# Making Sense of Complexity (Glaringly Obvious) **URL:** \ **Category:** Open topics\ **Created:** [October 17, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281 "2025-10-17T15:05:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bryan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/bryan/32/448_2.png) [@Bryan](https://forum.zurb.com/u/Bryan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/1 "2025-10-17T15:05:58Z")
I had an amazing chat with [Dave Gray](https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegray/) about how simple visual frameworks can help teams make sense of complex problems together. Every messy situation can be turned into something people can see, talk about, and work on… if you can find the right pattern. Dave believes that when we externalize our thinking through sketches and metaphors, we stop guessing and start seeing. His approach gives teams a shared lens for making sense of complexity by creating clarity together. > **[Glaringly Obvious with Dave Gray](https://glare.helio.app/interviews/dave-gray#dave-gray-on-visual-frameworks-and-making-sense-of-complexity)** > > Podcast Interview: Visual frameworks turn complex ideas into simple patterns. Big ideas: - **Sketch the pattern, not the answer** → A good framework reveals meaning hidden in the mess. - **Change the metaphor, change the solution** → The words and images we use shape how we solve problems. - **Make problems visible** → Drawing surfaces hidden dynamics and builds shared understanding. - **Narrow the field to find the truth** → Fewer, clearer patterns help teams focus where it matters most. - **Frameworks align people, not opinions** → Shared visuals create alignment without forcing consensus. ![visual-frameworks](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/helio/original/1X/6205b015b5ed2455a2e9ad8d453e3c63d41a549a.jpeg) Dave’s work shows how visual frameworks turn confusion into collaboration. They give teams a way to _see_ what’s really happening, not just what they assume. 💬 **Discussion:** How does your team make complex problems visible? Do you use sketches, models, or metaphors to help people align on what’s really going on? ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/ben/32/442_2.png) [@ben](https://forum.zurb.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 6:10pm UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/2 "2025-10-17T18:10:39Z")
Those are the sketches that _he_ makes? I’ve always really loved them. I personally think sketches are the most effective (really anything visual, as humans are visual creatures). Question: > [@Bryan](#): > > How does your team make complex problems visible? Do you use sketches, models, or metaphors to help people align on what’s really going on? What are models in this case? ---
**Author:** ![nathaliesmith](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/nathaliesmith/32/443_2.png) [@nathaliesmith](https://forum.zurb.com/u/nathaliesmith)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/3 "2025-10-18T00:22:25Z")
SOOO GOOD! These visuals are so stinkin’ cool. Totally agree with this. When teams externalize their thinking, messy conversations suddenly have shape. I’ve found that the moment you put a simple pattern or metaphor on the table, alignment happens faster, not because everyone agrees, but because they can finally _ **see** _ the same problem. ---
**Author:** ![dave\_gray](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/dave_gray/32/419_2.png) [@dave\_gray](https://forum.zurb.com/u/dave_gray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/4 "2025-10-18T02:35:01Z")
Hey everybody! Bryan just let me in ---
**Author:** ![dave\_gray](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/dave_gray/32/419_2.png) [@dave\_gray](https://forum.zurb.com/u/dave_gray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 2:38am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/5 "2025-10-18T02:38:43Z")
When I use the term model I mean something like what Jeff Hawkins describes in his book “A Thousand Brains” — well-captured in these book notes by Peter Morville: [Mental Models](https://intertwingled.org/mental-models/) ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/ben/32/442_2.png) [@ben](https://forum.zurb.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 5:58am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/6 "2025-10-18T05:58:21Z")
Hey Dave! Glad to have ya! ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/ben/32/442_2.png) [@ben](https://forum.zurb.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 6:01am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/7 "2025-10-18T06:01:24Z")
> Prediction is not just one of the things your brain does. It is the primary function of the neocortex, and the foundation of intelligence. Powerful read. Putting this on my read list to dive into all of the sources. ---
**Author:** ![dave\_gray](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/dave_gray/32/419_2.png) [@dave\_gray](https://forum.zurb.com/u/dave_gray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/8 "2025-10-18T16:53:46Z")
It’s a great book, I recommend it, a good pairing with Metaphors we Live by, by Lakoff and Johnson, or Surfaces and Essences by Hofstaedter ---
**Author:** ![Bryan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/bryan/32/448_2.png) [@Bryan](https://forum.zurb.com/u/Bryan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/making-sense-of-complexity-glaringly-obvious/281/9 "2025-10-18T18:09:13Z")
Shared our interview with my audience. Great stuff! > **[You can’t simplify your way out of complexity. Simplifying helps, but real...](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bryanzmijewski_you-cant-simplify-your-way-out-of-complexity-activity-7385370190940667904-1AzU)** > > You can’t simplify your way out of complexity. > > Simplifying helps, but real progress comes from guiding teams through complexity, aligning people, tools, processes, and systems around clear goals. > > In my Glaringly Obvious conversation with Dave Gray,... ![leading-through-complexity](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/helio/original/1X/fb2e1edee98ad10170c94d41b7efaa8c60de3126.png) One theme that keeps coming up in our Helio Glare assessments is how hard it is for teams to handle complexity. Capital D Design can help teams find their way through it, but it often hits roadblocks when decisions need to connect with business goals. I often see things break down when metrics don’t match how the business defines the problem.