Complete your ecosystem map.
Use your map to write 3 sample challenge statements:
one very narrow, one very broad, one that feels just right!
Explain how you arrived at your statement:
the topic area:
the users/community you’re targeting:
the problem I'm seeking to solve:
STEP 1: Identify the players in your ecosystem First, brainstorm all the different players in your ecosystem (including yourselves). Consider:
1. Resource providers: all the people contributing time and money to the issue as well as the knowledge and information central to your issue
2. Key allies and complimentary movements: your primary partners, allied organizations, and complimentary movements
3. Key stakeholders: those who stand to gain the most from solving the problem…your clients, beneficiaries, customers
4.Opponents and problem makers: those people and organizations actively working against you and/or creating the problem or making it worse
5.Influential bystanders: those people with power and influence who aren’t currently activated to your cause but who might be, and/or those people who are affected by your issue tangentially.
STEP 2: Identify the environmental conditions Next, brainstorm the primary environmental conditions effecting your issue. Consider:
1. Politics and administrative processes and structures: new laws, rules, regulations, processes, procedures, corruption
2. Economics: economic health, distribution of wealth, growth of markets, trends in fundraising
3. Geography & infrastructure: physical location, transportation, communication, urban/rural/suburban issues
4. Societal norms and culture: norms, beliefs, values, cultural memes, social networks, demographic trends
5. Research: scientific breakthroughs, relevant studies, impact trends
STEP 3: Create a visual map Many organizations complete steps one and two above in traditional strategic planning processes, but don’t take the next step of putting it all together in the form of a drawing or diagram. But if you do, that can be when the real insights and connections happen.
STEP 4: Strategize! Ultimately, your map is useful only if it leads to insights and action plans: building more promising pathways for change, exploring new partnerships, identifying ways to change conditions in the external environment, determining more effective operating practices, etc. With that in mind, make sure you devote time to reflect and draw conclusions. Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking a few powerful questions to get dialogue going, listening carefully to the discussion that follows, and following the discussion through to the farthest point possible. Here are a few suggestions:
1. What are the dilemmas or opportunities we see in our ecosystem map?
2. What conditions in our environment most need to change in order for us to make headway on our issue, and how can we influence and encourage that change?
3. Are there key players or roles missing from our ecosystem?
4. Is our organization (still) relevant? What new innovations or functions might we introduce to our ecosystem that would have the most positive impact?
Very Narrow Problem
How might we reduce the frequency of people using mobile phones
Very Broad Problem
How might we change people's lifestyle of using their smartphones?
Feels Just Right
How might we change people's communication habits?
Building out an ecosystem map was a great opportunity to begin to understand how many and where potential opportunities stem from an overarching opportunity to address Smartphone Addiction problem. This was also a helpful activity when beginning to find the intersection points with my passions. There is a connection between users and healthy lifestyle. I think the tricky part right now, is beginning to understand how our communication barriers can fit into these opportunities. How do we generate a solution that plays to both our strengths–maker & deep researcher?
I'm still figuring out the exact intersection points of Smartphone Addiction and access to healthy lifestyle. I hope that building out some challenge statements will aid in painting a better defined picture.
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