Tree of InfluenceBlocked outcomes view
The full tree filtered to one desired state / outcome: hide every node that has no path to it.
Purpose
Remove distractions. A full tree shows everything at once, and in a large tree the few nodes that matter for one goal get lost in the rest. This view picks one desired state / outcome and shows only what leads to it: every root, action, and artifact with a path to that outcome.
The rule is simple: hide any node that does not have a path to this outcome.
When to create it
When the group, or a stakeholder, wants to focus on one goal: "What stands between us and this outcome?" It is especially useful when prioritizing, and when the full tree has grown too big to read at a glance.
What it contains
- The selected outcome.
- Every node with a path to it, following the arrows backward: the actions that lead to it, the problems and artifacts behind those actions, and so on, all the way down to the roots. A node stays if any chain of arrows connects it to the outcome.
- The arrows between those nodes, in the same styles as the full tree.
- A header: "Blocked Outcomes," followed by the outcome's name. Add a version or date if the tree changes over time.
Everything else is hidden, not deleted. Nodes keep their colors, their arrows, and their relative places, so the view still looks like the tree it came from.
Diagram as text: Blocked outcomes view of the onboarding tree, for one outcome
Filtered view: showing only "New hires ship something in their first month" and the nodes with a path to it.
Nodes:
- Root / Problem: "Documentation is out of date"
- Root / Problem: "Each team onboards differently"
- Root / Problem: "Setting up a laptop takes a week"
- Action / Intervention: "Automate laptop setup"
- Desired State / Outcome: "New hires ship something in their first month"
Arrows:
- "Each team onboards differently" influences "Documentation is out of date"
- "Setting up a laptop takes a week" influences "Automate laptop setup"
- "Documentation is out of date" influences "New hires ship something in their first month"
- "Automate laptop setup" influences "New hires ship something in their first month"
Compare it with the full tree: the nodes about mentoring and asking questions are gone, because none of them lead to new hires shipping early.
To focus on several outcomes at once, keep every node with a path to any of them.
How it relates to the full tree
It is a filter over the full tree, not a new diagram. Nothing is rearranged and nothing new is drawn. In a digital tool, the simplest way to make it is to duplicate the full tree and delete or hide the nodes without a path to the outcome. In tools with layers or tags, filter instead of copying, so the view never falls out of date.
Example
A variant lays out every outcome at once with only the problems that block each one, drawn with dashed blocks / impedes arrows. It drops the actions in between and answers a narrower question: "Which problems stand in the way of each goal?" One long-lived strategic tree kept this variant on its own page, with each outcome pointing back to 2 to 5 key blockers.
Diagram as text: Blockers-only variant of the blocked outcomes view
Nodes:
- Root / Problem: "Documentation is out of date"
- Root / Problem: "Setting up a laptop takes a week"
- Root / Problem: "New hires are afraid to ask questions"
- Root / Problem: "Senior people have no time to mentor"
- Desired State / Outcome: "New hires ship something in their first month"
- Desired State / Outcome: "New hires feel welcome and confident"
Arrows:
- "Documentation is out of date" blocks "New hires ship something in their first month"
- "Setting up a laptop takes a week" blocks "New hires ship something in their first month"
- "New hires are afraid to ask questions" blocks "New hires feel welcome and confident"
- "Senior people have no time to mentor" blocks "New hires feel welcome and confident"
When you don't need it
When the full tree is small enough that everything leading to an outcome is obvious at a glance. Create it when the group needs to focus, not by default.