So far, we’ve met the ‘Pioneers’ — bold explorers who discover new opportunities. And ‘Settlers’ — builders who transform those discoveries into useable products and services that create value.
Now comes the final group: ‘Town Planners’.
If ‘Pioneers’ are commandos and ‘Settlers’ the infantry, ‘Town Planners’ are the engineers and architects. Their job is to take what’s been won and turn it into scalable, industrial-strength infrastructure.
‘Town Planners’ design systems that don’t just work once but can be repeated countless times. They cut costs, optimise operations, and create platforms that others can use to discover additional sources of value.
Think of it like this: ‘Pioneers’ find the gold, ‘Settlers’ open the mine and get the gold to market, while ‘Town Planners’ build factories making shovels for the next wave of ‘Pioneers’ to seek out new sources of gold.
They make value enduring.
And here’s the key lesson: no single group is better than the others. Pioneers, Settlers, and Town Planners each have their role in your organisation. Get the balance right, and you can explore, build, and scale successfully. Get it wrong, and you’ll either fail to discover the new, turn it into value, or collapse in chaos.
The art of leadership is knowing where to use each one. That’s why organisations like AirBnB and the Government of Singapore use Wardley Mapping.
Now comes the final group: ‘Town Planners’.
If ‘Pioneers’ are commandos and ‘Settlers’ the infantry, ‘Town Planners’ are the engineers and architects. Their job is to take what’s been won and turn it into scalable, industrial-strength infrastructure.
‘Town Planners’ design systems that don’t just work once but can be repeated countless times. They cut costs, optimise operations, and create platforms that others can use to discover additional sources of value.
Think of it like this: ‘Pioneers’ find the gold, ‘Settlers’ open the mine and get the gold to market, while ‘Town Planners’ build factories making shovels for the next wave of ‘Pioneers’ to seek out new sources of gold.
They make value enduring.
And here’s the key lesson: no single group is better than the others. Pioneers, Settlers, and Town Planners each have their role in your organisation. Get the balance right, and you can explore, build, and scale successfully. Get it wrong, and you’ll either fail to discover the new, turn it into value, or collapse in chaos.
The art of leadership is knowing where to use each one. That’s why organisations like AirBnB and the Government of Singapore use Wardley Mapping.
