IntersectMap

Introducing IntersectMap

Imagine navigating a crisis that cascades through interconnected systems, magnifying the impact of each disruption. Traditional crisis management tends to isolate challenges, addressing them through specialized expertise without considering how these issues reverberate across domains. This siloed approach risks neglecting secondary effects that may emerge, exacerbating an already complex situation. To manage such polycrises, decision-makers require a broader perspective, one that accounts for cross-domain interactions and anticipates secondary crises.

Consider a geopolitical border dispute. While political, military, and diplomatic experts address immediate consequences, they may overlook the ripple effects on economic stability, social cohesion, or environmental resilience. Such blind spots can lead to unforeseen escalations, like economic recessions or public unrest, which could have been mitigated with a more comprehensive strategy.

Enter IntersectMap: A Tool for Holistic Crisis Management.

IntersectMap visualizes and analyzes the intersections between diverse crisis types, such as extreme weather events and their interplay with economic, social, and political crises. It provides decision-makers with a structured framework to anticipate known potential cross-domain impacts and to incorporate these insights into more robust response strategies.

The demonstrated IntersectMap below focuses on extreme weather events. By considering over four dozen forms of economic, social, and political crises, it highlights three types of interactions:

• Triggers: Direct causations where extreme weather events precipitate new crises, such as a hurricane causing widespread property damage that leads to a banking crisis through loan defaults.

• Escalations: Instances where extreme weather events exacerbate existing crises, like a flood worsening an economic recession by disrupting supply chains.

• Mitigations: Situations where extreme weather events inadvertently alleviate crises, such as international aid following a disaster stabilizing a country’s currency.

By mapping these relationships, IntersectMap empowers decision-makers, constrained by time and resources, to broaden their situational awareness and anticipate secondary effects. This comprehensive perspective is invaluable for constructing more resilient and adaptive response strategies in a world where crises are increasingly interconnected.

IntersectMap is a strategic companion for navigating complexity, enabling leaders to foresee challenges beyond the immediate and craft solutions that are as interconnected as the crises they address.