🪧 Why This Matters
You can’t make good choices if you’re working off last year’s assumptions.
Before you reset direction, make sure you’re clear on:
- What’s already changed or in motion
- What you’re currently aiming for
- What might be coming next
- Where pressure is building
This step helps you separate:
- Shifts: changes already underway.
- Signals: early indicators of possible futures.
- Tensions: pressures that persist across scenarios.
It then forces selection: out of everything you can see, what actually shapes strategic choice?
Keep it simple. Keep it honest.
📥 Part 1: Context
This sprint works best when people arrive prepared.
Complete this section as executive pre-work, Chair–CEO preparation, or individual reflection.
⚠️ If you’ve already done this work in:
- ⚙️ Business Capability Sprint
- 👥 Workforce & People Sprint
- 🌅 A previous strategy sprint
You can copy and paste that summary below or link to it. No need to repeat yourself.
Organisational Overview
Short summaries only. Bullet points are fine.
If this takes more than one page, you’ve gone too deep.
Cultural & Te Tiriti Context
Strategy does not sit outside relationship.
This lens should influence how you interpret what follows.
🌀 Part 2: Environment and Change
Once the brief is complete, move into interpreting the information.
What Has Shifted?
List key changes that are already underway.
Examples:
- Funding decisions made.
- Regulatory direction confirmed.
- Demand patterns altered.
- Leadership transitions completed.
Be selective. Not everything matters equally.
What Signals Are Emerging?
Signals are early indicators of possible change.
They are not yet confirmed, but they are visible.
Examples:
- Policy tone shifting
- Labour market tightening
- Partner instability
- Technology acceleration
- Community sentiment changing
Look at more subtle emerging disruptions that may not be as ‘loud’ as current pressures
Signals widen the field of view.
Enduring Tensions
Not everything shaping your choices is a shift. Some pressures are ongoing and structural.
🌊 Part 3: Futures
Describe four plausible near-term futures (12–36 months) using Dator’s archetypes.
These are not predictions. They are disciplined stress tests designed to help us see what is fragile, what is resilient, and what must change now.
Define the Futures
Stress Test Across Futures
Using the four archetypes, test how your most important priorities would behave in each future.
For each one, identify:
- What weakens?
- What intensifies?
- Which assumptions are most fragile?
- What happens if the opposite of a key assumption is true?
Preferred Future
This the direction we want to be steering toward.
📌Part 4: Summary and Priorities
What Patterns Show Up Across Futures
Looking across futures:
- What consistently weakens?
- What consistently intensifies?
- Which assumptions look most fragile?
Where Are We Most Exposed?
Where might we be underestimating risk?
Priority Shifts, Signals, Tensions and Exposure
Now narrow it down.