Climbs
A climb is a priority that has to be finished this quarter. It has one owner, a “done when” line, and dated milestones. We called them climbs because they take effort, and because headwaters are in the hills.
We named Headwater after the place where a river starts, because Headwater is where a company’s plan starts.
The streams are fed by springs, rain, and melting snow, and they join up as they run downhill. These first streams are a river’s headwaters, and the one furthest from the sea is usually called its source.
The source of the Thames is a spring in a field called Trewsbury Mead, near Kemble in Gloucestershire. It’s 110 metres above sea level, and from there the river runs for 346 kilometres to the North Sea. In dry weather the spring stops, and the river starts further down the valley. In the summer of 2022, it started about eight kilometres downstream, at Somerford Keynes.
A company’s plan starts with its vision and a few goals, which are called pillars in Headwater. Every team’s priorities for the quarter come from them, and so does each person’s list for Monday morning.
When a company hasn’t set its vision, its teams still work, but each team starts from its own priorities. It’s like a river that starts further down the valley in a dry summer.
The mark is drawn the same way. It’s three streams from one source, and when it’s turned on its side, the streams are the rows of a company’s pillars.
Headwaters are usually high up, in hills or mountains. Two of the other names in Headwater come from there too.
My Flow
My Flow is each person’s home page in Headwater. It shows what they need to do, in the order it needs doing. Flow is also a word for moving water, so the name belongs with the rest.
Book a demo and we’ll show you how Headwater would run your week, from the vision down to Monday morning.