# Which pattern from The Clarity Shift is tightening on you?

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/clarity-shift-risk-check · Last updated 20 October 2026

The Clarity Shift Risk Check is a free self-check from Ivanka Menken, built on the six patterns in her book The Clarity Shift: strategic drift, identity risk, decision risk, alignment risk, the compound effect and the mirror. Rate 18 statements from 1 to 5 and see which pattern your own answers point to most, with the chapter to read and where to go next. It takes about three minutes. Nothing is saved or sent, and there is no email to give.

## If one of these sounds familiar, a pattern is already at work

- My calendar is full and the business is not moving
- I have been circling the same decision for weeks
- My team works hard but pulls in different directions
- A bad month feels like a verdict on me
- I tell a tidier story than the one I live.

## Six patterns, six chapters

The drift the book is built around, the three named risks inside it, the loop that ties them together, and the way out of it.

1. Strategic drift: a degree or two off course, compounding in silence (chapter 2)
2. Identity risk: when you become the business (chapter 5)
3. Decision risk: the cost of circling (chapter 6)
4. Alignment risk: good people, wrong direction (chapter 7)
5. The compound effect: the three risks feeding each other (chapter 8)
6. The mirror, not the map: the story you tell against what is really going on (chapter 9)

## How to use it

Three minutes now. The chapter tonight.

1. Answer as you are: Rate each statement for how things are this month, not how you would like them to be.
2. Read the chapter: Your answers point to one pattern. Its chapter in The Clarity Shift is free to read, with no email to give.
3. Test it with someone outside: The book's point is that these patterns are hardest to see from inside. Talk it through with someone who can see what you cannot.

In Ivanka Menken's 1:1 mentoring and intensives, the pattern you recognise becomes the one thing a session starts with.

## Questions about Clarity Shift Risk Check

### What is the Clarity Shift Risk Check?

The Clarity Shift Risk Check is a free self-check from Ivanka Menken, built on her book The Clarity Shift. You rate 18 statements from 1 to 5, three for each of six patterns: strategic drift, identity risk, decision risk, alignment risk, the compound effect and the mirror. It then shows which pattern your own answers point to most, and which chapter to read.

### Is it free, and is anything saved?

Yes, the Clarity Shift Risk Check is free, and nothing you choose is stored, sent or tracked. Your answers live only in this browser tab and disappear when you close it. Ivanka Menken does not ask for an email address, in the same way her book The Clarity Shift is a free PDF with no email required.

### What are the six patterns?

The Clarity Shift Risk Check uses the six patterns Ivanka Menken names in The Clarity Shift: strategic drift (chapter 2), identity risk (chapter 5), decision risk (chapter 6), alignment risk (chapter 7), the compound effect, where the three risks feed each other (chapter 8), and the mirror, the gap between the story you tell and what is really going on (chapter 9).

### How is my result worked out?

The Clarity Shift Risk Check averages your own three ratings for each pattern and ranks the six patterns from highest to lowest. There is no benchmark, no comparison with other founders and no pass mark. Ivanka Menken built it to show where your own answers point, not to label you, so the result says what your answers lean towards and nothing more.

### What should I do with my result?

Read the chapter of The Clarity Shift that the Clarity Shift Risk Check points you to; the PDF is free. If the pattern is familiar and you want help with it, the result also links to the part of Ivanka Menken's work built for it, or you can book a 20-minute conversation and talk it through.

### Is this a diagnosis?

No. The Clarity Shift Risk Check is a prompt for reflection, not a psychological or business diagnosis. Ivanka Menken writes that the hardest patterns to see are the ones you are inside, so a self-check can only start the conversation. Treat the result as a mirror for your own answers, then test it with someone who can see your situation from outside.

## Start

Email ivanka@ivankamenken.com with the pattern your answers pointed to.

- Part of The Clarity Shift: https://ivankamenken.com/book
- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka