Mapping the Future - Module 2.0 final

Listen. Learn. Lead. DELIVER.
Listen. Learn. Lead. DELIVER
MAPPING THE FUTURE
• Version 1.0 , August 2020
© 2020 Cathy Fischer. All rights reserved.
A Workbook To Chart Our Course Post Covid-19
MODULE 2

MODULE 2
INSTRUCTIONS AND WORKSHEETS
Let’s get to work!

System Modules
• Module 1: Baseline – Assess organization’s health before Covid 19
• Module 2: Impact – How did Covid 19 affect the business?
• Module 3: Options – Consider choices for future state; choose one
• Module 4: Action Plan – Move forward with specific steps
• Module 5: Adjust – Assess results, change course if needed

Measure Baseline Review Impact
Option 1: Shut
Down
Option 2: Remain
In Current
Business
2A: Press Your
Advantage
2B: Shed
Unproductive
Parts
Action Plan
Review and
Adjust
2C: Join Forces
Option 3:
Reinvent
Where We Are In The Program:
Data can be
gathered in
advance in a
day or two
Five 30-
minute work
sessions, can
be done as a
group or
assigned out
to individuals
TEAM DISCUSSION
2-hour work session,
to choose an option
Can be
assigned out
to individuals;
then 1-hour
team work
session
Monthly 1-
hour team
follow up

Module 2: Impact
Appreciative Inquiry
• Customers
• Product/Service
• Process/Systems
• People
What The Market Is Telling Us:
• Customer Trends
• Customer Journey Mapping
• Competitor Mapping

Appreciative Inquiry Introduction
This is the MOST IMPORTANT concept in Module 2:
Focusing on the organization’s strengths and
assets is the only way to create your new future.
This positive approach will always deliver more
engaged employees AND more business success
than focusing on the problems.
Appreciative Inquiry is a theory developed by David
Cooperrider at Case Western University 30 years ago.
His work, supplemented by other research in the past
three decades proved that deficit based problem solving
(asking “what is wrong?”) is unable to help an
organization truly excel…. the only approach that
delivers real breakthrough success is to amplify the
organization’s strengths
So when you consider the impact of Covid 19 on your
business, you must look at what you have – what your
assets are now – rather than what you do not have.
A landmark Gallup study in 2015 of over
1 Million people and 50,000 business
units proved that organizations that
focused on strengths delivered
significantly better results than
organizations that didn’t:
• 10% to 19% increased sales
• 14% to 29% increased profit
• 3% to 7% higher customer
engagement
• 9% to 15% increase in engaged
employees

What A Deficit Based Approach Is
Asks:
• “What is wrong?”
• “What is the problem?”
• “What have we lost?”
• “Why does the problem exist?”
• “How can we solve the problem?”
Looks Like:
• Six Sigma: the goal is to reduce the number of defects per million occurrences
• Gap Analysis: what is the difference between what is ideal and what we have now?
• Training Needs Analysis: what do our people need to be able to do that they can’t do now?
Personnel Reviews: what are the employee’s weaknesses that must be addressed?
• Newspaper headline principle: “If it bleeds, it leads” -- the worse the news is, the greater
attention it will be given in the media
Structure of Work:
• Top Down, Bottom Up, Cross Section, Pilot
• In any of these, the organization assigns the work to a small group of people
Result:
“All deficit forms of management analysis are keeping us locked in our organizations today, and for a
simple but radical reason. All the studies in the world of negative states will tell us nothing about the
positive preferred state.” –Dr. David Cooperrider

What Appreciative Inquiry Is
Asks:
• “What was your highest/best experience in this organization?”
• “What is it that you value most about yourself and the work you do”
• “What three wishes do you have now to enhance the health of the organization?”
• “What is your dream for the future of the organization?”
• “How can your strengths contribute to making this dream real?”
Looks Like:
• Buying a Home: you are choosing to believe in a positive future
• Investing Your Money: you are choosing to believe that you will see a return on your money
• Choosing a School: you are choosing to believe a specific education will help you achieve your goals
Structure of Work:
• The entire organization contributes
Result:
“Appreciative Inquiry is a way to engage groups of people in self determined changes. It focuses on what
is working, rather than what is not working, and leads to people co-designing their future.” – Positive
Psychology.com

Appreciative Inquiry – How To
1. There are four topics: Customer, Product/Service, Process/Systems, and People. Divide the
entire organization into four teams, one for each topic (or as many people in the organization
as is reasonably possible). It is best if the teams are multi functional and multi layered.
2. Subdivide each team if needed so that no group is more than 10 people. Appoint a facilitator
for each sub-group.
3. Give each person on the team a copy of the Reflect/Respond Worksheet 1 on their topic
4. Have each person fill out the Reflect/Respond Worksheet 1 on their own. Each person should
spend no more than 30 minutes on it
5. Meet as a group, share the information. Spend 30 minutes doing this.
6. The team facilitator helps the group work together to fill out Worksheet 2. Spend 30 minutes
doing this.
I once led a group of over 300 people through an
Appreciative Inquiry session over two days. In that
time, the group came up with a company strategy, a set
of 5 breakthrough initiatives, and volunteers to make
the initiative happen on top of their regular jobs
7. Turn in Worksheet 2 to the
person leading the overall
Strategic Planning process

Appreciative Inquiry Topic #1: Customers
• What was your best experience with a
customer at this company?
• How did that experience make you feel?
• What role did the company play to help
create that best experience?
• Who are your best customers now?
• What characteristics make them the best
customers?
• What are three things you wish you could
give your customers right now?
• What would the company look like if it
were routinely giving the customers what
you wish you could give them?
RESPONDREFLECT
Worksheet 1

Appreciative Inquiry Topic #1: Customers
What were some common themes your group heard in each area:
• Best customer experience
• Role the company played in the story
• Characteristics of your best customers today
• What you wish you could give your customers today
• What the company would look like
Worksheet 2

Appreciative Inquiry Topic #2: Product/Service
• What is your favorite product (or service)
the company ever made, or is currently
making?
• What benefit did that product or service
provide the customer?
• How did the company create that
product/service?
• What are three products or services you
wish your company provide the market
right now?
• What would the company look like if it
was the best in the world leader in
providing the product or service you wish
for?
RESPONDREFLECT
Worksheet 1

Appreciative Inquiry Topic #2: Product/Service
• Favorite product/service
• Benefit of that product/service to customers
• How that product/service was created
• What product/service you wish for today
• What the company would look like if it was the leader in that product/service
Worksheet 2

Appreciative Inquiry #3: Process/Systems
• Describe an experience you had when the
company was operating so well it seemed
like nothing could stop it from succeeding.
• How did the people involved in that time
feel about working for the company?
• What words would your customers use to
describe the way the company operated
then?
add to your company’s operations right
now?
• What would the company look like if all
three of your wishes were granted?
RESPONDREFLECT

Appreciative Inquiry Topic #3: Process/Systems
• Experience when the company was working well
• How people felt about working at the company then
• Words your customers used to describe the company at that time
• What operational additions you wish for today
• What the company would look like if it those wishes were granted
Worksheet 2

Appreciative Inquiry #4: People
RESPOND
• Describe an experience you had when the
workforce was operating at its fullest
potential.
• What were the capabilities of the people
at that time?
• Why did employees want to work for the
company at that time?
• How did the people at that time feel about
working for the company?
add to your company’s workforce
capabilities right now?
• What would the company look like if all
three of your wishes were granted?
REFLECT
Companies will often say that “our
strength is in our people”. That’s nice but
not sufficient. What about those people
makes them so strong? What are their
capabilities and characteristics? We need
to dig deep on this question in particular

Appreciative Inquiry Topic #3: People
• Experience when the workforce was working at its fullest potential
• What capabilities did the workforce have during that experience
• Why employees wanted to work for the company at that time
• What capabilities you wish you could add today
• What the company would look like if it those wishes were granted
Worksheet 2

Trends Exercise
Data sources: Statista, Deloitte, Mintel, EuroMonitor, McKinsey, Fitch
The following page show current Technological, Social, and Cultural trends
that were underway prior to Covid 19, as well as a view of new and
heightened trends that have emerged as a result of Covid 19.
Open the spreadsheet, which provides further explanation of each trend.
For each trend, rate the potential value for your business:
-10 large negative impact
-5 moderate negative impact
0 no impact
+5 moderate positive impact
+10 large positive impact

Trends
TECHNOLOGICAL
DIGITAL ASSISTANCE
DIRECT HUMAN TO DIGITAL INTERFACE
BIG DATA, BLAZING SPEED
PRIVATE PERSONALIZATION
CULTURAL
GLOBAL CITIZEN
ALL LIVES MATTER
WELLBEING
TRUTH
ECONOMIC
AGILE WORKFORCE
VALUE
ECOFUSION
PURPOSE DRIVEN COMPANIES
COVID DRIVEN TRENDS
FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
DISCOUNT MINDSET
INCREASED HEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS
VALUE OF TRUTH
BIG WINNERS
DARWINIAN SHAKEOUT
INNOVATION EXPLOSION
These trends are
further explained in
the attached
spreadsheet. Click
on the link below to
open it and fill in the
blue areas.
Trends Worksheet

Customer Journey Introduction
• A customer journey map is a visual story of your customers’ interactions with your brand.
• This exercise helps you see the business from the customer’s perspective and gain insights
into common customer pain points and how to improve those.
• User journeys may vary by customer type (for example, one type of buyer may become aware
of a product on social media, where another type may already know the company and want to
communicate in person).
• Mapping the customer journey is just as important for small and medium-sized enterprises as
it is for larger companies.
• The next three pages lay out the steps in the customer journey. Fill in what the experience
was like for the customer in each step before Covid, and now what it is like after Covid.
Three pages are provided if you want to do this for several customer segments, but may not
be needed
According to a May 2020 study from
Salesforce.com, 80% of customers
consider their experience with a company
to be as important as its products, and
69% want to talk with a company in real
time.

Customer Journey Exercise
(Customer Segment ________________________)
Awareness Browse Purchase Reveal/Receive Ownership/Use
Pre - Covid Pre – Covid Pre – Covid Pre – Covid Pre - Covid
Post – Covid Post – Covid Post – Covid Post – Covid Post- Covid

Competitive Mapping Introduction
• Competitors are also affected by Covid, but based on their business strength and business
model before Covid, they will be impacted to different degrees and in different ways.
• As laid out in the table below, there are five approaches that could be deployed to grow
market share, depending on how the competitor has been negatively or positively impacted by
Covid.
Approach: Ignore Defend Target Imitate or Acquire Partner or Acquire
Description:
Do not respond to
actions, even though
they may generate
market noise.
Match competitors’
moves, but do not act
preemptively
Vigorously work to
convert customers of
these competitors to you.
Reapply the most
compelling aspects of
business model
Find a mutually beneficial
way to revenue share
with these players
Which
Competitors
you would
use each
approach
for:
Competitors who serve a
different portion of the
market from you that you
have deemed
unattractive
Competitors who are too
weak to act on their
publicized plan to meet
customer needs
Competitors who operate
directly in your space,
but by following their
activity the overall
market will be negatively
impacted.
Competitors who were
specifically targeting you/
your customers prior to
Covid 19.
Further strengthening of
their position carries
significant risk for you
Competitors who have
unique business models
or a specific strength in
an area that customers
value more highly now
Could include startups
Competitors who own an
aspect of the business
that is complementary to
what you have, perhaps
in supply chain,
customer base,
product/service offering,
or brand name

Competitive Mapping Exercise
• Based on the explanation provided on the previous page, fill in this grid:
Approach: Ignore Defend Target Imitate or Acquire Partner or Acquire
Description:
Do not respond to
actions, even though they
may generate market
noise.
Match competitors’
moves, but do not act
preemptively
Vigorously work to
convert customers of
these competitors to you.
Reapply the most
compelling aspects of
business model
Find a mutually beneficial
way to revenue share
with these players
Your
competitors
where this
approach
should be
considered:

Great
Work!

My career has been beyond anything I dreamed of as a little girl,
thanks to the great people whom I have been blessed to work with
at companies like P&G, Newell, Goodyear, AkzoNobel, and Signet
Jewelers. I have worked in product categories as diverse as
mascara, tool boxes, tires, and diamond rings.
I think of my career in three pieces:
 My core capabilities: Listen, Learn, and Lead
 The industries where I have worked: CPG, Durable Goods,
Specialty Retail
 The 3 roles where my skills have been best used: Chief
Marketing Officer, General Manager, and SVP Strategy and
Innovation.
Underlying all of these, at the base, is my commitment to deliver
the results that the organization needs and the customer wants.
As I write this manual, our world is trying to make its way through
the fog of Covid 19, which is profoundly changing all customer
experiences. My hope is that this workbook may, in some way,
help organizations figure out where they want to go and who they
want to be as the fog lifts.
If you would like to reach me, please go to my LinkedIn page:
www.linkedin.com/in/fischer/cathy.
Thank You!
Cathy Fischer

Mapping the Future - Module 2.0 final

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