A good roadmap helps communicates the mission and strategy of an organization or initiative. Building and curating a roadmap is a great way to lead a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders to meet an objective.
The book Product Roadmaps Relaunched by Lombardo, McCarthy, Ryan, and Connors is highly recommended to provide context to the examples provided here. When presented to stakeholder groups, each section should distilled into a single page or slide with only those parts that are relevant to the stakeholders. The book does a great job of describing how to build stakeholder-specific views of a roadmap.
Below is an example of a roadmap for a person's life, which is even more complicated than a business venture. Use this example is your starting point. Just copy and paste it into your favorite word processor and start editing. In fact, make two — one for yourself — your own lifemap — and one for for your business venture.
Example: A Roadmap to Life
Roadmaps are helpful for managing complex projects and there is little that is more complex than our own lives. When you start to feel lost in life, like you are adrift without anchor, it can be helpful to reflect on the journey of your life to gain some perspective on where you wish the journey to meander and flourish. This example explores the components of a life-map (roadmap for a life) as a set of examples that you are encouraged to copy and modify.
Preamble
The first part of a life-map is the preamble. It expresses the vision, mission and strategy for living a great life. The project end date, a disclamer about flexibility, and an (optional) inspiring quote round out the preamble's information.
Vision: A well lived journey to find and be myself (anew each day) that ends in peace and a sense of excitement for what comes next.
Project End: Undefined; live thusly.
Mission: Experience life by mindfully living a series of explorations, adventures, creative expressions, and periods of relaxation and reflection from which a vacation is not needed.
Strategy: Make value aligned decisions from a deathbed perspective that keeps options open. Treat regrets as having found a boundary and mistakes as the pathway to mastery and success.
"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." — Jack London
Disclaimer: This life is a work in progress that remains flexible to God's plan. Not all goals will be reached nor values perfectly manifested.
Core Values
Core values provide more structure and detail to the preamble. The goal is to identify the large goals and milestones that matter most to your life.
Physical Health
- Diet
- Exercise
- Medical (aging, illness, and conditions)
- Safety
Mental Health
- Emotional
- Manage depression & anxiety
- Stop self judgement
- Let go of judgements by others
- Spiritual
- Mindfulness, insight, and enlightenment
- Peace with aging and death
- Education
- Lifelong learning
- Well read
- Well-traveled
Relationship Health
- Self-sufficiency – Fixing self is the pathway to helping others
- See stakeholder list
- Service to others
- Teachable moments
- Learnable moments
- Conduit for God-love
- Non-judgement
- Shared experiences
- Altruistic; not for praise
Financial Health
- Well managed wealth
- Make funds last while doing all I want to do
- Add to family chest(s)
- Leave more structure
- Capture family investment and wealth management wisdom
Chronology
You cannot expect to concentrate on everything at once, so it is helpful to arrange your life goals into three to five chronological buckets. The minimal set of three are:
- Now – What you are currently doing.
- Next – What you intend to do next.
- Later – What you are considering for more distant future.
You may also add two additional buckets:
- Accomplished – What you have already achieved.
- Considering – What you have not yet committed to doing.
Kanban Example
Kanban boards are a helpful way to combine values and chronology. Boards like this are not the only way to lay out a life map and they are just a snapshot in time. The process of evaluating and updating the board to reflect your current status and future plans is what really matters most.
This is an example of a kanban with chronology represented as columns and value-based "swim lanes" represented as rows. At the intersection of a time and value is something more specific. It could be a goal, milestone, action item.
The additional Accomplished and Considering buckets can be added as columns on the Kanban or just maintained as separate lists. Tagging list entries in these buckets with the value(s) to which the item applies is helpful to see and manage a healthy balance.
Stakeholders
A stakeholder list is an important element of any roadmap. In the case of a life-map, it provides a list of the people that intersect with your life.
It may seem wrong to put yourself first and God last, but until you take care of yourself you are nothing more than a burden to everyone else. And since God dwells within us all, He is being served whenever we serve another or ourselves. Finally, according to most religions (and science) all stakeholders are ultimately one. Thus, striving to put your own needs first (but not wants because wants cause suffering) allows you to give from a place of abundance and peace.
- Self
- Family
- Marriage
- Kids
- Parents
- Extended Family
- Community
- Friends
- Colleagues
- Neighbors
- Countrymen
- God
- Planet Earth (environment)
- Humanity
Primary Routes
Sticking with the roadmap metaphor, the primary routes are the roadways over which life's journey will unfold. You travel the routes alone or with others; your destinations are the values you previously established.
Helping Others
Giving altruistically to others – without an expectation of gratitude or reciprocation – produces more profound feelings of joy than anything else in life.
- Providing (food, clothes, shelter)
- Teaching
- Apprenticing / practicing
- Sharing a drink or a meal
- Showing up to events
Self Care
Giving altruistically is much easier when your own needs are met. It may seem selfish, but by taking care of yourself first you position yourself to give from a place of strength. Specifically the strength to give without the need for thanks or reciprocation.
Relaxation and Recreation
- Napping
- Reading
- Puzzles & games
- Video games
- Traveling
- Time with family & friends
- Movies & TV
- Music – Listening & dancing
- Sports
- Gym – weights, stretching
- Swimming, walking, hiking
- Tennis, racquetball, or pickle ball?
Commune with nature
- Walking
- Hiking
- Sitting outside
- Camping
- Sailing
- Gardening
- Fishing
- Tubing
- Swimming
- Kayaking
- Timber & farm cruising
Making a Living
Our modern age demands that we learn to provide for ourselves and others. For most, this is a job that earns a paycheck, but making a living can also entail being a home-maker, stay-at-home parent, caregiver, or a volunteer. Even if you are dependent on someone else for most things, you still have something to contribute and that is how you make your living.
These examples are for those with typical jobs outside of the home.
Pre-retirement
- Working is a matter of turning energy and personal gifts into assets that will later provide a passive income
- Balance work with the rest of life
Post-retirement
- Do only what you enjoy doing
- Short term / part-time positions only
- Value your time and charge accordingly
- Do only wholesome work; no predatory, unethical, or illegal activities
Artistic expression
- Writing
- Books
- Blogs
- Standards and policy
- Cooking
- Coding
- Pottery
- Photography
- Whittling
- Drawing
Share Your Map
Sharing your life-map with family and friends helps in several ways. It lets others understand where you are headed. When they understand, they can be more effective in helping you achieve your goals. They might also suggest changes and refinements that you had not considered. Sharing it with others also helps you feel more accountable.
Make a calendar event once a month, quarter, or year to review your:
- Preamble
- Core values
- Stakeholders
- Primary Routes
- Kanban boards
Updated Kanban Example
With the addition of stakeholders and routes, you can embellish the Kanban to illustrate how and with/for whom you plan to achieve your milestones.
| Now | Next | Later | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical |
Exercise (Tennis with Dad) |
Diet |
Safety (Karate with daughter?) |
| Mental |
Education (Cooking with Mom) |
Spiritual (Retreat with friends) |
|
| Relationship | Self-Sufficiency | ||
| Financial |
Earn a living (co-workers) |
Save for a car |
Manage Wealth (Learn from grandfather) |
This is an example of a kanban that has been extended with information about the related Primary Routes and/or Stakeholders involved in the effort.
Maintaining multiple Kanban boards can be helpful for managing at different levels of granularity. You might have one in which Now, Next, and Later correspond to 1 year, 3-5 years, and 5+ years. Another might define those same categories as 1 day, this week, and this month respectively. If and how you use Kanban boards is a personal choice.
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