Frameworks
Frameworks and mental models I use in coaching conversations, product and UX work, and business strategy discussions. Most came out of real conversations, mentoring sessions, and field work. Each one stands alone, so you can open any single page and get value from it.
Each entry follows roughly the same shape: the trap (the default, unhelpful way people approach the problem), the reframe (the better way to think about it), and enough structure to actually use it.
Coaching
For working through decisions, usually one on one, where someone needs a structured way to think and not just an opinion.
Stay-or-go decisions and risk
Comparing options and vendors
Starting a new role or project
- The Newbie Card: Not Knowing as a Deliberate Asset
- Five Whys: Root Cause, Non-Prescriptive
- Stakeholder Mapping by Role
- Stakeholder Driver Mapping
- The Premortem
- Launches Aren't Binary
Equity and contribution
- Equity vs. Profit-Sharing
- Opportunity Cost Over Hourly Rate
- Sweat Equity and the Contribution Table
- Vesting and Starting Low
- Progress-to-Goal Framing
Product / UX
For understanding users and making product decisions.
- Start With Users, Not Direction
- Persona-Based Empathy Research
- Emotional Journey Mapping
- Fast Feedback Loops
- Collaborative Customer Journey Mapping
- Hypothesis-Driven Pricing
Business Strategy
Larger-scale planning, for taking an idea from a rough concept to something executable.