Get the right people in the right places — Part 2: ‘Settlers’

In our last post, we looked at ‘Pioneers’ — the rare people who explore the uncharted space on the left of the map, discovering new ideas and opportunities.

They’re your commandos: first in, taking risks and creating the beachhead for the future.

But there’s a problem: ‘Pioneers’ are often inconsistent. They leave gaps, make mistakes, and produce shoddy outputs. That’s okay — that’s how discovery works.

This is where the ‘Settlers’ come in — the infantry that follow the path opened by the pioneering commandos.

Their job is to turn discoveries into something reliable and repeatable. They fill in the gaps, standardise processes, and make sure the value the Pioneers found reaches customers.

Settlers focus on feature differentiation, high profitability, and growing markets. They thrive on constant improvement, market analysis, feedback, and listening to customers.

Think of it like this: ‘Pioneers’ find new sources of gold — ‘Settlers’ build the mine and bring it to market. And you need both to create value.

In the next post, we’ll meet the ‘Town Planners’ — the ones who transform these discoveries into scalable, lasting empires.