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Why is it important to look at the big picture?
Imagine yourself as a city planner. You are working on projects to improve traffic, on projects aimed at giving more green cover and on a high-budget project that focuses on setting up a new section focused on multi-tier housing. In such undertakings, would it be possible to focus on each project alone? After all, roads, parks and multi-raise apartments are separate entities and are often considered individual city projects with ostensibly no connection between them. Or is there a connection? Today, city planners not only emphasize on getting each specific project done in a smart and effective way, but also to see how the parts come together seamlessly to give a truly wholesome experience. This calls for not only seeing granular details, but in also having an overarching perspective of the big picture.
This is true across all domains – indeed across all human endeavours.
Looking at the big picture. Why is it important?
Working on segments of such large projects is often approached in a siloed manner, which leads to a lack of understanding of the complete picture. What makes this doubly problematic is that lack of awareness of the big picture not only impedes the understanding of the problem but also, when working on solutions, hides existing potential capabilities to address the problem – maybe in a different way.
In other words, in the search of one particular tree (solution), are we losing the grandeur and potential of the entire forest (other existing opportunities)?
There are many advantages of assiduously retaining the large perspective while working on specifics. For one, it helps in ‘alignment’ – what impact does a certain project or task have on the overall effort? Two, it helps to identify gaps that need to be plugged to provide a seamless solution. Third, it helps to synchronize existing knowledge. Finally, mapping the specifics with the big picture will help in communicating the overarching purpose.
Alignment
Research reveals that those prone to ‘jumping’ immediately into executing a plan are often those who are completely aligned to the ‘need’ (of the moment). While it is a project manager’s or business leader’s dream to have team members who immediately get into action, such ‘bias’ towards execution may also result in suboptimal outcomes. Why? Because in the haste to complete the task in hand, one may miss observing and connecting to larger opportunities. Being aligned to the ‘higher purpose’ is one thing, but missing the ‘bigger picture’ in haste, is another.
Identify gaps
A definite benefit of looking at the big picture is the capability it gives in connecting sub-systems. For example, it helps to connect ‘business’ knowledge to the systems, processes and users. By doing so a higher level of alignment is achieved.
Considering Existing Knowledge
Let us consider this issue from an organizational perspective. Large organizations, over a period of time, accrue knowledge, which is often a direct product or by-product of the activities of the organization. This existing knowledge base, when tapped into, enables a deep contextual understanding of issues and a larger awareness of possibilities.
Consider, for example, the very demanding Banking and Financial services Industry (BFSI). The compelling dynamics of growth in the BFSI sector faces the challenges of addressing and managing the necessary change management, which is the order of the day. Banks and financial institutions can address this challenge by leveraging their internal knowledge repository. However, doing so is not easy as knowledge tends to be scattered across departments.
While the above scenario was specific to BFSI, many other industry sectors too face the challenges of addressing and managing necessary change management prerogatives that include expansion in scope and depth. These organizations can address this challenge by leveraging their internal knowledge repository.
Case Study:
Effective Communication
Consider the world of a service provider. Understanding the world (eco-system) of the client is the first mandatory requirement to design and provide customized solutions. When this ecosystem is adequately represented along with the finer details, such as connectivity and relationships across elements, it goes beyond assurance to the client. It raises the pedestal of the service provider from being one of an ‘order taker’ to that of an ‘agenda setter’.
Is there a tool to help in this challenging exercise?
Welcome to the vista that only a ‘cartographic’ perspective can give i.e. the L0 Framework . The L0 Framework simplifies complex business domains and functions through decomposition of products, processes, and services, connecting various departments such as business and technology. This tool was conceived keeping in mind the needs of the user community in terms of how information is evaluated and when knowledge is translated to application.
Understanding the L0-L4 Architecture
The comprehensive domain decomposition of any business universe connects all relevant departments, internal and external, and enables cross-functional conversations more meaningful. The approach helps in internal initiatives to build domain expertise. The abstraction of all processes in a periodic table-like framework is today instantly recognizable in the industry.
The L0 drills down to further elemental process and sub-process levels from L1 through L4. This becomes the single chart based on which solution design conversations can be conducted – a powerful workshop tool in identifying white spaces and priority focus areas.
Drilling down from L0 to L4 is a movement from ‘Perspective’ to ‘Expertise’ – deeper insights in a domain accrued due to experience.
How the L0 Framework Helps
The L0 Framework is a granular appreciation of business domains. The ability to engineer products and solutions capable of delivering consistent efficiency year on year, commitment to engage over extended time horizons, co-creating solutions, and operating within business-outcome linked frameworks stem from a deep and wide understanding of the entire business landscape. In fact, the scope of application of the L0 Framework can be for anything. It can be applied in academics to scope syllabi across semesters. It can be used in business strategy. It can also be applied in sectors such as healthcare, national security, banking and finance, NGOs and from any perspective such as by an entrepreneur, a professor, an end user, an industry leader, a philanthropist – and many others. Indeed, the framework can be applied to any requirement to get a clear perspective of the business landscape, product functionality landscape, department landscape, competitor landscape, course structure landscape, university offering landscape, government policy landscape etc. Efficiency, risk management, expansion – it’s all possible, when you know how. It all starts with knowledge at the L0 level.
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