Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking and Square Wheels for Change offer a convenient tool for organizational development and engagement.

The Square Wheels^® metaphor, developed in 1993 by Dr. Scott Simmerman, offers a powerful visual representation of organizational dynamics that can be seamlessly integrated with Kahneman’s groundbreaking work on cognitive biases and decision-making processes. Combining these two frameworks, we can gain valuable insights and tools into how teams can enhance their decision-making capabilities and drive organizational change more effectively.

Understanding Kahneman’s Two Systems of Thinking

The late Daniel Kahneman’s seminal work, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,“ introduces the concept of two distinct cognitive systems that govern our decision-making processes:

System One: Fast Thinking, which operates automatically and quickly, requires little or no effort relying on intuition, emotions, and heuristics.

System Two: Slow Thinking, which demands attention and mental effort, engages for complex reasoning and problem-solving, and is capable of rational and deliberate decision-making.

These two systems can work in tandem to generate higher-quality, collaborative decision-making, but they can also lead to cognitive biases and errors in judgment when not properly balanced. Understand that his work is a major contribution to the understanding of decision making and improving the quality of thinking. I love this compendium of his works and have previously explained how it links to what I consider to be the world’s best teambuilding exercise on collaboration, The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine here.

The Square Wheels^® Metaphor as a tool for discussion and ideation

The Square Wheels metaphor provides a vivid illustration of organizational inefficiencies and the potential for improvement. The metaphor depicts a wagon (the organization) being pulled by a leader and being pushed by workers, with Square Wheels representing outdated or inefficient processes (that work), while round wheels symbolize innovative solutions and best practices already in the wagon.

Key elements of the Square Wheels metaphor:

• Square Wheels: Existing processes and systems that are functional but inefficient
• Round wheels: New ideas and improvements that can enhance performance
• Wagon Puller: Leadership that can be functionally isolated from all that is happening
• Wagon Pushers: Employees working within the current system but somewhat clueless about how things work overall but who are often aware that things could work more smoothly
• The Wagon: The overall organization and structure
• The Journey: Our overall vision of where we are trying to go
• The Mud: The “organizational glop” that makes our progress more difficult
• Silos: The structural aspects of the organization that makes “interdepartmental collaboration” an oxymoron
• Spectator Sheep: The uninvolved and disengaged who are often negative in their support of the people and processes needed to make things move forward

Integrating Kahneman’s Systems with Square Wheels

The overall process is one we call, “Stepping back from the wagon.” What we do by engaging people with the image is to help people to dissociate, to change their perspective so as to be able to reflect on things differently. By combining Kahneman’s cognitive systems with Square Wheels images and metaphors, a powerful and memorable framework is created for understanding and improving team decision-making processes. We generate individual and group information processing. It is both for the session at hand as well as for going future-forward in a way more effective than other approaches. These simple metaphors are very memorable.

System One and Square Wheels

System One thinking often aligns with the square wheels in the metaphor. Just as square wheels represent established, albeit inefficient, processes, System One relies on quick, intuitive judgments that may not always be optimal. When people first look at a the image, most quickly move on, clearly demonstrating the System One, fast shallow thinking around the possible opportunities for improvement.

Characteristics of System One in the Square Wheels context:

• Resistance to change: Employees may instinctively cling to familiar processes (using Square Wheels – even though they do not work smoothly) due to the comfort of routine and the reality that their current metrics are anchored to that performance paradigm
• Overconfidence: Quick judgments may lead to overestimating the effectiveness of current methods — the team is probably meeting its goals
• Confirmation bias: Teams may seek information that confirms their existing beliefs about processes — everyone uses Square Wheels, right?

System Two and Round Wheels

System Two thinking corresponds to the round wheels in my metaphor. It represents the deliberate, analytical approach required to identify and implement improvements in organizational processes. It is, in a way, the “stepping back from the wagon” approach to a more dissociated and objective way to think about situations. Some additional thoughts are below:

Characteristics of System Two in the Square Wheels context:

• Critical evaluation: Careful analysis of current processes to identify inefficiencies accomplished by deliberate actions to think differently and deeper
• Innovation: Developing and testing new ideas (round wheels) to improve performance because the Square Wheels are everywhere
• Long-term planning: Considering the broader implications of changes and their potential impact on the organization for going on down the road, avoiding the mud and moving downhill

Leveraging the Combined Framework for Better Team Decisions

By understanding the interplay between Kahneman’s systems and Square Wheels, groups of people can dissociate and collaborate to develop some new strategies to enhance their decision-making processes. Thinking differently and deeper can drive organizational change more effectively and improve teamwork and collaborative problem solving. Interacting together to better understand the reality is helpful for divergent thinking about shared issues and opportunities.

1. Recognizing Cognitive Biases

Teams should first acknowledge the presence of cognitive biases that can hinder effective decision-making. Square Wheels work and represent how things have always worked. Why change, right? By understanding how System 1 thinking can lead to quick but potentially flawed judgments, team members can learn to question their initial assumptions and seek more balanced perspectives.

2. Strategies for addressing cognitive biases:

• Encourage shared, diverse and divergent viewpoints within the team
• Implement structured decision-making processes that promote critical group thinking
• Use data and objective metrics to challenge intuitive judgments. Challenge the existing reality for what it is and what it could be

3. Fostering a Culture of Continuous Continuous Improvement

The Square Wheels metaphor emphasizes the importance of constantly seeking better ways of doing things. By adopting this mindset, teams can leverage System 2 thinking to identify and implement improvements systematically. The operating metaphor should be, “The round wheels of today become the Square Wheels of tomorrow.” Teams need to continually look for ways to get better.

Note that I use a redundant “continuous” in my language of improvement because so many people seem to believe that “continuous improvement” is something that can be accomplished. And they language things that way, such as, “We’ve implemented a continuous improvement process.” The joke / punchline you can use is that you got the idea from The Department of Redundancy Department. CHANGE how people think about performance in their organizations and get them to consider many different opportunities!

Teams need to collectively evaluate and look for continuous continuous improvement opportunities. Teams WILL take different paths to change.

4. Approaches to promote continuous continuous improvement:

• Regularly schedule time for process evaluation and brainstorming, and keep brainstorming as things move forward and successes are achieved – don’t stop the process
• Encourage employees at all levels to contribute ideas for improvement; provide feedback
• Implement a system for tracking and evaluating the impact of changes. Avoid extrinsic rewards but make ideation part of the improvement process
• Look for ways to change the language of performance improvement. The whole concept of Square Wheels is designed to set up cognitive dissonance around the idea that the round wheels already exist in the wagon, that people already have ideas for improvement

5. Balancing Intuition and Analysis

While System 2 thinking is crucial for identifying and implementing improvements, teams should not entirely disregard the value of System 1 intuition and quick decision-making. The challenge lies in striking the right balance between quick, intuitive judgments and more deliberate, analytical approaches. Not every decision needs depth of thought, which can slow processes and implementation. And, you can also implement partial solutions (such as in the Trial and Error image above with the horse) that can lead to more solutions as you roll forward. Celebrate successes!.

System Two thinking is also very good for executive decision-making, especially when teams of people are involved. One of Kahneman’s expressed frustrations was the unwillingness to really engender team decision-making processes as part of organizational developmental activities. The desire for solo operations is strong in the C-Suite. 

And consider John LeCarre’s quote because it is true. Isolation is NOT a good position for trying to generate ideas for improvement:”

Note carefully the reality on the right. We call that image, “One less bump per revolution.”

6. Techniques for balancing intuition and analysis:

• Use intuition as a starting point for further investigation. Brainstorm and capture ALL the ideas. Consider using a program like Stormz to capture the ideas and help in their processing. Dot-voting is another useful technique to generate active involvement and collaborative information processing
• Implement a “cooling-off” period before making important decisions
• Encourage team members to articulate the reasoning behind their intuitive judgments and to focus on collaborative decision making — PLAY with the ideas, which is why using the Square Wheels metaphor is particularly useful.

7. Overcoming Resistance to Change

Consider this reality: 

Showing the Square Wheels metaphor will clearly illustrate to you how people use inefficient processes out of habit or fear of change, because they will TELL you about the problems they deal with and some round wheels that might be implemented.

And generating a process of sharing ideas about what needs fixing and what best practices and other improvement ideas are available is a great way to generate the cognitive dissonance as well as the peer support to make changes. 

But, with one sharing and discussing the image and metaphor, people will be encouraged to share their ideas and generate diverse and additional ideas for improvement. Understanding the psychological factors that contribute to this resistance can help teams develop more effective change management strategies.

8. Leveraging Collective Intelligence

By combining the insights from Kahneman’s systems thinking and Square Wheels, teams can tap into their collective intelligence more effectively. This approach encourages a balance between individual expertise and group collaboration. A lot more can be said about this, but that would be another blog.

9. Methods for harnessing collective intelligence:

• Implement structured brainstorming techniques that engage both System 1 and System 2 thinking. Consider using some of the AI tools such as Stormz or Miro
• Use anonymous idea submission systems to reduce social influence biases if there are some perceived “cultural difficulties” within the workers. (This is not normally a reality but the world of work is a truly crazy place!)
• Encourage cross-functional collaboration to bring diverse perspectives to problem-solving. This can be “politically difficult” in some organizations but it should most surely be something to accomplish. Different people have different perspectives because of workplace differences. Note that ‘interdepartmental collaboration” is an oxymoron in many places and that the term “silos” can be applied to most organizations.

10. Developing Metacognitive Skills

To truly benefit from the combined framework, team members must develop metacognitive skills – the ability to think about their own thinking processes. This self-awareness can help individuals recognize when they are relying too heavily on System 1 thinking and need to engage System 2 for more careful analysis.

11. Techniques for improving metacognition:

• Practice mindfulness and reflection exercises
• Encourage team members to keep decision-making journals
• Conduct regular debriefs to analyze the thought processes behind important decisions

12. Creating a Learning Organization

The Square Wheels metaphor aligns closely with the concept of a learning organization, where continuous continuous improvement, team discussions of issues and opportunities and adaptation of new ideas are core values. By integrating Kahneman’s insights on cognitive processes, teams can create more effective learning loops and knowledge-sharing systems.

13. Strategies for building a learning organization:

• Consider Implementing after-action reviews to capture lessons learned from both successes and failures — work to minimize any perceived negative consequences for failures. In the trial and error image shared above, the most common reaction of managers to the image of the horse pushing the wagon is negative, constructive criticism in 4 of 5 reactions. It is not “hey maybe that will work” nearly as much as, “how stupid can they be?” Do NOT put a Blame Frame around attempts to make progress. (below)
• Create knowledge management systems that make it easy to share and access best practices. Capture all ideas and curate the good ones that cannot be immediately implemented
• Encourage experimentation and view failures as learning opportunities

Don’t put a Blame Frame around attempts to improve

Conclusion

The integration of my Square Wheels metaphor with Kahneman’s systems thinking framework provides powerful tools for enhancing team decision-making and driving organizational change. By understanding the interplay between intuitive (System One) and analytical (System Two) thinking processes, teams can develop strategies to overcome cognitive biases, foster continuous improvement, and make more effective decisions.

The Square Wheels metaphor serves as a tangible reminder of the need to constantly evaluate and improve organizational processes, while Kahneman’s insights offer a deeper understanding of the cognitive mechanisms at play in decision-making. Together, these frameworks empower teams to:

1. Recognize and mitigate cognitive biases
2. Balance intuition with careful analysis
3. Overcome resistance to change
4. Leverage collective intelligence more effectively
5. Develop metacognitive skills for better self-awareness
6. Create a culture of continuous learning and improvement

By embracing this integrated approach, organizations can cultivate more agile, innovative, and effective teams capable of navigating the complexities of modern business environments. The journey from square wheels to round wheels becomes not just a metaphor for organizational change, but a roadmap for cognitive and operational excellence in team decision-making.

If you want to play with these ideas, let’s talk,

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For the FUN of It!

Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools.
Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant who is trying to retire!! He now lives in Cuenca, Ecuador.

You can reach Scott at scott@squarewheels.com
Learn more about Scott at his LinkedIn site.