01 /
Choose a defined outcome
State the result in terms the team can recognise. “Improve the business” is too broad. A clearer outcome might concern the customers you want to retain, the market position you want to strengthen or the operating performance you need.
Agree the scope and time horizon. If the team has not chosen a direction, use a strategy workshop to make the choices before drawing the map.
02 /
Work backwards through the links
Ask what customer or operational change could produce the outcome, then what capabilities would make that change possible. Draw the links explicitly. Do not connect activities merely because they are already on someone's work list.
Categories such as customers, processes, people and finance can help organise the discussion, but use language that fits your business.
03 /
Mark assumptions and choose measures
For each link, write why you believe it will work and what evidence would challenge it. A measure of activity, such as training completed, is different from evidence of an outcome, such as more consistent service.
Keep a small set of measures that helps the team make decisions. Avoid collecting data simply because it is available or attaching an arbitrary target to every box.
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Connect the map to accountable work
Assign responsibility for the actions and for reviewing the assumptions. Record when to continue, adjust or stop an initiative. The map shows why the work should matter; the action plan records who will do what next.
Use a business development template where the chosen outcome involves customers and routes to market. Revisit the map when evidence breaks an important link.
Use this in your business
An illustrative map in working-table form
| Proposed link | Evidence to watch | Review question |
|---|---|---|
| Better scheduling → more reliable delivery | Promised versus actual completion dates. | Has reliability improved? |
| Reliable delivery → stronger customer retention | Repeat work and reasons customers leave. | Do customers value the improvement? |
| Retention → steadier contribution | Contribution and cost to serve. | Is retained work commercially worthwhile? |
| Capability development → better scheduling | Use of the process and operating results. | Is training changing practice? |
A practical example
A broken link is useful information
A hypothetical team may improve delivery reliability without increasing repeat work. The map prompts a new question: were customers leaving for another reason? Instead of declaring the initiative a success because the process improved, the team can investigate the assumption linking that improvement to retention.
Your next move
Test the connections in your strategy
Bring the outcome you want and the actions already under way. We can help test whether the connections form a coherent strategy.
Test the connections in your strategy