Services

Organizations today face complex challenges.

We use whole-systems mapping to uncover solutions.

Complexity is our 21st century reality. Smart paths forward can be discovered in counter-intuitive places. You just need to know how and where to look. Whether you are launching a new line of business, seeking clarity about emergent changes in your market, looking for new ways to consistently create and deliver value for customers, or endeavoring to tell a more effective story about your brand, confident decisions are the foundations of high performance.

Conventional strategic tools are fast becoming inadequate and obsolete in a climate characterized by high velocity, widespread uncertainty, vast complexity, and deep connectedness. Forward Mapworks was founded on the belief that solving emergent challenges requires a new strategic mindset rooted in whole-systems thinking. We use unique visual mapping tools to diagram a wide variety of compound client environments, analyze patterns within the chaos, isolate the available opportunities for advancing specific objectives, and design programs that exploit leverage points within the system.

To move your organization from a state of momentary viability to one of long-term sustainability, supplement your focused expertise with our whole-systems perspective. Spot unseen obstacles, identify hidden opportunities, and design solutions with the confidence that accompanies the decision to embrace complexity.

Business Design

We work with forward-focused leaders to design high-performance initiatives that leverage the opportunities hidden in complex markets.

The changing world brings opportunities to our doorstep with ever-increasing frequency. Knowing which are ripe with potential and which pose serious threats is all a matter of context. Business design enables organizations to navigate an ecosystem of risk and opportunity with confidence and direction – a kind of blue print for cultivating clarity amidst chaos.

Goal Development • Strategic Planning • Competitive Analysis • Process Design & Optimization • Trend Analysis • Interim Management • Succession Planning • Retained Strategic Counseling

Sales Performance Systems

We develop strategic programs that use system thinking to elevate sales performance and deliver measurable results in complex results.

Sales is the lifeblood of a company, and when its flow is inhibited, everyone feels the pinch. Revenue generation is a fickle process that can elude consistency under the watch of even the most seasoned sales leadership. Consistent and elevated sales performance comes from understanding value, recognizing leverage, activating connections, and managing execution within your ecosystem.

Sales Cycle Analysis • Sales Process Optimization • Performance Metrics • Incentive Design • Territory Planning • Channel Partner Programs • Sales Software Strategy • Interim Management

Brand-building & Market Engagement

We focus and deploy your message in the marketplace with empathetic acuity and whole-systems thinking for maximum customer engagement.

Some estimates are that we’ve gone from being exposed to about 500 ads per day back in the 1970s to as many as 5,000 a day today. Authenticity, hyper-targeting, message clarity, and innovative distribution are essential if your message is to reach its intended audience and inspire. Tomorrow’s leaders are cutting through today’s noisy landscape to reach audiences and secure mindshare that matters.

Ecosystem Market Analysis • Brand Asset Mapping • Branding & Positioning • Messaging Design • Campaign Outreach • Transmedia • Performance Metrics

New Venture Strategy

We use predictive whole-systems simulation to create robust business models that reveal unknowns and forecast paths to start-up success.

Startups are endeavors for the resilient few. The sheer volume of unknowns makes strategic development a unique exercise for entrepreneurs. Rather than attempt to measure and validate each individual assumption, understanding the big picture is invaluable when it comes to decisions about how and when to launch, what to expect in the marketplace, and what kind of resources are required.

Ecosystem Pro Formas • Investment Sequencing • Market Ecosystem Analysis • Financial Modeling • Fundraising & Business Plan Development • Investor Due Diligence Sweep

Front-end Strategy for Creative Design

We work with design firms & creative agencies to clarify objectives at the outset of client projects to reduce rework and improve margins.

Creative agencies and design firms come in all shapes and sizes, but each of them knows how important it is to ensure the finished product (be it a web platform, print campaign, or video series) is consistent with measurable client objectives. Otherwise, the design process lengthens as even the greatest creatives spend valuable hours on rework iterations. Strategic clarity and goal alignment at the outset can prevent missed deadlines, costly redesigns, and budget overages.

Goal Development • Metrics Design • Design Briefs • Audience Segmentation • Distribution Plans