Thread by @swardley

Whatever your thoughts are on the policies of @realDonaldTrump, you have to respect his ability to control the entire media cycle and put opposition into a position of trivia. One "Prince of Whales" tweet later and it's all erupting on social media in the UK.

There is a level of skill, of capability to use the media in this way, to keep looping around and misdirecting with points of outrage that will be studied for many many years. You might not like it but people should learn from @realDonaldTrump and whoever is advising him.

The same is also true with China. You might not agree with the Gov's policies or actions but there is a skill to its directed industrial policy that is exceptional and should be learnt from. Don't ignore it, don't dismiss it.

That's one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn. Just because I disagree with some person, some organisation or some structure doesn't mean there aren't valuable lessons to be learned from them.

Real lessons i.e. the ones that profoundly change your perspective are rarely found by staying within your comfort zone and surrounding yourself with people that you agree with.

I am well aware that I, along with others, have a natural tendency to confirmation bias. We like to hear things that confirm our own view. Embracing a position that everything you know is wrong which just don't know it yet can be very liberating.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't hold strong positions, you should ... but you should hold them weakly and always question your assumptions. When an observation doesn't fit your mental model, question your model first and not the observation.

I often talk about how evolving activities (a form of capital) face not only many chasms but also inertia caused by a change of state. This is due to invested capital ...

... but capital doesn't have to just be physical things ... we have many forms of capital including knowledge (along with our legal, political and ethical systems). We just use different labels to describe the evolving forms.

The same patterns appear across many forms of capital, of course when mapping I just use the same axis of evolution regardless of capital but for illustrative purposes in this example I'll change it ...

... the point is, our scientific models have invested capital and inertia to change. Try upsetting a widely held and accepted view - you'll meet a lot of inertia. The same should also hold for our political, legal and ethical systems.

which is why it's always important to be aware of your invested capital whether due to things, or knowledge you've acquired or practices or simply the ethical / political or legal systems you exist within. That inertia can blind you to obvious change particularly in business.

I say "particularly in business" because it's a field which seems particularly poor at observation without attempting to first start with a hypothesis. It's also why I tend to praise anthropology. It's not immune from the problem (as with any science) but it seems far more aware.

X : How do you know that mapping is right? Couldn't you be suffering from inertia?
Me : Take a look at my old map of mapping, which I've changed the labels to reflect knowledge ...

... now go listen to my talks. A set of things I frequently repeat are ...
a) All maps are imperfect
b) All models are wrong and hence someone will make a better map.

So, the answer to your question is ... I already know mapping is wrong. It just happens to be useful ...

... and this will continue until someone finds a better way of mapping a competitive landscape. This is something I'm always on the look out for and why I encourage others to experiment with maps.

It's also why Map Camp consists of brilliant speakers on mapping who ... aren't me - eventbrite.com/e/map-camp-201… ... I'm acutely aware of the dangers of mapping building a "Cult of Wardley" hence I encourage different perspectives.

Success for me is to achieve a point that mapping has evolved far beyond me, that situational awareness in business has become a thing and that my form of maps are seen as primitive as Babylonian Clay Tablets. That's what progress is. Sure, I'm not going to make it easy ...

... there's a lot in mapping already and if you want to push beyond it, you're going to have to put some effort in. You're going to have to find what I missed which means, start with observation, do the graft ...

... and avoid the temptation of simply thinking your way to a better map especially over a glass of wine and in the company of people who tend to agree with you.

X : If you're in favour of listening to others then why support brexit?
Me : Ouch. Many of us support brexit precisely because of reasons of democracy and listening to others. However, I am acutely aware that many opinions exist hence the need for compromise.

... however, compromise does require listening to others, understanding their viewpoints (even if you don't like them) and getting rid of the baggage of narrative already created. It means, getting out of your comfort zone and your own circle ... on both sides.

Which means - and I know people disagree because I got a ticking off for saying so just after the vote - we need to "build bridges" in our society. Citizen's assemblies are probably a good place to start. This is long overdue.

Oh, and "building bridges" is not telling everyone else who disagrees with you that they're wrong, name calling and then blocking them for simply disagreeing. It might make you feel good but it helps no-one. Especially not yourself.

Which brings me full circle to the original point. The hardest thing to realise is that even people you fundamentally disagree with may have valuable lessons to teach you.