When deep work works: towards regenerative value propositions
Launch workshop of The Resonance Compass
Sustainable and regenerative founders and leaders are pioneering paths into a more thrivable future. Yet, their work can seem too difficult, complex, and different. Against that background, the launch workshop of The Resonance Compass - a living framework and programme - explored how to embody and communicate the depth of transformative work. It invites us to sense into how our work might root, ripple, and resonate.
The Resonance Compass workshop facilitated by Jean-Philippe Steeger dived into the deep waters of entrepreneurship and leadership. For most of the pioneers present, there was a felt tension: an intuitive knowing of what’s theirs to do, and a frustration with the extractive logic of traditional marketing.
Something different, something deeper, something more dynamic was missing. One participant shared it in these terms:
“We know who we are. We know our medicine. But how do you make people aware of that without sounding arrogant, or like an expert on a pedestal?”
This longing to connect from a place of essence rather than a position of authority was present for many in the space. Another participant reflected on the draining experience of fitting soulful work into overly reductive framings and language:
“Once I try to apply templates like ‘what’s your ROI?’, ‘what problem do you solve?’, it loses its essence. I’ve experienced that often.”
This brings us to the question of how we remain true to our essence AND listen to the immediate, as well as longer-term needs and aspirations of clients and stakeholders. They may have a different worldview, use different language, and be at a different stage of their journey.
“This work feels like too much, too deep for my clients. They’re highly logical, and they don’t connect with the depth in the same way. But I also don’t want to dumb it down.”
There was a feeling of powerlessness in these words, but also a pull: a wish to honour the own unique story, while exploring new ways of relating to existing or potential clients – at different levels.
We know from neurosciences, that we perceive things differently depending on the brain waves that are activated. Those we (want to) work with must be able to perceive the depth and attractiveness of our work – we need to filter out noise and pollution.
Introducing the Resonance Compass
The Resonance Compass is a way to intentionally design deep experiential landscapes that can resonate at multiple levels – to match the “inner world” of your clients and audiences.
For resonance to happen, these conditions need to be met:
1. You speak from the frequencies of your essence and depth
2. The beings you're supporting are open to receive and connect
3. The space between you is supportive and not polluted / noisy
4. What you offer can ripple out and fertilize the field of your work
By deepening our insights on the unique value we offer, we create the conditions for our contribution to be seen, felt, and reciprocated. By deeply listening to clients, we understand what can resoante at the level(s) they are at.
The 5 Value Dimensions
The Resonance Compass invites us to explore the unique value we provide at the intersection of the five value dimensions. How much do you share the value of your work in each of the dimensions?
1. Aspirational Value — Sharing what enchants
What world are you inviting others to co-create? What concrete vision does your work point to?
2. Practical Value — Sharing what pays
What useful outcomes do you provide? Which (immediate) needs are met? What do you make possible?
3. Methodological Value — Sharing what works
What is unique about the way you do your work? What approaches or processes do you bring that work better than others?
4. Radical Value — Sharing what reconnects
What are the root causes you address? What deeper truths or forgotten wisdom do you help people reconnect with?
5. Experiential Value — Sharing what resonates
What is the felt experience of working with you? What emotional, aesthetic, or sensory elements make it memorable?
Grounding our work in Radical Value
With a focus on Radical Value, we looked at the often invisible dimension of how to ground and deepen the work we are doing. By reconnecting to (body) memory, root causes we address, embodied traditions, and historic narratives, we can relate to audiences at the root-level. This is where the trust in what you build is grounded on.
Participants shared:
“I have been gifted, been able to receive so much wisdom and practices from indigenous people. How to carry that sacred aspect? And how to show respect and reverence for those that have done this work before us?”
“The more I root into where I come from, into my own ancestral stories, the more I notice energy flowing. People reach out. They respond. They feel something, even if I don’t explain much.”
While the Radical Value dimension is much more inexplicit, and “in the dark” than the other dimensions, it is a key differentiator of regenerative from business-as-usual offers.
By knowing what brought us here, what we carry from the past, and what connects us with others at root-level, there is some sort of gravitational field emerging.
It is that gravitational field that potential clients will intuitively feel – and potentially trust in.
Mapping your value proposition
If you are in a moment where your work is asking to become more receivable, understandable, and resonant, without dumbing it down, I’d love to invite you to a free 60 minute Resonance Mapping session with me.
It is a focused conversation to identify:
What your clients and stakeholders actually need to hear - to move forward
What’s remaining invisible in how you frame and storytell your work
How to develop a posture and message that becomes undeniable
Here’s the link to book: https://topmate.io/jpsteeger/1618390
In our Resonance Mapping session, we’ll uncover what may need to be seen, felt, and said - so your message, posture, and texture becomes as undeniable as your work.
Let’s make regeneration resonate together.
Warmly,
Jean-Philippe