Getting Started with 6D Foraging

"Dive deep across six dimensions to discover what others miss."

Quick Start

The 6D Foraging Methodology™ is strategic foraging across six business dimensions. Like cormorants diving beneath the surface, we systematically forage deep to discover the 70-90% of cost multipliers traditional analysis completely misses.

The Core Question

When you encounter a problem, ask:

"Where should we forage to discover the full cost multiplier?"

The Six Dimensions

D	Dimension	Core Question
1	Customer	How does this affect who pays us?
2	Employee	How does this affect who works for us?
3	Revenue	How does this affect money coming in?
4	Regulatory	How does this affect our compliance?
5	Quality	How does this affect what we deliver?
6	Operational	How does this affect how we work?

Your First 6D Analysis

Step 1: Identify Observable Signals

Don't rely on intuition — look for concrete signals in your systems. Here's a real one, UC-246:

Example: Starbucks' "coffeehouse coach" bet
├── Employee (origin): 8,000 coaches hired/promoted, $500M+ labor investment
├── Customer: the "third place" experience, "improved customer experiences"
├── Quality: "more consistent performance" reported in the pilot
├── Revenue: N. America comps +7.1%, margins compressed by the investment
├── Operational: Deep Brew, Green Dot Assist AI running in parallel
└── Regulatory: labor relations backdrop, ~$1B restructuring alongside it

Step 2: Apply the 3D Lens

For each affected dimension, score three factors (1-10):

Lens	Question	Example Score
Sound (Urgency)	How immediate is the problem?	8 (Current crisis)
Space (Scope)	How widespread is the impact?	7 (Multiple customers)
Time (Trajectory)	Is it getting worse or better?	7 (Accelerating)

Dimension Score = (Sound × Space × Time) ÷ 10

Example: (8 × 7 × 7) ÷ 10 = 39.2

Step 3: Map the Cascade

Problems propagate across dimensions — here's UC-246's real path, cited evidence at every hop, no probability guesses:

Cascade notation: D3 > D1+D5 > D2 > D6 > D4

Step 4: Reach a Verdict

Real cases don't sum cascade dollars into a "total impact" — they compute DRIFT and FETCH:

Term	Value	What it means
METHODOLOGY	85	How sound is the reasoning (Niccol's own stated diagnosis)
PERFORMANCE	45	How proven is the outcome so far (comps recovering, margins compressed)
DRIFT	|85 − 45| = 40	The gap between the two
CHIRP	76.5	Overall severity across the affected dimensions
CONFIDENCE	0.86	How well-sourced the whole analysis is (8 cited sources)
FETCH	76.5 × 40 × 0.86 = 2,632	Compared against THRESHOLD 1,000
Verdict	EXECUTE, High Priority	2,632 clears 1,000 comfortably

Full mechanics: Scoring Methodology. Full narrative: the case study.

Key Concepts to Master

1. Observable Properties

Don't guess — measure. Each dimension has specific:

• Signals — What to look for (ticket spikes, overtime hours, NPS drops)
• Data sources — Where to find it (Zendesk, HRIS, CRM)
• Trigger keywords — Language patterns indicating severity
• Metrics — Leading and lagging indicators

📖 Read more: Observable Properties Framework

2. Cascade Pathways

Problems don't stay isolated — but the specific path is case-dependent, not a fixed probability table. Real, cited examples from the library:

Case	Origin	Real Cascade
UC-246 (Starbucks)	Employee	D3 > D1+D5 > D2 > D6 > D4
UC-302 (Gaming/AI)	Operational	D6 > D2+D3 > D1+D5 > D4

📖 Read more: Cascade Pathways

3. Reaching a Verdict: DRIFT and FETCH

Dimension scores tell you how severe. A second calculation, FETCH, tells you what to do:

• DRIFT = |METHODOLOGY − PERFORMANCE| — the gap between the diagnosis and the proof
• CHIRP — the overall severity signal across affected dimensions
• CONFIDENCE (0–1) — how well-sourced the analysis is
• FETCH = CHIRP × DRIFT × CONFIDENCE, compared against a THRESHOLD (commonly 1,000) to reach EXECUTE / MONITOR / WATCH

📖 Read more: Scoring Methodology

4. Cormorant Foraging Integration

The 3D lens comes from the Cormorant Foraging Framework:

• ChirpIQX (Sound) — Urgency analysis (immediate hooks, aggressive signals)
• PerchIQX (Space) — Scope analysis (positioning, strategic framing)
• WakeIQX (Time) — Trajectory analysis (past patterns, memory, trends)

📖 Read more: Cormorant Integration

Learning Path

For Self-Reference (Your Use Case)

1. Start with one dimension — Pick the one most relevant to your current work
2. Memorize trigger keywords — Print the Quick Reference Card
3. Practice scoring — Use the 3D lens on real problems
4. Map cascades — Draw them out until the patterns stick
5. Use the glossary — Reference definitions as you go

For Teaching Others

1. Start with the story — Show a real case, origin to verdict
2. Explain one cascade — Visual > abstract
3. Give them the checklist — Dimensions + 3D lens
4. Let them score something — Practice on a real problem
5. Debrief the multiplier — Why did it cascade this way?

Quick Reference

Print this for your desk:

D	Dimension	Key Metric	High Urgency Signal
1	Customer	NPS, Churn	"Canceling", "Legal action"
2	Employee	Turnover, Engagement	"I'm done", "Burned out"
3	Revenue	AR Aging, Margin	"Penalty clause", "Termination"
4	Regulatory	Audit Findings, Fines	"Violation", "Investigation"
5	Quality	Defect Rate, Rework	"Recall", "Safety incident"
6	Operational	Uptime, Cycle Time	"System down", "Outage"

3D Lens Quick Check:

• Sound: How urgent? (1=future, 10=crisis)
• Space: How widespread? (1=isolated, 10=enterprise-wide)
• Time: Getting better or worse? (1=one-time, 10=accelerating)

Next Steps

🎯 Explore the Six Dimensions — Deep dive into each impact area

📊 Learn Cascade Analysis — Master the multiplier effect

🔧 See Real Case Studies — Learn from actual implementations

📖 Complete Framework Guide — Read the full methodology

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Ready to start measuring? Begin with D1: Customer Impact or jump to the Framework Overview.