Every recommendation must work across five lenses.

Why a standard at all

Strategy work produces a lot of directions. Most of them are interesting. Very few are ready. We needed a way to tell the difference before a direction reaches a leadership room, so we wrote down the five questions every recommendation must survive.

The five lenses

1. Mind. Is it grounded in a meaningful human truth, not a preference we assumed?
2. Future. Does it use a relevant change or capability, not novelty for its own sake?
3. Experience. Can people encounter, understand, and value it in a real journey?
4. Business. Is there a credible mechanism for advantage and growth?
5. Action. Can the organization test or begin it within 90 days?

If a direction fails one lens, it is not ready to become a recommendation.

What it changes in practice

The lenses are not a scoring sheet. They are a conversation we have with ourselves before we have it with a client. A direction that is strong on Future and weak on Mind is a technology looking for a reason. A direction that is strong on Business and weak on Action is a slide that will never be tested.

Most directions fail on Action. That is usually good news: it means the idea is right and the next step is too big. Shrinking the first move is easier than finding a new idea.

How to use it in your own team

Put the five questions on one page. Ask them out loud, in order, about the direction you are most attached to. The lens that makes the room go quiet is where the work is.