Session Brief: Flywheel

Goal

Artifact: Flywheel Map

Working Question

Which friction points are slowing the loop most today, and which two to three levers would make the next cycle more likely?

Context

Current funnel-stage metrics for the last 90 days; NPS or CSAT values if available; known referral sources; list of top-5 support themes; current retention cohorts.

Setup

• Format: Method session
• Duration: 60-120 min
• Mode: Workshop
• Participants: One facilitator who walks through the loop step by step; one Product or Growth owner; two to three people from Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, or Product Analytics; one scribe for leverage hypotheses.
• Owner: One facilitator who walks through the loop step by step
• Participation mode: Team round, shared work and alignment
• Outcome logic: Finish artifact

Participation Logic

Use the session for shared understanding. Contributions are collected visibly, assumptions are aligned, and open differences remain traceable in the artifact.

Outcome Logic

The session works directly toward Flywheel Map. After the session, the artifact should be shareable, reviewable, or reusable.

Input

Whiteboard or Miro board with circular template (4-6 segments); pens; three colors of sticky notes (activities, friction, amplifiers); printed or tab with current funnel numbers; list of top-3 competitors for comparison perspective.

Preparation

Draw a circle with five segments on the board (Attract, Activate, Use, Succeed, Refer). Make segment metrics visible on a board or separate tab. Define three color codes and label them: green for amplifiers, red for friction, blue for leverage hypotheses.

Agenda

1. Phase 1: Name loop steps (15 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: For each segment of the circle, define key activities and transitions briefly. What does the user do, what does the product do, what happens between segments. Hint: If a segment is empty, either product has a blind spot there or the stage does not belong in this flywheel. Name it explicitly rather than skipping. Output: Flywheel Map

2. Phase 2: Mark friction (20 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Place red notes for friction points in each segment: where users drop off, where wait time occurs, where value proof is missing. Friction notes must be supported by a metric or support quote. Hint: Friction without evidence is intuition. If no source is available, label note as "hypothesis, no evidence" and turn into discovery task. Output: Friction Points

3. Phase 3: Identify amplifiers (20 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Place green notes for amplifiers between segments: what speeds up the next cycle. Examples: successful recommendation trigger; data that shortens onboarding; user groups generating content for others. Hint: Amplifiers work across segment boundaries, not within one segment. If all green notes sit in one segment, loop effect is missing. Output: Growth Levers

4. Phase 4: Derive levers and experiments (25 min) Owner: Owner Action: For each top-3 friction, formulate a leverage hypothesis with expected effect and measurement metric. Prioritize into experiment backlog with owner and target date. Hint: Maximum three levers per quarter into execution. More dilutes attention and makes each lever's impact harder to see. Output: Experiment Backlog

5. Publish artifact (10 min) Owner: Owner Action: Check the artifact for completeness, define location, set version or status, and name review recipients. Output: Flywheel Map

Closeout

• Update result artifact: Flywheel Map
• Define location, version, and review recipients.
• Define owner, next step, and review date.

Flywheel Map: Flywheel

Working Question

Which friction points are slowing the loop most today, and which two to three levers would make the next cycle more likely?

Context

Current funnel-stage metrics for the last 90 days; NPS or CSAT values if available; known referral sources; list of top-5 support themes; current retention cohorts.

Participants

• Owner: One facilitator who walks through the loop step by step
• Participants: One facilitator who walks through the loop step by step; one Product or Growth owner; two to three people from Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, or Product Analytics; one scribe for leverage hypotheses.

Input

Whiteboard or Miro board with circular template (4-6 segments); pens; three colors of sticky notes (activities, friction, amplifiers); printed or tab with current funnel numbers; list of top-3 competitors for comparison perspective.

Template

Flywheel Canvas

Context

What is this method used for?

Core question

Which question should be answered at the end?

Input

Which data, observations, or materials are available?

Working area

• Area 1:
• Area 2:
• Area 3:
• Relationships / patterns:

Output artifacts

• Flywheel Map:
• Friction Points:
• Growth Levers:
• Experiment Backlog:

Open questions

• ...

Next step

Owner, date, success signal.

Completion Check

• Flywheel Map is complete enough for review:
• Location:
• Version / status:
• Review by:
• Next step:

Next Step

• Review result
• Mark open questions
• Schedule review or decision