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The Prediction that Stunned the Board

“Your transformation will fail by Q3. Here’s exactly why.”

Not the opening slide they expected from consultants.

But when you can map organizational Archetypes, you can predict where a change will break down—before it does.

Their situation:

  • Competitors were advancing fast in a niche, high-tech market.
  • Leadership team: 72% with a high Hero Archetype
  • Culture audit: 80% Innocent/Sage

The mismatch was clear.

Leadership’s story: “𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘉𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺.”
Team’s story: “𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵.”
Strategy’s requirement: “𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

Three competing narratives. Collision course guaranteed.

Traditional consultants would have discovered this after six months of resistance and millions spent.

𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝗲.
The tension was classic: a Hero leadership team ready to charge ahead, and an Innocent culture quietly holding the brakes.
The more leaders pushed for bold moves, the more the team clung to what felt safe.

We bridged the gap by reframing the mission:

  • Redefining 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 as progress everyone could see and celebrate.
  • Creating 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 where success and security coexisted.
  • Giving the Innocent permission to protect what works—𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.
The Hero–Innocent dynamic at play — one charging ahead, one holding back. Both loyal. The magic is in the balance.

The result? A culture that found its courage—without losing its balance.

Within a year they posted 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲-𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁h and reclaimed their edge.

This is the predictive power of Archetypes.
When you can see the narrative collision before it happens, you can prevent it.

Want to know exactly where your transformation will stall? Start with a Baseline Culture Audit. Schedule a call here.

Caregiver

Hero

Explorer

Lover

Creator

Revolutionary

Magician

Ruler

Sage

Jester