There’s a moment we’ve seen over and over again:
An organization’s budget collapses. A key partner disappears. A political shift makes everything suddenly fragile.
You look around the table—your team is dazed, scrambling, or just flat-out tired.
You know something has changed. You can feel it.
But what now?
At Creation In Common, we’ve spent the last several years working with organizations who are leading through discontinuity—those seismic, external disruptions that shake foundations and leave old assumptions crumbling in their wake. We’ve seen what happens when leaders try to fight their way back to normal. And we’ve seen what happens when they choose a different path.
That different path? We’ve mapped it.
The journey begins with disorientation, when nothing makes sense and urgency drowns out clarity. Then comes creative tension, where adaptive leaders pause the panic and begin to ask: What’s really happening here? What do we need to unlearn to move forward? As small experiments take root and learning loops grow stronger, new practices begin to form…not just Band-aids, but capabilities. That’s when coherence starts to emerge. And from there—if we stay committed—we reach purposeful renewal, a phase of grounded strategy built not on reaction, but on reinvention.
This map isn’t theoretical. It’s field-tested. And it reflects what many of us already know deep down: Disruption isn’t a detour from our work. It is the work.
How to Use This Map
Note of Caution: As Shane Parrish writes in The Great Mental Models, Volume One, “The map is not the territory.” This is a tool for sensemaking, not a fixed path. It offers guidance, not guarantees. Every organization’s terrain is unique, and this model should be used to illuminate your lived reality.
Here’s how leaders can apply it in real time:
- Name Your Phase
Begin by asking: Where are we on the curve? Are we still reeling from a shock? Are we experimenting with new approaches? Are we starting to gain traction? Knowing your location helps you respond with precision rather than panic. - Create a Container for Sensemaking
During disruption, clarity doesn’t come from answers—it comes from dialogue. Use the curve to frame conversations with staff, boards, or partners. Pause the urge to solve, and start by seeing together what’s changing, what’s emerging, and what’s possible. - Use It to Guide Experiments
In the creative tension phase, the work is to test—not perfect. Let the curve help you design small, purposeful experiments that challenge assumptions and surface new directions. Don’t aim for scale yet; aim for insight. - Anchor Capabilities as They Emerge
When something works, hold onto it. Codify it. Build systems around it. The curve reminds us that coherence comes from cumulative learning and aligned action, not control. - Revisit It Often
Disruption isn’t a one-time event. This tool is meant to be returned to again and again as conditions shift. Let it become part of your leadership rhythm—a way to keep your team grounded, focused, and adaptive.
Go Here To Download the Map PDF
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