Define where you’re going before you decide where to start.
Think through the full ambition of your capability build, then work backward to a coherent first step that points in the right direction.
What it is
The most common mistake in capability building isn’t starting too ambitiously; it’s starting without thinking big enough first. Commit to a first phase without a clear end state and you make architectural decisions that quietly close doors. The planner reverses the sequence: describe the organisation you want to build toward in three to five years, then work backward. What must be true at the end of phase one for phase two to be possible? What data, architecture and foundations need to be right?
The three questions it answers
- What does this organisation look like at its best? Not a slightly better today: the business as it could genuinely be.
- What architectural decisions, made now, would open or close the path there? Existing systems, uncaptured data, future integrations.
- What is the smallest meaningful first build consistent with the bigger picture? Not the easiest thing: the best first step toward the real destination.
How to use it
Before any build decisions; after the Three Horizons Mapper, before the Entry Point Prioritiser. The people who own the investment plus someone who deeply understands operations. 90 minutes. You’ll produce a clear end-state description, an architectural constraint assessment, and a first-phase scope consistent with both.
Work through it with Redgum
This one works best as a working session together, building on your answers from the free online tools. You walk away with a clear statement of what the business is building towards, a first phase that leads somewhere, and the story to take to your partners, board or bank. Book a session → Start with the free online tools
An example for a fictional business.
“The question isn’t whether your first phase is ambitious enough. The question is whether it’s pointing in the right direction.”
Building Capability, Ch 4