Reference Canvas — With Prompts

Stop & Think 2.0 · Reference Canvas

Use this canvas to prepare for your strategy session. Every block includes guiding questions, strategic prompts, and decision criteria to help you arrive with a point of view.

Company
Enter company name
Session Date
DD / MM / YYYY
Facilitator
Facilitator name
Industry
Sector / industry
Canvas 01 · Weeks 1–2 · Diagnosis

Origin Canvas

Where do we come from? Understand your roots, your purpose, and the moments that shaped who you are.

⬅ PAST
Block 1-A
Purpose & Values
"Why does this company exist beyond making money?"
  • What problem were you originally created to solve?
  • What 3 values guide every key decision?
  • What would be lost in the world if you closed tomorrow?
  • How would your best customers describe your unique contribution?
  • Does your current strategy reflect these values — or contradict them?
Block 1-B
Key Growth Moments
"Which 3 decisions, pivots or bets defined who we became?"
  • What was the single decision that changed your trajectory most?
  • Which customer, product or market taught you the most?
  • What crisis forced you to evolve and how did you respond?
  • What capabilities did you build through those moments?
  • Which of those moments would you repeat — and which would you avoid?
Block 1-C
Job to Be Done
"What outcome does our customer really hire us to deliver?"
  • Beyond the product/service, what life progress does your customer seek?
  • What would they do if you didn't exist? What's the workaround?
  • What do they struggle with before, during and after using your solution?
  • When they choose you over competitors — what is the real reason?
  • Is the JTBD you're solving today still the same one you started with?
Block 1-D
What Have We Gained
"What are our real competitive assets today?"
  • What capabilities do we have that competitors struggle to replicate?
  • What relationships, knowledge, or data represent our real moat?
  • Which of our current strengths is most relevant to the future we want to build?
  • What have we built that we are NOT fully leveraging yet?
Block 1-E
The Strategy Gap
"What's the gap between where we are and where we want to be?"
  • Can every employee in this company explain our strategy in one sentence?
  • What's the biggest strategic assumption we've never tested?
  • What decision have we been avoiding that everyone in the room knows about?
  • If we continue exactly as we are today — what is the 3-year outcome?
Canvas 02 · Weeks 3–6 · Analysis + Experimentation

Futures Canvas

Who are we today and where are we going? Make the hard choices. Build the bridge to tomorrow.

PRESENT → FUTURE ➡
Block 2-A · Present
What We Do
"Our current value proposition"
  • What product or service generates 80% of our revenue today?
  • What is our core competitive differentiation — in one honest sentence?
  • Where are we playing and where are we winning?
Block 2-B · Present
Who We Serve
"Our current customers"
  • Who is our most profitable customer segment — really?
  • Who would miss us most if we disappeared — and why?
  • Which customer segment should we stop serving?
Block 2-C · Present
How We Operate
"Our model today"
  • What processes, systems, or routines make us consistent?
  • Which operational bottleneck is quietly killing our growth?
  • What would we stop doing if we had to cut 20% of activities?
Block 2-D · Present
Why We Win
"Our real advantage"
  • What do we do that competitors genuinely struggle to replicate?
  • What is our strongest capability and competitive advantage today?
  • Is that advantage sustainable — or being eroded?
Hard Choices
The 6 questions you cannot keep avoiding
HC · 01
What can we challenge?
Which assumption, rule, or convention in our industry is wrong — and what happens if we act on that belief?
HC · 02
Where is our biggest growth opportunity?
Geographic expansion, new segment, new product, or deeper penetration? What's the highest-value bet?
HC · 03
What problem are we really trying to solve?
Not the symptom. The root cause. What is the one problem — if solved — that unlocks everything else?
HC · 04
What are our competitor's real weak points?
Where are they structurally vulnerable — not just tactically weak? Where could we attack and win?
HC · 05
Which 3 new capabilities must we acquire?
Not tools. Capabilities. What must we be able to do in 2 years that we cannot do today — that no competitor can easily copy?
HC · 06
What is our strategy narrative?
Can your least informed employee explain your strategy in 2 sentences? If not — it's not a strategy, it's a wish.
Future Scenarios — Choose Your Bet
Scenario A — High Uncertainty

The Disruption Scenario

  • → The market changes faster than expected
  • → A new entrant attacks your core
  • → Regulation or technology disrupts your model
  • → Question: What must survive for us to remain relevant?
Scenario B — Medium Uncertainty

The Evolution Scenario

  • → Gradual market shifts continue
  • → Current advantages slowly erode
  • → Competition intensifies but is predictable
  • → Question: What do we double down on to extend our lead?
Scenario C — Low Uncertainty

The Consolidation Scenario

  • → Market is stable, predictable growth
  • → Operational excellence wins
  • → Incumbents protect their position
  • → Question: How do we maximize from our current model?
Canvas 03 · Weeks 7–8 · Creation

Growth Loop Canvas

Sustainable Growth Business Theory in an Infinite Game. How does your firm create, capture and share value?

⬆ CREATION
Block 3-A
Create Value
"What unique value do we create and for whom?"
  • Which customer segment gets the most disproportionate value from us?
  • What problem do we solve that no one else can solve as well?
  • How will our value creation evolve in the next 3 years?
  • What new customer value are we ignoring that we could pursue?
Block 3-B
Capture Value
"How do we monetize sustainably and scalably?"
  • Is our pricing model aligned with the value we create — or underpriced?
  • What revenue streams are we leaving on the table?
  • Which part of our business has the best unit economics?
  • How could we monetize differently to capture more of the value we create?
Block 3-C
Share Value
"How do employees, suppliers and shareholders benefit?"
  • Does our growth model benefit employees in a meaningful way?
  • How do we create value for our suppliers beyond the transaction?
  • Is the shareholder value proposition tied to long-term health or short-term margins?
  • How do we make sharing value a structural competitive advantage?
Block 3-D
Customer Centricity
"How do we keep the customer at the center of every loop?"
  • What would our best customer say about us that we haven't said about ourselves?
  • How do we embed customer feedback into strategic decisions — not just product?
  • What customer signal are we currently ignoring that we should act on?
  • How do we make customer centricity a discipline — not a tagline?
Block 3-E
Value Growth Loop
"What is the flywheel that accelerates growth?"
  • What is the one action that, if done consistently, feeds back into growth?
  • Where does our current model create a self-reinforcing loop?
  • What would make our growth loop faster or more powerful?
  • Which part of the loop is the weakest link today?
Block 3-F
The 90-Day Bridge
"What do we commit to doing in the next 90 days?"
  • What are the 3 most critical actions to start immediately?
  • Who owns each action — with name and accountability?
  • What is the first measurable milestone in 30 days?
  • What would signal we are off track and need to re-evaluate?
🔁 Remember: The Stop & Think canvas is not a one-time exercise. Strategy is a living theory. Revisit Canvas 2 every quarter. Revisit Canvas 3 every 6 months. The companies that win are the ones that treat strategy as a discipline — not an annual event.
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