Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Liminal Thinking: Sense-making for systems in large organizations

Gold
Thursday, May 14, 2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Share the love for this talk
Liminal Thinking: Sense-making for systems in large organizations
Speakers: Dave Gray
Link:

Summary

In his talk, Dave Gray uses metaphors like the enterprise elephant and the blind men to describe how different perspectives in an organization create competing realities. Drawing on the concept of the ladder of inference from Chris Argyris, he explains how experiences, attention, theories, judgments, and beliefs form a self-sealing logic that organizations and individuals unconsciously reinforce. Lou Gerstner's story of IBM’s turnaround illustrates the need to see beyond siloed views. Dave emphasizes that beliefs drive behavior and that without understanding underlying beliefs and needs, efforts to change or get buy-in will fail. He shares powerful stories, such as Adrian’s misunderstanding of a team member’s late working hours, illustrating how testing assumptions through conversation helps break false beliefs. Dave highlights the risks of executive isolation using the “monkey tree” metaphor, where information is filtered upward, reinforcing distorted realities. He advocates for empathy and active outreach by leaders to break bubbles through direct engagement with customers and teams. Drawing on examples from Catherine Courage and Alyssa Briggs, he shows how creating safe spaces—via warm tea, cookies, or field trips—can foster trust and openness. Dave stresses the importance of double-loop learning and acting as if alternative beliefs are true as a way to test and shift organizational culture. He concludes with practical advice to assess people’s needs, understand behaviors, and design experiments to validate or revise beliefs, encouraging everyone to break autopilot routines and cultivate curiosity and openness.

Key Insights

  • Organizational culture is a self-reinforcing bubble shaped by shared beliefs that filter and distort reality.

  • People’s beliefs form through a ladder of inference: from experiences and attention to theories, judgments, and stories.

  • People rarely share their true beliefs openly, making understanding underlying needs critical to effect change.

  • Self-sealing logic protects existing beliefs by dismissing conflicting information and rationalizing contradictory evidence.

  • Senior leaders are especially vulnerable to distorted realities due to filtered information and lack of direct engagement.

  • Breaking patterns and assumptions requires curiosity, experimentation, and acting 'as if' alternative beliefs are true.

  • Creating safe spaces using simple acts like sharing warm tea or cookies can build trust and surface genuine needs.

  • Empathy for others, including leaders, helps support breakthrough out of limiting belief bubbles.

  • Small courageous acts, such as breaking dress codes or challenging routines, can build reputations and open new possibilities.

  • Double-loop learning—examining and revising underlying beliefs—is needed to overcome resistance and foster real organizational change.

Notable Quotes

"If you do anything with other people, you’re creating culture."

"The enterprise feels like a big elephant; different people touch different parts and argue what it really is."

"Beliefs are habits of action; they are the rules that guide how we decide to act."

"People don’t share their beliefs; you have to search for and understand them to get true buy-in."

"The higher up you are in an organization, the more distorted your reality is likely to be."

"It’s impossible to be angry with a warm cup of tea in your hand."

"The only way to get outside your bubble is to act as if an alternative belief is true and test it."

"Change only happens in the present moment, not the past or future."

"Most enterprises are not emotionally safe places; people can’t just leave emotions at the door."

"You lie to yourself more than anyone else; the lie is that you are completely rational and objective."

Ask the Rosenbot
Dave Gray
Connection, Community, and the Future of Work
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Christopher Geison
Theme 1 Intro
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Dan Willis
Enterprise Storytelling Sessions
2017 • Enterprise Experience 2017
Gold
Katie Johnson
Disrupting generative AI products with just-in-time consumer insights
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Taylor Klassman
Shaping the Next Era of UX Research: Collaborative Forum
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Carol Smith
Operationalizing Responsible, Human-Centered AI
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Saskia Liebenberg
Start Small for Big Impact
2019 • DesignOps Community
Nicole Bergstrom
AccessibilityOps: Moving beyond “nice to have”
2024 • DesignOps Community
Emily Eagle
Can't Rewind: Radio and Retail
2019 • Enterprise Experience 2019
Gold
Sol Mesz
Hands or Brains? How to Hire for Strategy, Strategically
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Miles Orkin
Creativity and Culture
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Jon Fukuda
Theme 3 Intro
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
John Mortimer
Panel Discussion
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Leah Buley
Ask Me Anything with Leah Buley and Joe Natoli, co-authors of The User Experience Team of One (2nd edition)
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Natalie Dunbar
DesignOps and Content Strategy: Envisioning the Future Together
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Ren Pope
Building Experiences for Knowledge Systems
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold

More Videos

Greg Petroff

"If we deeply understand outcomes and advocate for impact, we’ll be the ones making real change happen in the enterprise."

Greg Petroff

Software as Material—A Redux

June 6, 2023

Brendan Jarvis

"Why was the universe doing this to me? That was a bad question."

Brendan Jarvis

Framing Tomorrow by Questioning Today

June 8, 2022

Prerna Makanawala

"When things behave the same way, users don’t have to worry about what will happen—that’s the intuitive factor."

Prerna Makanawala

Achieving Balanced Design Consistency

June 9, 2021

Tricia Wang

"We are stuck in the user trap because these platforms are central to being human today."

Tricia Wang

From Users to Shapers of AI: The Future of Research

March 25, 2024

Cheryl Platz

"Duolingo’s AI push damaged immersion by breaking narrative cohesion and lowering course quality."

Cheryl Platz

Embrace Your Fun Factor: Game Development Best Practices for Product Design

January 9, 2026

Ariel Kennan

"I think we all know no matter if you’re new to this work or you’ve been doing it for years, we’re always still learning."

Ariel Kennan

Theme Two Intro

November 17, 2022

Tricia Wang

"It's not about going out to communities but changing your team and leadership to genuinely reflect those communities."

Tricia Wang

The most popular design thinking strategy is BS

January 27, 2022

Kristin Wisnewski

"We want to send fewer mailers but make them more impactful, using A/B testing to optimize open and click rates."

Kristin Wisnewski

Measuring What Matters

October 23, 2019

Scott Jensen

"Facilitating a shared understanding among everyone on product takes a lot of time."

Scott Jensen Sarah Delaney Carmen Liu

Short Take #2: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers

December 6, 2022