Adam Zeiner

2. Spotting partnership opportunities

First off, we need to stop thinking about systems maps as deliverables. They’re research tools — stepping stones on our path to understanding complex problems.

the first paper is out from our Leverage Points project [...] and lays out a conceptual framework and research agenda, all around the notion of “deep leverage points”

We started thinking about different kinds of subject and object engagements that involved maybe multiple subjects, multiple objects, unintended engagements, or engagements that happen without either the user or the artifact having awareness of that engagement. What are the different permutations that are possible?

Strategy is brain-work – more often than not it’s abstract and invisible, and challenging to articulate. This is the research, analysis, and debate that goes into making decisions, and the data that comes from observations, interviews, user studies, post-its, brainstorms, and mind maps.

We also need to stop treating them as monolithic models of the entire system. We’re in the digital age now and maps are cheap. There’s no reason we can’t have multiple versions or break our research up into multiple maps, each with a well defined scope and focus.