We live in a time of increasing complexity in almost every area. From global sustainability challenges to everyday work tasks, we face questions that demand both faster and deeper answers. In the midst of this chaos, mental frameworks, or models, offer a structure that helps us understand the world a little better.
What exactly is a framework?
A framework is a mental model that simplifies reality. It is not reality itself, but a map of it. By using models, we can sort impressions, identify connections and explain ideas more clearly. For example, the Business Model Canvas is a structure for understanding a company’s business model. The Eisenhower Matrix is a model for distinguishing between what is important and what is urgent. They are different in nature but have one thing in common: they help us navigate a complex reality.
When models only become surface knowledge
Most of us have experienced the feeling when we read about a new model. It feels like we understand the world a little better. But often we stop there. We settle for superficial understanding, and then the model becomes something we may mention but do not actively use. The real power comes only when we make the models part of our own mental tools.
The real power of explaining to someone else
A simple but powerful way to deepen our understanding is to describe the model to someone else. When we are forced to formulate it in words, we become aware of what we really understood and what we missed. This is also when we begin to see how the model can be applied to new situations. This is why consultants often seem to have an answer to everything. They have not only read about the models, they have explained and used them so many times that they have become a natural part of their thought structure.
Building on new combinations
Once we have internalized a model, we can start combining it with other knowledge. This is where real innovation occurs. An example is when sustainability and profitability are combined within the Business Model Canvas. By adding dimensions of ecological and social impact alongside traditional financial parameters, it becomes clear that a company’s performance cannot be measured solely in kronor and ören. Suddenly we have a new framework that makes it easy to answer the question: how is sustainability related to our business model and profitability.
Mental models and personal development
Learning and using mental frameworks is not just a method for better analysis. It is also a path to personal development. When we collect more models in our toolbox, we become better at seeing connections and understanding different perspectives. We train our brain not to get stuck in a single explanatory model, but to move smoothly between several. In this way, we build greater intellectual flexibility, which makes us better equipped to face change.
Creativity through structured freedom
Creativity is not about thinking completely freely, but about being able to think new things within certain frameworks. Mental frameworks provide just those frameworks. When we can use a model as a starting point, we can more quickly explore new ideas, test combinations and see patterns that would otherwise have passed us by. Creative processes benefit when there are structures to relate to, and the more models we carry with us, the more creative paths we can find.
A checklist for making the models your own
To truly embrace a framework, we need to go through several steps.
- The first is to understand the model in depth and be able to explain its basic ideas.
- Then it is a matter of describing the model to someone else.
- In the next step, you combine the model with new knowledge, an area or a question you are facing.
- Finally, understanding is strengthened when we also describe this new combination to someone else.
In this way, we not only build knowledge, we also build mental tools that remain and develop over time.
Thinking becomes clearer when the models become our own
Mental frameworks are more than academic theories or consultants’ favorite tools. They are structures for understanding complexity, thinking more clearly, and answering questions about what we think and why more quickly. When we make the models our own and use them in practice, we become both more creative and more analytical. It is not about accumulating as many frameworks as possible, but about transforming them into living models of thought that we can carry with us in everyday life and use when facing new challenges.
