Strategic Spiral Momentum

SKILL.md

---
name: strategic-spiral-momentum
description: "Activate when: organization's strategy is losing momentum despite doing the right things; team disagrees on which strategic phase they're in; deciding whether to push deeper into current strategy or start a new cycle; setting phase-appropriate goals and resource allocation; preparing a mid-cycle board or investor assessment.
  Do NOT activate when: individual career or personal strategy planning (use shi-momentum); single-product feature prioritization; organization is in true crisis/turnaround mode."
---

# Strategic Spiral Momentum

## Overview

Strategic Spiral Momentum maps organizational strategy as a 10-phase cyclical spiral: 谋势 (plan) → 蓄势 (store) → 造势 (create) → 借势 (leverage) → 起势 (launch) → 乘势 (ride) → 定势 (stabilize) → 化势 (transform) → 应势 (respond) → 换势 (switch). Completing the cycle returns the organization one level higher — new capabilities, position, and resources to run the next cycle.

Common misuses: skipping phases (attempting 借势 before completing 蓄势 produces fragile partnerships); getting stuck in 定势, confusing entrenchment with durability.

**Compose with:** [shi-momentum] for individual positioning within phases 1–5 · [second-order-thinking] for 应势/再谋 phase · [okr-goal-setting] after — OKRs must be phase-appropriate.

## When to Use

**Use when:** strategy is losing momentum despite right actions · team disagrees on current phase · deciding to push deeper vs. transition to new cycle · setting phase-appropriate OKRs/resources · mid-cycle board/investor assessment.

**Not for:** individual career strategy (use shi-momentum) · single-product prioritization · true crisis/turnaround · horizon under 12 months.

## Coaching Novices (Adaptive Front Door)

- **Engine mode:** concrete case → run The Process directly.
- **Coach mode:** unfamiliar user → guide step by step.

In Coach mode, respond one step at a time. Each [WAIT] is a hard stop — output only that step's question, then stop.

1. One-liner: "Strategy has a phase — like a season. Right action in the wrong phase = confusion, not progress."
2. Check fit: "Does your strategy feel stuck even though you're doing the right things? That's often a phase mismatch."
3. Elicit case: "Tell me your biggest strategic priority — building something new from scratch, or protecting and leveraging what you've built?" > **[WAIT — do not advance until user responds]**
4. Diagnose: "Without data: (A) still figuring out if model works, (B) executing and growing, or (C) won this cycle and unsure what's next?" > **[WAIT — do not advance until user responds]**
5. Close: "Name the phase mismatch you just uncovered and what one thing you'd stop doing." > **[WAIT — do not advance until user responds]**

## The Process

**Step 1 — Diagnose current phase** (name phase + 2 specific behavioral indicators; steps 1–3 diagnostic, 4–6 forward-planning):

| Phase | Label | Defining Activity |
|-------|-------|-------------------|
| 1 | 谋势 → 筑基 | Setting long-term direction; building foundational capabilities |
| 2 | 蓄势 → 开局 | Accumulating resources, talent, capital before acting at scale |
| 3 | 造势 → 验证 | Creating initial market signals; validating the core hypothesis |
| 4 | 借势 → 占位 | Using macro tailwinds, partners, platforms to occupy strategic position |
| 5 | 起势 → 加速 | Initiating growth motion; approaching the inflection point |
| 6 | 乘势 → [ride] | Riding the wave at full power; maximizing momentum |
| 7 | 定势 → 固化 | Locking in competitive position; making advantage durable |
| 8 | 化势 → 系统 | Converting momentum into systematic organizational capability |
| 9 | 应势 → 再谋 | Reading next cycle's signals; planning next-level direction |
| 10 | 换势 → 重启/放大 | Transitioning to the next cycle at a higher dimension |

**Step 2 — Exit criterion:** testable, falsifiable statement (e.g., "≥3 paying customers, unit economics positive").

**Step 3 — Misalignment check:** list top 5 initiatives; label each by phase. **Gate 2:** >40% misaligned → stop, resolve before planning forward.

**Step 4 — Two-phase lookahead:** what must be prepared now for the phase after next?

**Step 5 — 应势 signals:** ≥3 leading (not lagging) indicators the current cycle is peaking.

**Stop-rule:** "We're growing fast" is not a phase placement. Specific behaviors + outcomes required.

**Output template:**
`Organization/Date/Cycle | Phase [#][Label] | Evidence: ___; ___ | Exit: ___ | Alignment: __% misaligned [flag >40%] | Lookahead (Phase [#+2]): ___ | 应势 signals: 1.___ 2.___ 3.___ | Action: ___`

*→ Method in Action: [Toyota's Strategic Spiral (1950–1989)](examples/toyotas-strategic-spiral-1950-1989.md)*

## Spiral Momentum Packs

**Tech Platforms.** 蓄势 (ecosystem) → 造势 (anchor apps) → 借势 (platform adoption) → 乘势 (network effects) → 定势 (lock-in) → 化势 (infrastructure) → 换势 (next platform).

**Org Transformation.** Programs fail most at 起势→定势 — capturing growth but not institutionalizing it. The spiral makes 化势 explicit as a required phase.

**National Policy.** Singapore (1965–present): manufacturing → financial center → knowledge economy → digital/biotech. Each cycle uses prior-cycle assets as foundation.

*→ Primary sources: [references/sources.md](references/sources.md)*

## Applying It Well

1. **Diagnose behaviorally, not aspirationally** — use what the org is *actually doing*, not what leadership intends.
2. **Build tolerance for restart** — 换势 willingness must be explicit in leadership culture.
3. **Protect 蓄势** — pressure to show results causes premature 造势, which collapses for lack of foundation.
4. **Position before the tailwind** — 借势 requires being at the right coordinate when the macro force arrives.
5. **化势 before momentum decays** — converting momentum into systems is most efficient while momentum is still high.

## Common Rationalizations

**[D] = designed upfront | [O] = observed in real use. [O] entries are more valuable.**

| Rationalization | Why It Fails |
|-----------------|--------------|
| [D] "We're in multiple phases simultaneously." | The *organization* has one dominant phase. Claiming multi-phase avoids committing to a diagnosis. |
| [D] "Our industry moves too fast for a 10-phase model." | Phases are not time-fixed. A startup can complete phases 1–3 in 18 months. Speed is a parameter; sequence is not. |
| [D] "We skipped phases and it worked." | Survivorship bias. Audit whether underlying capability was present before phase advancement. |
| [D] "We can keep extending this cycle." | Every cycle has an entropy ceiling. The question is whether you are managing degradation or leading the restart. |
| [D] "蓄势 is too slow — investors want results now." | Investor pressure doesn't change foundational capability requirements. Skipping 蓄势 produces visible speed and invisible fragility. |
| [D] "We're the market leader — we don't need 换势." | Market leadership is the most common reason orgs skip 换势. This is how leaders become laggards. |
| *→ Add [O] entries here after each real use — paste the actual failure pattern* | *What went wrong and why* |

## Red Flags

- Strategy described in activities, not phases · same OKRs across years · 蓄势 (R&D, hiring) cut to fund 乘势 (sales, expansion) · executives disagree by >2 phases · "growth mode" >4 years without 定势/化势 investment

## Verification

- [ ] Phase named with ≥2 behavioral indicators (not "we're growing") · exit criterion written as falsifiable statement
- [ ] Alignment check done; misalignment rate calculated; >40% flagged and resolved
- [ ] Two-phase lookahead documented with owners · ≥3 leading 应势 indicators named
- [ ] "What phase do we restart at, and what do we carry forward?" answered provisionally
- [ ] OKRs reviewed against phase diagnosis; mismatched OKRs redesigned

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*Part of **deciqAI Knowledge Skills** — open-source thinking skills that make rigor executable for AI agents. Built by deciqAI · https://deciqai.com · Contributions welcome — see the template at the repo root.*