Learn to Think in Color

How do you know whether to lead, follow, or step aside? How to choose the right role without slowing things down Big Picture Framing Knowing  when to lead, follow, or get out of the way  is a decision you make dozens of times a week—in meetings, projects, and even family conversations. Instead of defaulting to “I should take charge” or “I’ll just stay quiet,” you can treat it like a quick, practical scan: What does this moment need most—direction, support, or space? In what follows, you’ll get a clear framework, real examples, and some simple questions to help you play the right role at the right time, while building trust and momentum along the way. The Three Roles in Any Situation In almost every collaborative situation you have three options: Lead  – set direction and make decisions Follow  – support the direction and execute Get out of the way  – step aside so others can move faster Think of a highway: Sometimes you’re the  driver  (lead). Sometime...

How Can You Use Consequences in Decision Making? Clarifying choices by thinking through the ripples, not just the splash. Big-picture framing Using  consequences in decision making  means looking beyond “What do I want?” and asking, “Then what… and then what?” Instead of judging options only by how they feel right now, you deliberately forecast the short-term and long-term outcomes each path is likely to create. This shift turns vague pros and cons into clearer stories about the future: who’s affected, what changes, and what risks you’re really accepting. By slowing down to imagine different consequence pathways—including ethical ones—you make more grounded, less reactive choices that are easier to defend to yourself and others later. Why consequences are your hidden dataset Every decision is a bet on the future, and consequences are the data you’re (often unconsciously) using to place that bet. Most people do this intuitively: you  feel  that one option is safer or ...

How does Institutional Memory act as a constraint on current Meaning-making? Why yesterday’s stories quietly limit tomorrow’s interpretations Big-picture framing Institutional memory is the shared store of stories, norms, and “how we do things here” that lives in an organization’s people, processes, and artifacts. It doesn’t just preserve the past; it shapes how people interpret the present. That means institutional memory can quietly constrain current meaning-making by narrowing which questions feel askable, which data seems credible, and which options feel “realistic.” In this piece, we’ll unpack how institutional memory guides sensemaking, when it becomes a trap, why the “five monkeys and a ladder” parable keeps getting retold, and how to work with memory deliberately rather than unconsciously. Institutional Memory as an Invisible Operating System Think of  institutional memory  as the operating system running in the background of a team or organization. You don’t see it di...