Abstract for: Collaborative Mapping for High Growth Company Strategy

In this paper, we share lessons from a group mapping effort with 25 members of an environmental testing company. Two skilled facilitators engaged them over two days to teach them systems mapping and explore the question of why they were starting to see mistakes in their failure reports. The experience elicited an illuminating causal map, some surprising strategic conclusions, and lessons important to any group model building effort. The experience also serves as an example of how systems thinking can be a better fit than six sigma type processes for solving certain issues at a more strategic level.