Map the Future

How to Create Great Strategies Using Market, Competitive, and Technology Information

“Even before finishing the book, I had written a stream of emails to my professional colleagues, making suggestions for new approaches in our projects, based on the examples I had just read.”
—David W. Wood, Technology Planning Lead, Accenture Mobility

Map the Future is a how-to book for business strategy. It teaches you how to combine information about competitors, customers, and technology trends to spot future opportunities and problems before they're obvious, which lets you grab opportunities before anyone else, and get ready for your competitors' responses before they happen.

Written by a tech industry executive who managed product and business strategy at companies including Apple and Palm, the book is full of hands-on practical guidance for anyone who works on strategy, from individual contributor to senior manager.

“Map the Future is your cookbook for developing a strong roadmap and strategy. I wish I'd had a guide like Map the Future when I started my career. ”
—Gina Clark, Vice President & General Manager, Integrated Collaboration Group, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Most companies think about the future the wrong way. Visionary companies try to impose their will on the future, like a military drill sergeant; analytical companies try to predict the future in detail, like a weather report. Both approaches fail when there are changes we didn't anticipate. The reality is that the future's not determined yet, so you can't predict it exactly, and you can't always control it. What we need instead is a map of the possibilities, like a highway map for the future, so you can see where you can and can't go, and then nudge events toward the future you want to see. Map the Future teaches you how to build that future roadmap, and how to use it to drive strategy.

“Map the Future explains the small steps and the big ones in a clear, compelling and convincing narrative that’s fun to read, too. I wish all the business guidebooks I've read were as good as this one.”
—Matt Bacon, Deputy Director, Device Strategy and Communication, Orange-France Telecom Group

The book is organized like a cookbook. It starts with an overview that's relevant to all readers, and then dives into detailed how-to instructions on strategy-related subjects, ranging from how to manage a competitive analysis team to how to influence people who don't want to listen. There's a lot of information on what works and doesn't work in large companies, but there are also sections on what to do if you're in a small company or startup.

Topics covered include:

• How to create a future road map and use it to drive strategy
• How to segment the market for a new product
• How to recruit and manage competitive analysis and market research teams
• How to create and use technology forecasts
• How to lead Agile product development through strategy
• How to do competitive analysis and market research if you’re in a small company with no budget
• How to read the adoption curve and how to tell when you’ve crossed the chasm
• How to influence a large company
• How to apply competitive, market, and advanced technology research to strategy

“Map the Future is an indispensable complement to all the executive strategy guides and market research manuals overflowing airport bookstores everywhere.”
—Craig Froehle, Ph.D., Professor, Lindner College of Business, University of Cincinnati

“Whether you are building a new team at a startup or managing an existing business in a large organization, Map the Future is essential reading. Mike’s years of front line experience in Silicon Valley are encapsulated in a practical guide to maximizing your chance of success in rapidly changing markets. Map the Future reminds us to stay focused on the fundamentals – customers, competition and technology trends. Mike provides the frameworks and tools to help us deeply understand our markets. Ultimately, our job as managers is to apply good judgment and make decisions. Map the Future will sit on my desk for years to come as an invaluable guide to help me make good decisions about the future.”
—Tom Powledge, VP and General Manager, Symantec Corporation

“Map the Future is a landmark guidebook for forward-thinking executives and strategy consultants. Michael Mace offers a uniquely rigorous and robust framework for informing product and technology decisions.”
—Martin Geddes, Founder & Principal, Martin Geddes Consulting Ltd.

For more information, visit http://mapthefuture.mikemace.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR. A longtime veteran of Silicon Valley, Michael Mace has co-founded two startups, and worked as an executive and a strategy consultant for many of the tech industry’s leading firms. In ten years at Apple, his roles included director of Mac platform marketing and director of worldwide customer & competitive analysis. At Palm, he was vice president of product planning and chief competitive officer, and he worked closely with network operators and mobile phone manufacturers to plan for the future of mobile data. He also held senior roles at Softbook Press (one of the early e-book firms) and Silicon Graphics.

As a consultant on business and product strategy, Michael’s clients have included Yahoo, Citrix, Adobe, Nokia, Capella Education, Hitachi, VMware, and Logitech. He's a well-known tech industry speaker and commentator, with keynotes at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference and speeches at conferences including CTIA and CES. He’s appeared on CNN and Bloomberg TV, and was profiled in the Wall Street Journal.

Michael is currently CEO of Zekira.com, a startup focused on helping people manage the flood of business information they get throughout their careers. His weblog, Mobile Opportunity, can be found at http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com.