Framing for Success

We all understand the concept of “framing” even if we’ve never heard the label formally applied before: Is the glass half empty or half full?

Pessimists, it is said, focus on the empty portion of the glass while optimists focus on the fact that the glass is at least partially filled. To apply the concept, optimists frame the situation in a positive light, and pessimists frame it negatively.

I’ve personally never been fully convinced of this question as an accurate measure of the difference between optimism and pessimism. In other words, I reject the entire framing of the distinction as being reflected by the answer to that question.

Framing is a critically important aspect to the process of problem solving and the decision making that goes along with it. How you frame a problem makes a huge difference not just in how you approach it but also in how you go about looking at data that can help you decide what to do about it. 

The impact of framing on decision making can lead to what is known as the Framing Effect, which “occurs when people make a decision based on the way the information is presented, as opposed to just on the facts themselves. The same facts presented in two different ways can lead to people making different judgments or decisions.” (Corporate Finance Institute)

Fridays for Future International, youth organizers of the upcoming Global Climate Strike, understand the importance of framing very well, as evidenced by the images included with this post. These two posters are plastered on adjacent sides of a communications box outside my building in Berlin, where I’ve had the pleasure of spending most of the summer.

As climate activists know all too well, gathering support for drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas generating emissions has been a slow process, and motivations vary among supporters. Some support changes because they fear if they don’t, humanity’s future on earth is doomed. Other support changes out of hope for a brighter tomorrow.

The campaign designers at Friday for Future are essentially saying, “We don’t care how you frame the problem. Bring whatever motivation you want and help us do something about it.”

At Tilt Global, we empower enterprise leadership teams to understand the importance of framing a problem and how to avoid the Framing Effect when making decisions to navigate complex challenges like transitioning to clean energy systems.