Success leaves clues. That’s what Jim Collins discovered when he and his team studied America’s top-performing companies. What made them great wasn’t magic. It was consistent action, repeated over time. To explain it, he used a metaphor – the flywheel. A structure that, once in motion, builds on itself. It takes real effort to get going, but over time, the momentum compounds. Each part feeds the next until the wheel spins with less push and more power.

Fast forward to a little upstart called Amazon. They picked up that idea and built their own flywheel. We know how that turned out. Tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Google have all adopted similar models to grow – and operationalize strategy in ways that actually work.

So here’s the question: if it works for them, why aren’t more of us using it?

Maybe it’s because we’ve learned to start with something else entirely – a strategy map. And don’t get me wrong, strategy maps are smart. They lay out the full picture: vision, mission, operations, customer value, and growth drivers. It’s all there. 

But that’s also the problem.

When I first set out to build my own venture, I did what I knew. I built a strategy map. It was thoughtful. Comprehensive. Even kind of beautiful in its complexity. But it stopped me cold. I was a team of one, staring at a framework clearly meant for twenty. Everything felt urgent. Everything felt important. I overwhelmed myself before I ever got off the ground.

That’s when I remembered the flywheel.

A few years earlier, while leading a regional client services team for an international nonprofit, I introduced the flywheel concept to help our decentralized team align. We were spread across 17 states, managing competing demands with little shared rhythm. The flywheel was a compass. It clearly pointed to where we should place our energy to gain traction.

So I returned to that same approach in my own business. I built a founder’s flywheel. Instead of trying to manage everything, I focused on the handful of actions that create motion. What would it take to move from startup to stand-up? 

That’s what I built and it still guides my work today.

I wanted to make this model accessible to others regardless of their service, product, sector, or structure. So I deconstructed the process I use and created a general use flywheel framework. 

You can download it here and use it to build your own. It won’t solve everything, but it will help you get clear. Really clear.

Because here’s what happens when your flywheel is right. 

• You know where to place your energy.
• You know what’s working – and what’s stuck.
• And you know how to keep things moving when life or business throws you a curve.

But here’s the deal. A flywheel only works if each component turns the next. If your focus is scattered – or too concentrated in the places that feel good but don’t actually generate momentum – the whole thing locks up. 

That’s not failure. That’s feedback. And it’s fixable.

If you decide to build your own, start by zooming in on what really drives your work. Then ask yourself: What’s the one thing that kicks off everything else?

Start there. Build from that.

And if you want to think it through with someone who’s walked this road, I’d be honored to help. You can book a complementary call here.

I’m here for your success.

Let’s do that.

#SoarAboveAchieveBeyond