Vision, mission, purpose, values or operating principles describe where an organisation wants to go and what it stands for.
What is often missing is a concrete picture of who the organisation, team or leader needs to become — and how that should already show up today in decisions, behaviour and collaboration.
CLARIST takes this future vision and makes it the reference point for the present. This reveals what already works and should stay, what gets in the way and what needs to change.
We step away from the present and define the future state of success we are aiming for.
This creates a clear picture of who the organisation, team or leader needs to become.
Outcome: a clear picture of success and the Future Identity required to achieve it.
We translate the Future Identity into decisions, behaviour and required capabilities.
This makes clear what people need to contribute — and what they need to do or be able to do differently in future.
Outcome: a shared understanding of what should guide decisions and actions going forward.
Only now do we turn to current decisions, routines and patterns of behaviour. What already supports the future we are aiming for — and what keeps us in existing patterns?
Outcome: clarity on what already works and what stands in the way of the change required.
Behind today's patterns are assumptions about the role we play, who others are in relation to us — and what behaviour is considered right within that frame.
We identify which of these narratives stand in the way of the change required and need to be reframed.
Outcome: an understanding of our role that supports the action required in future.
Not every obstacle lies in behaviour.
We examine structures, processes, responsibilities and incentives: What supports what will be needed in future — and what keeps old patterns in place?
Outcome: clarity on the systemic levers and barriers to change.
Now we decide what actually needs to change.
Personal behaviour choices, new ways of working and initiatives are assessed by how strongly they contribute to the success we are aiming for.
Outcome: a prioritised agenda of the changes that are genuinely necessary.
Now the change is brought into everyday work.
New decisions, routines and responsibilities are embedded so that the future vision is lived in day-to-day collaboration.
Outcome: change becomes visible in decisions, behaviour and ways of working — not just in initiatives.
In one case, the decisive obstacles lie in role understanding and behaviour; in another, in structures, processes or systems. Some phases are resolved quickly; others require considerably more work.
CLARIST follows a clear logic without forcing every case into the same programme.
A CLARIST process only ends when the Future Identity shapes day-to-day reality.
CLARIST combines Future-Back thinking with insights from Identity-Based Motivation, organisational identity and organisational development.
Future-Back creates distance from the present and connects long-term ambition with decisions today. Identity research helps explain how our understanding of who we are and who we want to become shapes what we do today.
A clear future state of success creates a different starting point for decisions in the present.
Identity shapes which actions people perceive as fitting and relevant — and therefore behaviour and decisions.
A shared understanding of who an organisation is and wants to be shapes behaviour, decisions and change.
CLARIST connects these mechanisms to make the future concrete and actionable for people.
The scientific foundation relates to the underlying mechanisms. The seven-phase CLARIST method is the practical synthesis developed from them.
[1] Johnson, M. W. & Suskewicz, J. (2020). Leaders, Do You Have a Clear Vision for the Post-Crisis Future? Harvard Business Review, 17 April 2020. The article describes the Future-Back approach as developing a long-term picture of the future and then working backwards to concrete decisions and milestones in the present.
PDF at Harvard Business Review →[2] Oyserman, D. (2009). Identity-based motivation: Implications for action-readiness, procedural-readiness, and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19(3), 250–260. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcps.2009.05.008. A foundational paper on Identity-Based Motivation and the relationship between identity, action-readiness and procedural-readiness.
Publication at Wiley →[3] Oyserman, D. & Horowitz, E. (2023). From possible selves and future selves to current action: An integrated review and identity-based motivation synthesis. Advances in Motivation Science, 10, 73–147. DOI: 10.1016/bs.adms.2022.11.003. The review brings together research on possible and future selves and examines, in particular, the conditions under which a future self becomes relevant to action in the present.
Publication at ScienceDirect →[4] Ravasi, D. & Schultz, M. (2021). Organizational Identity and Culture Change. In M. S. Poole & A. H. Van de Ven (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Change and Innovation, 2nd ed., pp. 106–130. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198845973.013.5. The authors describe, among other things, how new identity claims can help consolidate and embed emerging practices.
Publication at Oxford Academic →[5] Rerup, C., Gioia, D. A. & Corley, K. G. (2022). Identity Transitions via Subtle Adaptive Sensemaking: The Empirical Pursuit of the Intangible. Academy of Management Discoveries, 8(4), 608–639. DOI: 10.5465/amd.2019.0212. This ten-year longitudinal study examines how organisational identities change and how internal and external stakeholder expectations can shape desired identities.
Publication at Academy of Management →In an initial, free conversation of up to 30 minutes, we clarify what the question is, whether I am the right person to help, and what form of collaboration might make sense.
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