Direction

Choose what to change and the approach for changing it in pursuit of the established intent.

What it is

This page describes what the Direction function does within the Intent Loop. The element itself is defined on its own page.

The element itself is defined on Direction.

In the loop

Direction takes an established intent and produces a target state and an approach for reaching it. It sits between Intent and Execution, and it is where a change stops being about what should happen and starts being about what will be done.

The work is reasoning from an understanding of the current state to what should exist instead, how to get there, why that approach should succeed, and why the resulting state should produce the outcomes intended. Those last two are claims about cause and effect, and they are where a direction can be wrong without anyone noticing.

This function is frequently performed by default rather than by decision. A solution is proposed early, gains momentum, and hardens into the plan without any moment at which alternatives were compared. The function was still performed, but not deliberately, and nobody can say why this direction rather than another.

Reasoning returns here often. Execution surfaces constraints that undermine the approach. Validation shows the target state was realized and the outcomes did not follow, which can mean the expectation connecting them was wrong. Reconsidering the direction on that evidence is normal; failing to notice that it needs reconsidering is not.

Vulnerability

Weak direction. The chosen target state and approach are not the strongest way of pursuing the intent, or the expectations they rest on are not well founded. Thin evidence, untested assumptions, too few alternatives considered, a poorly understood connection between the approach, the state it creates and the outcomes it should produce.

Direction quality is the practice that addresses it.

Weak direction. Direction quality is the practice that addresses it.

Guiding question

What should we change and what approach should we take to pursue the established intent, and can we explain why this direction should work?

Related

• Direction is one of the five functions of The Intent Loop, and corresponds to direction, one of the three fundamental elements of change.
• It follows the Intent function and precedes the Execution function.
• It establishes a Target state and an approach.
• Its characteristic vulnerability is weak direction, which increases the risk of a Direction gap.
• Direction quality is the practice for this function.