When ever I'm involved in an initiative, I try to somehow visualize the big picture before diving right into it. Sometimes it means thinking about an experience as a timeline. Other times it's a flow of actions with multiple possibilities. Sometimes it's a map of media properties and other times it's an organic display of connections.
The point is that you can get where you are going without a map. You can ask a stranger on the street, pull over to a gas station or wander around until you eventually find it. But maps always seem to help us find our way and can help others feel reassured about where we are going. Maps are great—we can still explore with them, but it's just good to know that they're there when we need them. Without them, we might still find out way—though getting lost is never all that much fun.
