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.