Facade fools you—map your purpose

I find it strange when people ignore dimensions.

They become impressed or attracted by the facade of things.

The reason most people don't think behind the facade.

Their perception influenced by a flash of action, a word, or a look.

They don’t ask themselves what made it look that way,

or what led it to end up in this miserable state.

Facade refers to the outward appearance or surface level of situations, objects, or concepts.

Which may not reflect their true nature or underlying reality.

When faced with a problem, companies or individuals tend to focus on their immediate experiences. All their attention is directed towards the facade of the challenge.

They concentrate on what they see and become biased towards it, remaining unaware of the full dimensions of the problem or goal.

This is the reason why many future solutions fail.

Because the solution only addresses the facade of the problem, ignoring the other key components.

The reason I always stress that life is a set of blocks is because solutions are also made of building blocks.

Nowadays, many parts work together behind the facade, adding complexity to deliver a purpose or complete a task.

Unlike 100 years ago, when people sold simpler items with fewer moving parts in the background.

That’s why it’s important to map and frame the goal or challenge by defining its boundaries

Everything has a frame of boundaries, from respect and interacting with people to business.

Boundaries exist in various contexts and can be physical, emotional, psychological, or conceptual. A boundary is a limit or edge that defines the scope, extent, or limits of something.

The reason many ideas fail is when the focus is only on the facade, treating it as where the boundaries end.

This is not how it works. Mapping and framing define the boundaries. It’s an exercise that starts with understanding the problem.

Some are stubborn about what’s obvious to them, pointing it out and saying 'it’s obvious,' while being fooled by the facade.

The benefit of going beyond the facade is that it saves time and effort, prevents beating around the bush, and addresses the core of the problem without wasting resources.

Now the question is: How do you frame the boundaries of the challenge?

Everyone is part of the environment—humans, plants, animals, insects, etc. We all exist in one ecosystem, composed of many systems that interact with each other both directly and indirectly.

Business challenges are similar. Consider the environment of the challenge.

Who is involved? How do its components interact? What do they use to interact? With whom do they interact?

Here are six steps to help map and frame a business challenge:

• Define the system's boundary. by framing the challenge, including business functions, situations, and scenarios

• Identify the direct and indirect stakeholders within your framed boundary. and the interaction between them

• Identify and select lenses of focus, focusing on stakeholder alignment. encompassing elements such as communication, power, influence, and shared value among them

• What are the technologies, processes, and systems within the framed boundary?

• Draw the connection between stakeholders based on the lens you chose

• Study your visualized map, what does it tell you ? what questions come to mind?

• You will identify other hidden components integral to the solution. enabling you to deliver a future state with confidence.

The goal is to extend the mapping and understanding to every relevant element:

Consider the following elements: people, processes, tools, technology, and support systems.

Examine how they interact as a system and whether they connect with other systems or departments. This helps in understanding where the boundaries of the challenge end.

Problems, pain points, challenges, goals, and desires are like an iceberg, extending into many dimensions in the background. Mapping and framing involve identifying the extent of these extensions where relevant.

Thank you for reading. We’ll talk in the next letter.

Ahmed

PS two things I can help you with:

1. Run a business design discovery

Exploring and defining the strategic direction, objectives, and key elements to achieve market relevance. uncover opportunities, understand user needs, and design solutions that align with business goals.

2. Guiding and advising

Guide you and help you on a project you’re working on; need help to set direction to reach desired outcomes.