Episode 028 - Mapmaker

This is InBrief. Let's get to it. Hey there, and welcome back to the InBrief podcast. Each week we take a few minutes to dive into a new topic that hopefully makes your transition a little bit easier. And if nothing else, gives you a new perspective to take into a new week. I'm Jordana, I'm the CEO of the Recon Network. And this week we're talking about Mapmaking. Now imagine for a moment that you want to take a trip. Maybe you want to go to the Grand Canyon, or you think you'd like to drive to Niagara Falls or head toward New Orleans. Now, unless you're gifted with the inherent knowledge that just helps you know how to get there, then you're probably going to have to refer to some sort of map in order to find your way. Now, in the older days, as my children would call it, you would have a paper map that you would unfurl and it would cover 2/3 of the front seat and the full windshield, and you'd sit there and you'd determine how to get where you wanted to go and determine your path forward. Today, GPS does this for us. You just type in where you want to end up, and it gives you all the ways to get there, as well as each turn and stop and detour along the way. But imagine for a moment that it didn't work like that. Let's say that you wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, but every time you typed in the directions, it sent you to Tipton, Kansas. Now, nothing against Tipton and its entire population of 190 people, but that's not where you wanted to go. But let's say you're flexible, and so you say, okay, well, if GPS is not gonna let me go to the Grand Canyon, maybe I'm just gonna go to New Orleans and visit the city instead. But when you tap in that destination, the GPS still sends you to Tipton, Kansas. So you get your friend to use their phone instead, and guess what? Tipton, Kansas. Can you imagine your frustration with this? It's crazy to think that no matter where you'd want to go, you'd be given the same map to get there as everyone else around you. Yet in the transition process for veterans, more often than not, this is exactly what happens. About 12 to 18 months, you're planning your exit, and you hopefully have some relative idea of where you want to go. What you want Really, what you need is a map forward that takes into consideration where you are now and where you want to end up, and what resources you have along the way, and doesn't give you a whole lot of detours or get you stuck in traffic, right? You want to get there. But instead, you're given the same map as the other 20 or 30 people around you. Now, that map includes different stops you could take along the way. A resource here, that one there. Hey, maybe you'd like to visit this place too. And in real life, it looks like a lot of paperwork, a list of benefits, and advice how to get those certifications, rework your LinkedIn page and a resume to go get that great job that's waiting for you. But what if that path isn't the one that you want or need to be on? Maybe you want to go into business for yourself. Maybe you want to go back to school. Maybe you have a disability that you're still adjusting to. Maybe you have to reestablish relationships or change locations. Maybe you don't know where you want to go, but you're pretty sure it's not Tipton, Kansas. Now, there are resources for all of those things along this path that they've given you and everyone else that could help you in all of those places, but they don't show up on the map. You have to search them out on your own, and they'll be really, really helpful. If you can find them. This is a significant reason why the transition process is so hard for so many people, because instead of exploring what makes them unique and how to find their own path forward, they take the map handed to them, and before they know it, boom, Tipton, Kansas. So since no one is going to custom make you a map, I want you to know how to set your own course forward. And so I want to give you 4 tips that are set out by actual cartographers when they are making a new map. So there's 4 steps that a mapmaker is going to use when they are getting the data to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Step number 1, collect data. Get as much information about the path that you need to represent. This can come from a variety of sources, but you'll need a holistic view of what the landscape is, what the obstacles are, and what direction you'll need to head in. You'll also want to know what the resources are, like gas stations or veteran service organizations, and who is going to be traveling that same direction so you can collaborate and get help if you need it. Step number 2, process that data. Once the data has been collected, it needs to be processed in order to make it suitable for your map. This means that you need to remove errors. It might mean you need to adjust your direction a little bit in order to get to a path that works. Number 3, design your map. Determine the scale of your journey and what signs you need to note along the way. Figure out how long it's gonna take you to get from A to B, and if you have all of the resources that you're going to need along the way. And finally, number 4, make it real. Just like a map that has been designed needs to be produced in order to make it useful. So does your plan for your journey. Put it in writing somewhere. Draw out your timeline, your path, and the resources that you need along the way. Keep them close and refer to them often. Then when you find out that you've ended up somehow off the path, you can easily get back on and get back on track. Remember, planning your journey forward isn't only for those in the transition process. There are many times in your life that you're going to want to head in a new direction. But by learning how to create your own map forward, you can make sure you get exactly where you want to go and don't just end up in Kansas.