The Making-of Model
Choose a period and map its goals, lessons, obstacles, successes, and participants on a timeline. Use the review to decide which experiences should inform your next steps.
THE IDEA
THE MAKING-OF MODEL
TO DETERMINE YOUR FUTURE, FIRST UNDERSTAND YOUR PAST
When it comes to strategic decisions, we usually focus on the future. Our dreams are acted out in the future, and our hopes are pinned on fulfilling these dreams.
But why? Perhaps because we think we can determine our future. However, we tend to forget that every future has a past, and that our past is the foundation on which our future is built.
That’s why the important question is not “How do I imagine my future?” but “How do I create a connection, a bridge, between the past (e.g. of a project) and the future?” This model, inspired by a visual planning system developed by The Grove consulting agency, helps you to work out what was relevant in your past and what you can forget, and what you should take with you from your past into the future.
This is how it works: you define a timeframe – e.g., the last year, your schooldays, your marriage, or from the founding of a company to today – and think back to the start of that period, either alone or in a group. Then add the following to the timeline:
• your goals (at the time)
• what you learned
• the obstacles you overcame
• the successes
• the people involved
The filled-in model reveals the importance you attach to your past.
Memory is the only paradise from which we cannot be driven. Jean Paul
Choose a time frame and note the following:
What were your goals? What did you learn?
What obstacles did you overcome?
What were your successes?
Which people played an important role?
When to use it
A manager facilitates a retrospective meeting using the model to identify what to repeat and what to change in the next quarter.
An individual reflects on their last year of personal development to set more aligned goals for the coming year.
A student maps their academic journey from high school to college to understand which experiences shaped their career choice.
A nonprofit organization reviews its founding years to decide on future strategic directions and resource allocation.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Business Project Review
A team uses the Making-of Model to evaluate a year-long product launch. They list initial goals (e.g., market share target), lessons (what customer feedback revealed), obstacles (budget cuts), successes (first milestone achieved), and key people (project lead, marketing head). This helps them decide which aspects to carry forward into the next project.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
What was the most significant obstacle you overcame in the chosen timeframe, and how did it shape your future decisions?
Which people from your past have had the greatest influence on your current path, and how can you honor that connection moving forward?
If you could forget one thing from the past and take one thing with you, what would they be and why?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Decision Book Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking