American SystemJoshua Konkle · Operator
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Guided diagnostic

Updating Your Business Model Canvas for the American System

Live signal

Today’s sentence, from the live Reorienting the Federal Reserve tracker: productive capacity is power, and a nation ought to possess within itself the essentials of national supply.

Use it on this diagnostic, not as extra reading. The three existing BMC boxes below must be filled against that sentence before the diagnostic can be marked done.

This week’s three boxes

0 of 3 filled. Not done until all three have words. A Yes without these is a nod, not execute. No fourth box.

  1. 1 · Key Resources

    Against this week’s sentence: what must we possess here — plant, tooling, process knowledge, a bench that stays — rather than rent for a season?

  2. 2 · Cost Structure

    Against this week’s sentence: is the cost reducer innovation and process, or short-cycle temporary or visa labor?

  3. 3 · Key Activities

    Against this week’s sentence: which weekly work actually builds or keeps that capacity?

After the three boxes, return to the pairing line on Reorienting the Federal Reserve: language / task force is present; operational directed-credit tools are still waiting. If the canvas still treats short-cycle temporary or visa labor as the cheap variable while nodding at “capacity is power,” the join failed.

Prior results (only if someone asks whether this pattern has worked): historical baseline.

One question at a time. Yes / Partially / No + short note. Progress stays on this device.

One-Page Diagnostic Checklist

0 of 10 complete. Yes / Partially / No + short note. Progress stays on this device.

Workforce & Productive Capacity Diagnostic

  1. We have clearly identified the roles most critical to our productive capacity over the next 3–5 years.

  2. We know where we currently lose people in those roles and why.

  3. We can state what percentage of skilled roles are filled by long-term American workers vs. temporary/short-cycle non-sovereign labor.

  4. We have active pipelines (internal development, apprenticeships, veterans pathways, or local partnerships) that build American talent into our critical roles.

  5. Our local talent ecosystem is meaningfully aligned with our actual needs.

  6. We measure success by capability growth and retention of high performers, not only time-to-fill.

  7. We have evaluated our major production or supplier locations against the goal of strengthening domestic productive capacity.

  8. We understand the true strategic risk (not just unit cost) of relying on non-domestic sources for critical capabilities.

  9. Location decisions are explicitly linked to our ability to develop and retain a high-capability American workforce.

  10. We have identified 2–3 high-leverage changes we could make in the next 90 days.

After the checklist · Kit details

Discussion & Reflection Prompts

  1. Where in our current operations are we still optimizing primarily for labor cost rather than long-term capability and innovation?

  1. Looking at our most critical technical or skilled roles, what would change if we treated the development of American talent as a strategic investment instead of a cost to be minimized?

  1. Which elements of our current Business Model Canvas most strengthen productive sovereignty? Which elements most weaken it?

  1. If we could only make two changes in the next 90 days to better align workforce and production decisions with domestic capability, what should they be?

  1. How exposed are we to the risk that short-cycle temporary labor is quietly eroding institutional knowledge and innovation capacity?

  1. What would “innovation as the primary cost reducer” (rather than labor arbitrage) actually look like in our operations?

90-Day Action Plan Outline

This is a high-level structure only. A complete, customized 90-day execution plan is available as a paid implementation offering. Self-serve next step: BMC Module 1 Implementation Kit.

Days 1–30: Diagnose & Align

  • Complete the Workforce & Productive Capacity Diagnostic with the leadership team
  • Identify the 2–3 highest-leverage gaps
  • Review current Business Model Canvas through the productive-sovereignty filter
  • Select one critical role family and one major location/supplier decision for focused work

Days 31–60: Redesign

  • Rewrite Key Resources and Key Activities sections of the Canvas
  • Define success metrics that reward capability growth and domestic productive strength
  • Map current vs. desired state for the selected critical role family
  • Draft initial pipeline or process-innovation actions

Days 61–90: Execute & Embed

  • Launch at least one concrete pipeline or process-innovation action
  • Align one set of team goals/OKRs with the updated Canvas
  • Establish a simple monthly review cadence on the diagnostic metrics
  • Document lessons and decide next 90-day priorities

Note: Full facilitation, customized metrics, and ongoing Chief of Staff-style support are available on request.

Anytime Fit