3 Reasons Ya’ Gotta’ Have a Framework
We all know what a framework looks like. It’s the steel grid of a skyscraper emerging from the ground of a construction site. Or, it’s the metal skeleton of a vehicle creeping along an assembly line towards completion. A framework is the essential supporting structure of a building, vehicle, or object. It’s what everything else is attached to, filled in, and made ready for use.
Business frameworks serve a similar function. A business framework is the underlying model used to deal with problems, or what informs your decisions regarding your company or department. The SWOT Analysis is a great example of such a framework. Find yourself in a new situation, position, or company? Get up to speed quickly by identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats and then come up with a plan to mitigate weaknesses and threats and optimize strengths and opportunities.
So, why are frameworks so great? 3 reasons:
Frameworks Give You a Place to Start: Rather than sitting at your desk with a blank sheet of paper wondering where to begin, a framework points you in a particular direction and unearths the people, or at the very least the roles, necessary to talk to.
Frameworks Identify Gaps or Inconsistencies: Patterns become obvious once you start filling in a framework. Is one area particularly light on content or ideas? Is another area so dense that whatever needs to be accomplished can never be done with current staff? You can now target those areas that need special attention.
Frameworks Help Explain Concepts to Others Quickly: A picture is worth a thousand words and a framework picture is worth two thousand words. Okay, I have no idea if that’s true, but, you get the point. Complicated research, business analysis or concepts can be more clearly articulated to others within the backdrop of a framework.
Struggling with a business problem? Find a framework (use Google to take you down a rabbit hole) and your ideas will quickly become an essential supporting structure of your business.
