The instrument
Vitality Compass™
Seven domains, measured at entry and at exit. Not a score out of ten — a map of where the capacity is actually going.
The seven domains
What it asks about
- EnergyNot how tired you feel today, but the shape of the week: where it drops, whether it returns, and what it returns to.
- Sleep and recoveryDuration is the least interesting part. Whether recovery is real or nominal is the question.
- Stress regulationHow fast the system comes back down after a demand — and whether it comes back down at all.
- Focus and decisionsThe quality of attention, and what happens to the quality of decisions when attention goes.
- Food and microbiotaRhythm, variety, and the relationship between digestion, energy and recovery. No prescription, no elimination.
- MovementNot training load. Whether the body moves enough to keep its own regulation working.
- Relationships and work environmentLoad, interruptions, autonomy, and the part no individual can carry alone.
How it is used
Twice, and compared.
The Compass runs at the start and again at the end. The single measurement is nearly worthless; the pair is where the information is. What matters is not where someone sits on a domain, but which direction it moved once something changed.
For a team, the individual maps stay with the individuals. Only themes are aggregated, and no one is ranked.
What it is not
- Not a diagnosis, and not a screening instrument.
- Not a performance review. No result reaches a manager in identifiable form.
- Not a physiological measurement. The optional HRV reading is separate, voluntary and individual.
- Not a number you can compare against someone else. The comparison that matters is with yourself, six weeks earlier.
Evidence: self-report instruments are honest about being self-report
Next step
Three pilot teams this year.
Twenty-five minutes to check whether this format answers a real problem at your organisation. If it doesn’t, I’ll say so.