SFS_02Startup Foundation System™ 2–3 weeks

Vision & Strategic Clarity

Where is this company actually going? A 10-year vision, mission, north-star, and strategic focus that survives the first pivot.

See full Startup Foundation System™

Why it matters

Most startups confuse a deck with a strategy. We translate founder intent into a 10-year vision, a falsifiable 3-year strategic intent, and a single north-star metric — using Amazon Working Backwards, Wardley Mapping, and V2MOM.

Scope covered

10-year vision + 3-year strategic intent (Amazon Working Backwards PR/FAQ)

Mission, values, and behavioural guardrails

North-star metric + 3 input metrics (NSM tree)

Wardley Map of the value chain

V2MOM (Vision/Values/Methods/Obstacles/Measures)

Scale vs profit vs lifestyle business-intent declaration

Theory of Change — inputs → activities → outputs → outcomes → impact chain

3-Horizons portfolio (H1 core / H2 emerging / H3 transformational)

Vision-to-OKR linkage map (vision ↔ 3-yr intent ↔ annual OKRs ↔ quarterly OKRs)

How we run it

Our methodology

A senior-led delivery sequence — not a template dump. Each phase is operated with your team, not handed over as a deck.

1
Vision & purpose articulation
Week 1
Run the vision workshop — 10-year north-star, mission, values — codified in a single one-page narrative.
2
Strategic frame & must-win battles
Week 1–2
Choose the 3–5 must-win battles for the next 24 months using a Roger-Martin / Lafley playing-to-win frame.
3
Operating principles & non-goals
Week 2
Lock the explicit non-goals — what we will not do — and the operating principles the team is held to.
4
Cascade & comms
Week 2–3
Cascade vision to leadership and team with the comms kit; pressure-test understanding via reverse-readouts.