Business Journal

What This Signal Includes
Heading
Central question
The Business Today
What exists now, not what you hope 
others will see
Purpose
The useful result the business exists to 
create
Direction
Where you currently intend to take the 
business
Ownership and Structure
Who owns the business, who has 
authority, and what obligations shape it
How the Business Works
How value is created, delivered, and 
exchanged for revenue
Present Priorities
What is receiving attention, time, and 
resources now
Important Assumptions
What must be true for the present 
picture to hold
The Working Picture
The understanding you approve after 
connecting the pieces

Important Assumptions
An assumption is something being treated as true without enough evidence to call it a 
fact. Assumptions are unavoidable. Hidden assumptions are dangerous because 
decisions can depend on them without anyone recognizing the dependence.
Questions You Can Use to Dig Deeper
•  What must be true for the business to work as currently understood?
•  Which belief would cause the most trouble if it proved false?
•  What comes from evidence, and what comes from hope or habit?
•  Which assumption should become a research question?
The Working Picture
The Working Picture brings the section together. It is your dated interpretation of the 
business based on the best information currently available. It should preserve 
uncertainty instead of hiding it and remain open to revision when new knowledge 
appears.
Questions You Can Use to Dig Deeper
•  What appears to be true now?
•  What evidence supports that view?
•  Where do the pieces agree or conflict?
•  What remains uncertain?
•  Which part of this signal is still the least understood?
•  What question should be carried into the Research Journal?
•  What may be clear enough to carry into the Planner?

Purpose and Direction Journal Entry
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