The Spiral (369)

The spiral is what a work cycle becomes when it is run with honesty instead of speed. The cycle moves from paper (the idea) to performance (the execution) to practice (the execution become identity, when it stops requiring effort and starts requiring honesty) to learning (the honest read of the performance, the turn most people skip). The learning becomes new paper, and the cycle turns again. In the 369 shorthand: three is thought, emotion, and externalization, the three forces that must align; six is the practice cycles that build capacity; nine is the spiral, what happens when practice and reflection compound with honesty over time.

The four turns of the cycle

Paper

the idea, written down

Performance

the execution

Practice

the execution become identity: it stops requiring effort and starts requiring honesty

Learning

the honest read of the performance, the turn most people skip; the learning becomes new paper

Where it lives on the platform

• The method under every FlowState instrument, from the friction check to the Loop Series
• The research methodology, where the four measures of the spiral are defined

The method behind this term is published in full on the research methodology page. To bring it into your organization, work with Dr. J Fraser.

The rest of the vocabulary

• Feedback Conductance
• The Four Friction Types
• The Loop Series
• FlowState Signal
• Recovery-Based Accountability