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The 4S Framework

One way of looking at the whole organization.

Every organization runs on four things. When they line up, the work moves. When they don't, it stalls. The 4S Framework is how we see all four at once, and it's behind everything we do.

The four dimensions

Strategy

The direction.

Where you're going, and why.

Systems

What carries the work.

The tools and processes the day runs on.

Staff

The people.

The right ones, in the right roles, set up to do the work.

Story

What explains it.

How the work is understood, inside and out.

The whole, not the corners

Most problems aren't in one box.

A hiring problem is often a systems problem. A marketing problem is often a strategy problem. Looking at all four is how we find the real one, and why one partner across all of them beats four who each see a corner.

The framework in full.

The 4S Framework, the principles behind it, and the kind of work it informs live at fouresse.ca — a deep-dive companion by Frostbite Companies Limited. Read the deep version.