Power U 71: Power Mapping in the World Cup
If you've been watching the World Cup, you've also been watching a live power mapping case study unfold in real time this week.
Power mapping isn't just about figuring out who's on the field of play and who influences who. It's fundamentally about understanding what type of power actually matters on any given field.
Trump did do some power mapping. He identified Infantino as someone he could mobilize. He figured out US player (and red card holder) Folarin Balogun was important. That's an influence map move...but it was shallow one because on a soccer field at this level there's only one power that matters: expert power. The ability to perform. And no amount of positional power converts into that.
He also handed Belgium a little extra boost when they embraced refusing powerlessness.
There's a lot to learn from this about your own power mapping, and how easily you can reveal the limits of your power literacy without taking the time to look at the whole field of play.
Kris Krüg