A Better Way to Create Business Strategy

Map the Future is a how-to book for business strategy. It teaches you how to manage the elements of strategy – competitive analysis, market research, and advanced technology – and how to tie them together to help you shape the future. You'll learn how to spot future opportunities and problems before they're obvious, which lets you grab those opportunities before anyone else, and prepare for your competitors' responses before they happen.

Written by a tech industry executive who has managed product and business strategy at companies including Apple and Palm, the book is full of hands-on practical guidance for anyone who works on strategy, from individual contributor to senior manager.

“Even before finishing the book, I had written a stream of emails to my professional colleagues, making suggestions for new approaches in our projects, based on the examples I had just read.”
—David W. Wood, Technology Planning Lead, Accenture Mobility

Most companies think about the future the wrong way. Visionary companies try to impose their will on the future, like a military drill sergeant; analytical companies try to predict the future in detail, like a weather report. Both approaches fail when there are changes we didn't anticipate. The reality is that the future's not determined yet, so you can't predict it exactly, and you can't always control it. What you need instead is a map of the possibilities, like a highway map for the future, so you can see where you can and can't go, and then nudge events toward the future you want to see. Map the Future teaches you how to build that future roadmap, and how to use it to drive strategy.

“Map the Future explains the small steps and the big ones in a clear, compelling and convincing narrative that’s fun to read, too. I wish all the business guidebooks I've read were as good as this one.”
—Matt Bacon, Deputy Director, Device Strategy and Communication, Orange-France Telecom Group

The book’s written for anyone who works on strategy, from individual contributor to senior manager. That’s a lot of ground to cover, so it's organized like a cookbook. It starts with an overview that's relevant to everyone, and then dives into detailed how-to instructions on how to collect and analyze future-related information, how to manage the teams that do it, and how to deal with special situations like creating a new market and influencing a company that doesn't want to listen. There's a lot of information on what works and doesn't work in large companies, but there are also sections on what to do if you're in a small company or startup. The sections are all labeled and hyperlinked, so you can jump to the info that you need, and save the rest for reference. See the Table of Contents for more details.

Topics covered include:
      –How to create a future road map and use it to drive strategy
      –How to segment the market for a new product
      –How to recruit and manage competitive analysis and market research teams
      –How to create and use technology forecasts, and work with advanced technology teams
      –How to lead Agile product development through strategy
      –How to do competitive analysis and market research if you’re in a small company with no budget
      –How to read the adoption curve and how to tell when you’ve crossed the chasm
      –How to influence others
      –How to apply competitive, market, and advanced technology research to strategy

“Map the Future is your cookbook for developing a strong roadmap and strategy. I wish I'd had a guide like Map the Future when I started my career. ”
—Gina Clark, Vice President & General Manager, Integrated Collaboration Group, Cisco Systems, Inc.


How to buy

Map the Future is available exclusively as an electronic book, sold through this website and on the Amazon, Apple, Nook, and Kobo ebookstores. It's about 340 pages if printed as a paperback (a bit longer than the typical business book). To buy it, use the links in the sidebar at right.

“Map the Future will sit on my desk for years to come as an invaluable guide to help me make good decisions about the future.”
—Tom Powledge, VP and General Manager, Symantec Corporation 


To learn more 

Testimonials
Samples
Table of Contents