Frame, Search, Combine

I’ve always been an iterative thinker.

It’s one of the things that came up on my Gallup StrengthsFinder—not in the form of “consistency” (definitely not that), but more as a habit of constant tweaking. A nudge here, a shift there. I tend to move fast, but not blindly. I test. I observe. I adjust.

Sometimes the iteration happens in the moment—when someone’s feedback shifts how I show up or what I say.
Other times it happens year over year—when something that made sense once suddenly doesn’t. And instead of scrapping the whole thing, I revise the version I’ve got.

That’s why I’ve been thinking so much about a concept I read in HBR recently: precedent thinking. The basic idea is this:

When you’re facing a new challenge, you don’t need a perfect model. You need a good enough frame. You search for useful similarities. Then you combine what you find into something that fits the moment.

This feels like the way I already work.

At school, I’m often leading through spaces that weren’t designed for today’s needs—outdated scheduling systems, shared governance dynamics, structures that don’t quite match our strategic goals. But instead of waiting for a blank slate (which rarely comes), I look at what’s already here. I frame the real problem. I search for similar moves or models. And I combine what’s workable into something new—new enough to matter.

It reminds me of the definition of innovation I’ve shared before that I like:

Innovation is the disruption of the habits of an organization—and the reconstruction that follows.

That feels right.
That’s what I’m doing—quietly, steadily, iteratively.

Not chasing the perfect model.
Just building the one that works (at least I hope!).