Tools · Framework

Orientation Compass

Which way are you facing — and how tightly are you identified with the way you see?

You do not see the whole world at once. None of us do.

We naturally orient toward certain aspects of reality while paying less attention to others. That orientation shapes what we notice, what we value, how we approach problems and what we tend to overlook.

The Compass reads two dimensions at once: the direction attention travels, and how freely a person can relate to their own way of seeing.

Dimension one

Horizontal orientation

Which way are you facing?

ArchitectPerspective
BuilderAction
OperatorSystems
IntegratorAlignment

An orientation is a preference in attention, not a fixed identity.

Dimension two

Vertical level

How tightly are you identified with the way you see?

I · D · O · U

IIdentifiedThe lens feels like reality.
DDefensiveThe lens is protected when challenged.
OObservantThe lens can be noticed and examined.
UUnboundThe lens can be held lightly and moved beyond.

Not a ranking of people. The same person moves between levels depending on context, pressure and what is at stake.

What to do with an orientation.

Naming an orientation is only the first move. The useful work is noticing what sits outside your usual field of view — and what happens to your seeing under pressure.

That work is easier in conversation. CORE is the method used to stay with whatever the Compass reveals.