[MUSIC] Individuals and organizations often set off excitedly on a change journey without really understanding what's involved. Or how to motivate people to get there. In this sense, we put the cart before the horse. We all know the adage you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. The first stage in effectively preparing for change is to spend time orienting yourself on the journey. This week introduces you to the tools you'll need to guide you in this task. The tools are simple enough to be practical. They're complex enough to be insightful. Last week you were introduced to the metaphor of changes of journey. And today we'll build on this by exploring the preparation or planning of change as mapping a journey. Why do we use this term? Well, mapping a journey is different to creating a project plan. Project plans are more like creating an itinerary for a short trip. Journeys are longer, less predictable, and more exploratory than trips. Guidance on a journey requires something that is more flexible and more open than a rigid plan or fixed itinerary. Mapping is a better term than planning. Planning has strong connotations of rationality, precision, logic, data driven analysis. In contrast to planning, mapping provides you with a much needed orientation, but without being too rigid. Most people understand that maps are often inaccurate, get rapidly outdated, and they require interpretation. And we all know that map reading skills are not the only capability needed to be a good traveler. By the end of this week, you'll be able to apply three essential mapping tools as the first step in the chain cycle. Gap analysis to determine where you are, and where you're going. It defines the particular change under consideration. Force field analysis to capture the conditions that you'll face. It identifies the specific forces that influence the nature and dynamics of the change journey. And route analysis, which works out how you're going to get to where you want to go. It identifies the activities you plan to undertake and the sequence in which you decide to take them. The mapping process is the application of the tools that act as your guide. And will orient you on the change journey. In theory you apply the three simple tools and do so in sequence. In reality it will be more iterative, overlapping and messier than they suggest. Mapping is more like a re-calculating GPS when prescribing a fixed itinerary. As famous and experienced generals of emphasized plans rarely survive an encounter with the enemy. This week provide to you with what you need to know about mapping change. To understand it better and influence it more effectively. We are now in the first orientation phase of the chain cycle. [MUSIC]