The Map is not the Terrain

The map is not the terrain is a mental model that is useful when in leadership positions. 

Often now we are inundated with data and analysis of every little activity. 

While data is important and I believe that what improves is what gets measured. 

It is equally important to understand life is not dashboards or data points on a graph. It is more complex than spreadsheets. 

This is the mental model concept of a map not being the terrain. 

If we were to think about a map. What is a map? It is a 2D representation of the actual 3D reality. 

A road map of the interstate highway system in the United States is a representation of the highway system, but it is not to scale. It does not fully represent reality. 

A map is a model. 

It is a model that does not always represent things like elevation or weather or traffic all of which could and will be encountered on a journey cross country that would not be conveyed on a map. 

This is a useful mental model because so much of life around us is only presented in a surface level aspect and we need to understand this concept so we can peel back the layers to the underneath. 

I call this Dashboard Management. 

Dashboard management is a concept in which numbers and metrics tell you the whole story. It is very easy for a CEO to look at sales numbers or website clicks and conclude all is well, but maps are not the terrain. 

It is easy to stand on a scale and conclude you are healthy or unhealthy based on a single number. The map is not the terrain. 

The map is not the terrain. Regardless of how detailed the map is it will never be to scale of the territory. 

So much of our social media world today is a map representing the territory. 

The perfect angles, the great lighting, the only showing the exciting moments. Even Instagram influencers posting on fake private jets. 

Even the most detailed maps. Think Google Earth. They are still not perfect. They do not contain the noise of traffic, or the smell of a pizza parlor, the feel of a cool summer night. So even highly detailed maps are still just unrealistic representations of reality. 

Just like maps model terrain the mind models reality. 

The Machine Theory of Everything

The Machine Theory of Everything is a phrase I coined to describe the process or procedure for identifying preferred outcomes and matching those with key inputs and then monitoring those inputs over time for positive change. You can tinker or adjust these inputs when you are off track. 

Think of yourself on a line at point A. This would represent where you are today and point B to the goal or outcome you would prefer. 

This could be anything like losing 10 pounds before your high school reunion or getting a promotion at work. Or closing more sales. It doesn't matter what the outcome is that is specific to you. It's the process that matters. 

You then can deconstruct the outcome, work backward to try to understand what are the individual components to say losing 10 pounds. Well, you would identify eating healthier foods, exercising more, being a calorie deficit. Now that you have identified the individual components these are your inputs. They are specific, they are measurable, and over time by hitting them you will achieve your end result. 

The good news though with most things. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. You can simply copy others who came before you. 

There is something called the blueprint concept. And this is simply the idea that anything you want to do has already been done and you can copy and learn from the people before us. Anything you want to achieve you want to start that new business or run a marathon there are people who have laid the groundwork on the best path to completing this and we can simply follow their process. 

You can learn from their mistakes. You can benchmark your progress based on their timeline. And with the overload of information at everyone's fingertips, you can do this for nearly $0 dollars.