# Mapping Your Business as a System

January 25, 2024 7 min read By Saurabh Kulkarni

## Why This Matters

When you see your business as isolated functions, you optimize locally. But local optimization often creates problems elsewhere in the system.

## The System View

A system view helps you:

- See relationships and dependencies
- Understand how changes ripple through
- Identify leverage points
- Make better decisions

## How to Map Your System

Start by identifying: 1. **Key Components**: What are the main parts of your business? 2. **Relationships**: How do these parts connect? 3. **Flows**: What flows through the system (information, value, resources)? 4. **Feedback Loops**: Where does output feed back into input?

## Common Patterns

Most businesses have:

- A value creation system
- A delivery system
- A feedback system
- A learning system

Mapping these helps you see where to intervene for maximum impact.