “Glam Media $200M Private Placement”

For showing revenue growth.


for poking holes in business models.


Cause or effect?

“I’m gonna cut myself
with this Lexus key.”


THANKS
Y’ALL


15 Diagrams MBAs Should Know

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