Innovators' Compass is 5 powerful questions that help us get unstuck in any challenge, big or small—in one usable picture to share.
2-minute video intro (more videos here)
WHY
Better ways forward.
Our best ways of getting unstuck, accessible for any person at every moment.
WHAT
5 questions that get us unstuck.
And a little space to explore them.
These questions lead us to how we see all sides of any challenge, from past and present to future, and details to being picture.
Naming these powerful views—our People, Observations, Principles, Ideas, and Experiments—helps us recognize, use and share them.
When we’re stuck, we’re missing something. One new possibility in any of these can unstick us.
HOW
A powerful compass. Not a map.
Passed from person to person.
Different processes and people, including all of us when we get unstuck, explore these same questions in their own words and ways to make things better.
We can follow the numbers—the careful “go slow to go fast” way—or go however moves us forward, over months or just seconds. There are simple tips and many examples on this site.
But what matters most is to explore (seek new possibilities) these questions more often, with and for everyone involved.
WHEN
In anything we do.
Big or small, alone or together.
Exciting or scary. On our minds or to-do lists. In our lives, work, and world.
Frustrations. Decisions. Conversations. Meetings. Planning. Projects. Dreams.
Whether we’re starting, stuck, or moving on from a challenge.
WHERE
It’s used in homes, schools, communities, companies and other organizations.
From preschools to the US Conference on AIDS. Take a peek.
WHO
People.
Yes, anyone.
And the people who try this tool, share it, and share back experiences are the inspiration and fuel of this work.
STORY
An ongoing labor of love.
In her last decade of leading, teaching, coaching, and parenting, Ela Ben-Ur has worked with people from many different practices that move us forward—from personal learning and reflection practices, to organizational and leadership practices, to innovation practices like design thinking (her own depth) and agile development.
She’s sought to bring the powerful common ground in these practices into an intuitive, concrete form accessible for any person and moment—in many different settings and scales.
She believes we’re born exploring in these ways—but get little space to ask these questions as we get older. Her aspiration for people of all ages is to nurture the 4C’s of 21st Century Skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity; see P21.org) and more (compassion, curiosity, clarity, courage)—our inner compass for the ever-growing challenges and opportunities we must navigate, from a personal scale to a global one.
Ela spends much of her time building out these resources, learning about and sharing people’s stories, and offering free or pay-what-you can remote workshops and coaching. Her in-person workshops and speaking engagements help pay for that mission work.
Please become part of the story!
It took years—with experiments, honest observations, and new ideas from many people—to get a tool that can be passed person-to-person and make a difference in whatever they’re trying to do.
Please experiment with this, share it (with attribution), and email or tweet your experiences. Those are the critical fuel for this work.
Person-to-person sharing moments will always matter most. With those gaining momentum, we’re now also looking to larger-scale ways to share Innovators’ Compass and measure its impact—and gratefully welcome organizations and districts who do.
At either scale, people are still at its center, so please reach out to help!
These are Ela’s own children when they were little.
