Five Mindsets is a human-centered innovation system used to align strategy, product, and organisation in the age of AI.
A structured sprint methodology for teams that want to think better, decide smarter, and build things that matter.
Book a Sprint →Explore McKay ConsultingThe Framework
What is the Five Mindsets?
A short introduction to the framework — what it is, why it works, and how it helps organisations move from insight to action.
The Framework
Five Mindsets. One Sprint.
Each mindset is a way of thinking that organisations must practise — not just know about. Together, they form a complete system for strategic design and innovation.
Mindset 01
Empathy
Start with the people you serve. Understand their real problems — not the ones you assume they have.
Explore Empathy →Mindset 02
Ideation
Generate more options before converging. Give your teams the permission and tools to think big.
Explore Ideation →Mindset 03
Filtering
Make better bets. Use strategic criteria to choose the ideas worth pursuing with confidence.
Explore Filtering →Mindset 04
Iteration
Learn faster by testing small. Build cultures that treat every experiment as signal, not failure.
Explore Iteration →Mindset 05
Storytelling
Create alignment through narrative. The right story turns strategy into action across an organisation.
Explore Storytelling →AI & Digital Tools
Every Mindset. Powered by AI.
The Five Mindsets Sprint integrates a curated set of AI and digital tools — from empathy research to rapid prototyping. See how the tools map to each mindset and where they accelerate your sprint.
Explore the Digital Tools Guide →Assessment
Product Culture Assessment
Understand where your organisation sits on the Five Mindsets spectrum — and get a clear map of where to focus your development effort first.
Start the Assessment →New Offering
AI Enhanced Sprint with VIBE Coding
Run the full Five Mindsets Sprint with integrated AI tools and VIBE coding — so your team moves from insight to working prototype in one sprint, without engineering headcount.
Enquire Now →In the Wild
Seen at PayPal
A walk-through of the customer-driven discovery and innovation process run as a one-week cross-functional sprint — showing how the Five Mindsets work in a real organisational context.
Founder
Michael McKay
Strategic design practitioner and innovation coach working with leadership teams, product organisations, and digital companies across Europe. The Five Mindsets is his framework for human-centred strategy in the age of AI.
McKay Consulting →Heard from the field
“Michael is one of the very few leaders I have seen who can make strategic design thinking actually work inside a large organisation. Not as a workshop or a concept, but as a genuine operating capability that changes how decisions get made. Michael goes all the way in.”
“Michael kom ikke ind som en ekstern konsulent med et færdigpakket framework. Han sætte sig ind i vores kontekst og hjalp os med at bygge metoderne ind i det vi i forvejen var gode til. Evnen til at sætte kundeoplevelsen i centrum var konsekvent det der adskilte os.”