势 — Strategic Momentum Model

Activate when: user says 'we need to pick up speed', 'why aren't we getting traction', 'when should we scale / raise / launch', 'our efforts feel scattered', or 'are we ready to grow'; entering a new market or venture; post-pivot phase reassessment; pre-investment readiness check. Do NOT activate when: the team already has a functioning growth engine and needs purely operational optimization; the time horizon is under 90 days and the question is tactical execution only.

Overview

势 (shì) is the propensity of a situation to evolve in a direction — a wave you read and ride, not power you exert. The five phases (蓄势→谋势→借势→得势→造势) are sequential; skipping one creates fragile momentum that reverses. The universal failure mode: mistaking activity for momentum, or attempting 造势 before achieving 得势.

Skill composition: Use AFTER [second-order-thinking] to trace downstream consequences of phase transitions. Use WITH [s-curve-technology-adoption] to confirm the macro wave exists. Use BEFORE [okr-goal-setting] to set stage-appropriate goals.

When to Use

• Entering a new market or venture; efforts feel scattered; founder asks "when do we scale / raise / launch?"
• Post-pivot reassessment; pre-investment phase mapping

When NOT to use: optimizing an already well-functioning 造势 phase; purely operational decisions; time horizon under 90 days; organization has no control over macro environment.

Coaching Novices (Adaptive Front Door)

• Engine mode: user has a concrete case → run The Process directly.
• Coach mode: user is unfamiliar → guide step by step.

In Coach mode, respond one step at a time. Each [WAIT] is a hard stop — output only that step's question, then stop.

1. One-line what-it-is: "势 is five sequential momentum stages — storing, planning, leveraging, obtaining, amplifying — each with a defining activity and exit condition."
2. Check fit: "Are you wondering why momentum isn't building, or unsure whether you're ready to scale?"
3. Elicit real case: "Tell me about the venture or initiative. What phase do you think you're in right now, and why?"

[WAIT — do not advance until user responds]

4. Run The Process one step at a time starting with Phase 1 diagnosis only.

[WAIT — do not advance until user responds]

5. Close: "You now have a Momentum Phase Map — what to do THIS month, what to stop, and which macro wave you'll ride."

[WAIT — do not advance until user responds]

The Process

Output artifact: Momentum Phase Map | Gate rule: Answer each gate with specific, observable evidence — not aspirations.

Step 1 — Diagnose current phase (assign ONE only)

Phase	Defining Activity	Evidence Required
蓄势 Store	Capability building; patient waiting	3+ specific capabilities being built now
谋势 Plan	Forward insight; seeking partners	Differentiating insight + ≥1 committed partner
借势 Leverage	Riding a macro wave	Named macro trend with exponential trajectory evidence
得势 Obtain	Focus discipline; less is more	Specific evidence of compounding returns
造势 Amplify	Resonance events; transmission	3+ live amplification channels already generating signal

Gate 1: "We are in [phase] because [specific evidence]." Cannot complete it → 蓄势 by default.

Step 2 — Name the defining activity for your current phase. Gate 2: Is it on your calendar this week? Step 3 — Write a falsifiable exit criterion (e.g., 蓄势→谋势: others reach inferior conclusions from the same data). Gate 3: One falsifiable sentence. Step 4 — Identify your 借势 source: macro trend name + exponential trajectory evidence + 3 monitoring signals. Step 5 — Map 3 造势 channels: each with a concrete action and timeline.

Stop-rule: No concrete Gate 1 evidence → aspiration, not 势. Return to 蓄势.

Output: Momentum Phase Map

text

Momentum Phase Map — [Entity] — [Date]
Phase: [蓄/谋/借/得/造势] | Evidence: [observable] | Activity This Week: [one sentence]
Exit Criterion: [falsifiable sentence]
借势: [trend] | Trajectory: [data] | Signals: 1) 2) 3)
造势: 1)[channel→action→date] 2)... 3)...  | Mismatch warning: [later-phase activities to stop]

→ Method in Action: Amazon's Strategic Momentum, 1994–2007

Momentum Packs

Pack	Key Phase Trap
Tech Startups	Building product before understanding the problem (蓄势 incomplete); expanding too early (得势 skipped)
Career	Networking before having anything rare to offer (蓄势); waiting indefinitely to publish (造势 delayed)
Policy	Amplifying before the change is consolidated (premature 造势)

Applying It Well

1. Diagnose with evidence, not self-image. If the macro wave benefits any competitor equally, you are not in 借势.
2. The 借势 wave does not wait — monitor the S-curve slope, not just trend direction.
3. 得势 requires courage to refuse scope expansion ("少就是多" is a phase-specific discipline).
4. 造势 without 得势 is PR debt. Authentic resonance compounds; manufactured resonance decays.

→ Primary sources: references/sources.md

Common Rationalizations

[D] = designed upfront | [O] = observed in real use. [O] entries are more valuable.

Fake move	Reality
[D] "We're building momentum by doing more activities."	Activity volume is not 势. More activity in the wrong phase dissipates momentum.
[D] "We're in 借势 because the market is growing."	借势 requires your specific capability to match the wave. Floating ≠ leveraging.
[D] "We'll do 造势 now to create demand for an unfinished product."	造势 before 得势 amplifies the gap between promise and delivery, destroying trust.
[D] "We've been in 蓄势 for three years — we deserve to launch."	蓄势 has an exit criterion, not a time quota.
[D] "Our partners are excited, so we must be in 谋势."	Excitement without a specific insight others lack is still 蓄势.
[D] "We can skip 得势 because we have funding."	Funding changes runway, not phase. 造势 budget in 谋势 accelerates failure.
→ Add [O] entries here after each real use — paste the actual failure pattern	What went wrong and why

Red Flags

• Team can articulate 造势 plan but cannot name the macro wave they are riding
• Marketing campaigns running while product has fundamental retention problems
• "We're in all phases simultaneously" — no phase discipline
• 蓄势 period over 3 years without a crystallized insight advantage

Verification

• Current phase identified with specific observable evidence (not aspiration)
• Defining activity is on the team's weekly calendar; exit criterion is falsifiable
• 借势 macro wave named with exponential trajectory evidence + 3 monitoring signals
• 造势 channels planned but not executed prematurely; later-phase activities flagged to stop

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Part of deciqAI Knowledge Skills — 164 open-source thinking skills that make rigor executable for AI agents. The same skills power every deciqAI agent, which runs them autonomously to operate your company. See it run → https://www.deciqai.com/c/shi-momentum · ⭐ Star the repo → https://github.com/deciqAI/knowledge-skills · Contributions welcome.