The compass has six perspectives around the rim – the relationship to nature, the place, time, yourself and success – and one question at the centre: why does the business exist?
The centre is the goal. The six perspectives are the road there: once you've thought them through, one at a time, you have the raw material for an honest answer – not a slogan, but the real reason. That answer then travels with you through the rest of the programme.
The road: one perspective at a time
Each perspective is a shift from an old way of seeing to a new one:
- The ecosystem – from exploitation and separation, to mutuality and being part of. How do we relate to the nature around us?
- Impact – from sustainability as "less harm", to regenerative impact and regrowth. Do we know what impact we actually have?
- The place – from place-anonymous and standardised, to place-listening and interplay with the local. Could the business be located anywhere?
- Time – from quarterly pressure and endless growth, to seasonal rhythm and the long term. Where are we pushing too fast? (Concrete year planning: Keeping track, step 4.)
- The self – from constant performance and exhaustion, to presence, playfulness, rest and creation. Does our way of working hold up for us? (Team & family goes deep here.)
- Success – from return on investment, to value creation and belonging. If we only measured money – what would we miss?
That's all you need to read in advance. The rest happens in the tool, one step at a time:
Interactive tool
The compass – the road to your why
Six perspectives, one at a time: read the shift, write a few lines, mark where you stand. At the end the tool helps you put your why into words – and you can print the whole compass. About fifteen minutes. Everything stays in your browser, so you can pause and continue later.
Open the tool →Free · no login · nothing leaves your browser
Prefer paper?
The same exercise exists as a printable canvas – six boxes around a centre, for the kitchen table or a workshop:
The centre: your why
However you do the exercise, the landing is the same: one sentence that begins "We exist because …". Write it simply and truthfully. The test: would it feel embarrassing to read aloud to a regular customer? Rewrite until it doesn't.
The sentence is never finished for good – it's a question to return to. But it comes with you from here: it has its own line on the business model canvas in step 3, and it is the same question as the brand module's golden circle – where it becomes the foundation of the whole brand.
Do this next
Do the compass – ideally together with the people you run the business with, and compare where you differ. Bring your why and your 1–2 most important perspectives to the next step: grow outward, not just upward.