Frameworks
Mental models developed through two decades of building and leading. Tools for thinking clearly and acting decisively.
I didn't set out to create frameworks. I needed tools for my own thinking — ways to organize complexity and make decisions when the path wasn't clear. Over time, these models proved useful enough to share. Each one represents years of iteration, testing, and refinement.
Fulfillment Theory
Where clarity, collaboration, and connection intersect — the conditions for work that matters.
Fulfillment Theory argues that meaningful work happens at the intersection of three elements: Clarity (knowing what you're doing and why), Collaboration (working with others effectively), and Connection (feeling part of something larger). Where any two overlap, you get something valuable — passion, purpose, or progress. Where all three meet, you find fulfillment.
The framework helps leaders diagnose what's missing when teams struggle and design environments where all three elements can flourish.
Elevation Framework
A prioritization lens: what to elevate, delegate, automate, or eliminate.
The Elevation Framework plots activities on two axes: Impact (how much it matters) and Integration (how deeply it requires your unique judgment). Activities high on both deserve your attention — elevate them. High impact but low integration? Delegate them. Low impact but high integration? Automate where possible. Low on both? Eliminate entirely.
The framework forces honest assessment of how you spend time and creates space for the work only you can do.
Spheres
Life in concentric circles — focus energy where you have leverage.
The Spheres framework organizes life into five concentric circles, from innermost to outermost: Me (personal growth, health), Family (key relationships), Business (work and career), Community (local involvement), and World (global events, politics).
The principle: you have most control at the center and least at the edges. Focus your energy where you have genuine leverage. Accept — rather than constantly fight against — the things you can't control.
This isn't about ignoring the outer spheres. It's about not letting them consume the energy you need for the inner ones.
IDEAS Framework
A systematic approach to developing ideas from initial spark to shared insight.
IDEAS is an acronym representing five stages of idea development:
- I — Identify: Capturing the initial spark
- D — Develop: Building your foundation
- E — Explore: Chasing the smoke trails
- A — Assess: Pressure-testing
- S — Share: Exposing the concept
The framework ensures good ideas don't die from neglect and helps distinguish between ideas worth pursuing and those best left as sparks.
Using These Frameworks
These frameworks aren't rules — they're lenses. Use them when they help you see more clearly. Put them down when they don't.
The best way to learn a framework is to apply it to a real situation. Pick one that seems relevant to a challenge you're facing. Work through it deliberately. Notice what it illuminates and what it misses.
If you want to go deeper, I explore these ideas in my speaking and work through them with clients in advisory and coaching engagements.
Want to learn more?
I explore these frameworks in depth through speaking engagements and work through them with clients in advisory relationships.