The cover story canvas ® projects you and your team in the future. It is a tool to get more clarity on your vision. Mind you, this tool will definitely challenge you to think beyond the realm of the known and safe. Why else would there be a story about how your company makes a difference in the marketplace, in one of the world’s bestselling magazines? We show you four ways how Elon Musk could have designes his cover stories back in 2008.
HOW TO USE THE COVER STORY VISION®
So, imagine you are Elon Musk, back in 2008, and you imagine the future succes of your company. What would your succes in the marketplace look like? The Cover Story Canvas ® projects you and your team in the future: what is the compelling story in the media about what you have accomplished at that time. This canvas triggers your creativity in various ways when formulating your actual vision. It is a highly energising and fun team assignment and the resulting story gives you insights in your ambition and strategic choices.
So what would Elon Musks’ cover story canvas look like? On which magazine cover would he see his face, his product, his companies or his customers and what are the big headlines? What would he say in interviews, what do people say about him? Below you can find 4 examples of a Cover Story possibly designed by Elon Musk and his team. The first one is about Elon Musk, a real visionair. The second one is about the product, Tesla. The third one is about the customer and the fourth one is an example about the future of SpaceX of which we believe his true ambition.
1.ELON MUSK (visionair)
In this example Elon Musk is featured in Times magazine as one of the most influential persons on earth. A Cover Story in which the founder or CEO of the company is mentioned is often referred to as a true icon of the new venture. It shows the individual ambition of this person. It helps you clarify your own role in your venture or concept.
2.tesla (product)
In this example Tesla is featured in Autoknow conquering the world of cars or transport. So their product ambition is clear here. A Cover Story in which the product is mentioned is done by teams or start-ups who are very excited about their product because of its uniqueness. It shows the potential of the concept. A pitfall though is that you focus too much on the product and forget about the customers.
3.customer 
In this example the family of Paige Seidel is super excited about their new lifestyle and the sustainable aspect of the car (impact). The article is featured in Environment. A Cover Story in which the customer is mentioned is focused on solving problems and creating impact. It shows how happy customers are so they are featured in a magazine or newspaper and they love to talk about your product or concept. It is not you who is talking about your concept, but it is about the customers who do so.
4.TRUE PURPOSE
A Cover Story in which the founder or CEO of the company makes a bold step shows the true purpose. A true purpose to change the world. Elon Musks’ true purpose is to help mankind exploring new ways of living, in this case ‘making humans a multi planetary species’. Elon Musk is featured in The Atlantic.
SO WHAT?
The Cover Story Canvas is a great way to explore your vision in a very creative way. It helps you to think out of the day to day context and dream about possible futures. The nature of each story shows the ambition of the team where we see different perspectives show up like a personal story, a product story, a customer story or a true purpose story. Of course, these cover stories of Elon Musk are backwards engineered but they show the way this Cover Story Canvas tool can be used. If you want to try this with your team, have a look at the step by step guide.
EXPERIENCE IT LIVE!
Do you want to learn more? There is no better way to learn about the tools, cases and mindset behind Design a Better Business than experiencing it in a two-day workshop, hosted by the authors and designers. We’ll do a deep dive and help participants become designers. Join our experience this October in Amsterdam or in New York. Are you one of the lucky participants?
