The Process of becoming POTUS

Today, Tuesday November 3rd is a BIG day in the United States of America. Every four years we elect/re-elect our President. 2020 global and national circumstances have made this year an extra vital election – from all sides. One theme that we hear each campaign cycle is that the electoral college needs to be “fixed”. We started looking for a simple explanation of how it actually works. First we found this 2 page document from the Congressional Research Service: The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline. Good outline, but 2 long pages of text. Then we found this infographic from USA.gov – a great resource for how our government works!

Click on the image to see it in full scale. They also offer a 2:21 video overview – both of these are targeted to educating children to the process!

With a Business Analyst’s eye what is glaringly missing from each of these descriptions is a timeline and a feedback loop for the process.


Here is what we call a SMap of how to become POTUS. Click on the image to see it in full scale. SMap is just a cute name for a Swim lane Process Map. There are swim lanes or rows for each stakeholder in the process. The process flows left to right, and the bottom row is reserved for comments to add context and additional information.

Each approach attempts to convey complex information in a visually simple and unbiased way to foster understanding and engagement. One of the advantages of SMaps in an organization is they can provide a standardized approach for communicating processes across the organization. Adding the Process Owner establishes a feedback loop and the inclusion of frequencies and metrics adds critical context for proper prioritization and focus.

Happy Election Day!

A Collaboration Manifesto


We spent several weeks composing a Collaboration Manifesto. We started out doing this to formally align on how we want to work together. As we progressed it became equally important that it is about how we want to inspire others to work together.

We hope this may be provocative enough to make some folks initiate or at least consider some changes for them and their teams. Please, feel free to download and share.


Click Here to view/download the 3-page pdf. And please feel free to leave comments!

What is a Manifesto?

Merriam-Webster explains: Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain.

A Mission or Vision Statement is focused on the the goals of an organization and high level vision of its aspirations. Most companies have them; post them on the wall; insert them in employee handbooks; post them on their intranets; and some even share with their customers… but most forget them once they’re drafted.

While Jerry Maguire called it a Mission Statement, it was really a Personal Manifesto. He called out issues, clarified aspirations, redefined methods, and gave clear reasons for them. It outlined a massive shift to the culture of the business. Now he certainly didn’t get rewarded with his rogue messaging approach, but just imagine if such a document was collaboratively drafted and shared from the top of any organization!


To hold ourselves accountable, the Real Collaboration Rocks team has composed a Collaboration Manifesto. Here’s a link: Collaboration Manifesto. If the content resonates with you it’s a good sign that our approach will align with your company culture or your target culture! Please feel free to share – this document is intended to inspire and focus efforts to collaborate where ever it resonates.

BONUS: Great read from Inc.com from 2015: Forget Mission Statements. You Need a Manifesto Instead.