Why Your Company Needs to Invest in Internal Mapmaking
Lex Sisney
Are you an expansion-stage CEO stuck in an outdated structure? I help CEOs and leadership teams scale their companies fast—and without compromising on core values. | Guaranteed results. | Let's connect.
In a rapidly changing world, the companies that scale successfully are the ones that see reality clearly, anticipate what’s coming next, and adjust accordingly. That might sound obvious, but in practice, most organizations fail at it. They lack an accurate internal map—a working model of their environment that allows them to predict, respond, and adapt effectively. Instead, they make decisions without a shared internal map which leads to outdated assumptions, biased perspectives, or siloed information. The result? Wasted resources, missed opportunities, and ultimately, stagnation or failure.
What Is an Internal Map, and Why Does It Matter?
Every complex system—from a single cell to a Fortune 500 company—must maintain an internal map of its environment to survive and thrive. Without it, the system can’t effectively process information, predict changes, or make intelligent decisions. Life itself is a process of reducing uncertainty by continuously refining its model of reality. In other words, adaptation isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s fundamental to survival.
Evolution favors systems that become better at predicting the future. The same principle applies to businesses. The better your company’s internal map, the better you can anticipate shifts in the market, customer needs, competitive threats, and operational constraints.
The Core Elements of a Strong Internal Map
An effective internal map isn’t just a collection of reports, KPIs, or strategic plans—it’s an ongoing, real-time model of reality that helps your team make better decisions. It must be shared across your entire organization. It needs to include:
Relative Location: Where your core business, as well as any business units or product lines are at now in their lifecycle stage development.
Perception: Accurate and timely sensing of external and internal data—market trends, customer feedback, employee sentiment, financial metrics.
Pattern Recognition: The ability to separate signal from noise, identifying real opportunities and risks.
Prediction: A working model of future possibilities based on current trends and historical data.
Response Mechanisms: Clear decision-making frameworks that translate insights into strategic action.
Feedback Loops: Systems that measure outcomes and refine the map accordingly.
Identity & Purpose: A strong guiding philosophy that determines what data matters and how trade-offs should be made.
Why Companies Struggle With Mapmaking
If investing in internal mapmaking is so critical, why do so many companies get it wrong? There are a few common challenges:
There’s no shared map at all. If you haven’t put real effort into teaching your team how to think, then each individual can only bring their existing maps to the office.
Leaders don’t realize their maps are outdated. The mental models that got you here may not get you to the next level. Founders and executives often cling to legacy thinking rather than updating their approach.
Silos distort perception. Different departments operate with different data sets and priorities, making it hard to form a unified, accurate view of reality.
Short-term thinking overrides strategic adaptation. Many companies react to quarterly pressures rather than making the necessary long-term investments in better intelligence and decision-making.
Cultural resistance to change. Even when the environmental signals suggests a needed pivot, companies struggle with inertia, protecting the status quo instead of evolving.
How to Strengthen Your Company’s Internal Map
Audit Your Current Map. What assumptions are you operating on? Where are your blind spots? Which data sources are you missing?
Improve Your Information Flow. Break down silos and create systems for real-time, cross-functional intelligence sharing.
Develop Scenario Planning Muscles. Encourage your leadership team to regularly model different future scenarios and stress-test strategic plans.
Invest in Adaptive Decision-Making. Teach your teams how to balance long-term strategy with short-term responsiveness.
Create a Learning Culture. The best organizations aren’t the ones that get everything right; they’re the ones that learn and adapt the fastest from a shared map.
Final Thought: Your Company Is Its Map
Your internal map isn’t just a tool—it is your business. The more accurate and dynamic it is, the better your company can navigate uncertainty, seize opportunities, and scale effectively. In a world where competitive advantage increasingly comes from intelligence and adaptability, investing in internal mapmaking isn’t optional. It’s the difference between thriving and fading into irrelevance.
So, the real question is: how clear is your map?
PS. If you didn’t know, Organizational Physics is essentially a foundational map built on first principles, allowing everyone in your company to get on the same page, speak the same language, and predict outcomes in advance. Because it uses the language of systems thinking and physics, it cuts across all cultural boundaries and disciplines to create a unified map. If you’d like to learn more, you can explore the Tutorials or read my book Organizational Physics: The Science of Growing a Business. Cheers.
Are you an expansion-stage CEO stuck in an outdated structure? I help CEOs and leadership teams scale their companies fast—and without compromising on core values. | Guaranteed results. | Let's connect.
1 周I think this is an interesting aside related to internal mapmaking. Last week, I came across a small AI company from British Columbia called Verses, which recently won the Atari 10K Challenge—a competition that evaluates an AI model’s ability to achieve human-level performance across classic Atari games using limited data. Verses claimed victory while using 90% less data, 96% faster training, and a 96% smaller model compared to much larger competitors. Intrigued by their breakthrough results, I had a hunch that they were taking a fundamentally different approach than dominant large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT, Grok, or Claude. And it turns out—they are. Verses’ Chief Scientist, Karl Friston, bases their AI approach on the Free Energy Principle, which aligns closely with the core idea of this article. Essentially, living systems rely on an internal map to make predictions. When reality deviates from that map, they seek to close the gap by understanding and eliminating discrepancies. But it all starts with the internal map.