Influence Mastery: Change the Frame, Change the Game

First Adapters win on their game boards by mastering Strategic Agility, like a Swiss Army knife, crucial for navigating today's uncertainty and complex landscapes.

This skill set includes three core competencies:

• Game Spotting: First Adapters act like modern-day Sherlock Holmes, through pattern recognition they are adept at decoding hidden dynamics within their environments.
• Pattern Busting: They adapt to challenges and defy expectations, much like Serena Williams who consistently redefines excellence.
• Frame Setting: Influencing others through powerful framing, reminiscent of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.

These tools enable First Adapters to anticipate and orchestrate scenarios that rapidly advance their goals.

In this newsletter edition, I will delve deep into the science of influence by Setting The Frame.

Frame Setting to Influence

Every game is played within a frame, a lens that shapes our understanding and approach to situations.

Effective framing is not just about presenting information; it's about shifting perceptions and guiding outcomes.

For instance, JFK didn't just announce a space mission; he framed it compellingly: to land a man on the moon and return him safely within a decade. This frame didn't merely outline a goal; it galvanized a nation and transformed the space race.

Defining the future context, shapes the conversation.

Without deliberate framing, your ability to influence dramatically diminishes. Powerful frames can change perspectives—suddenly, unexpectedly, and profoundly.

Let’s explore how to master the art of framing to enhance your influence, ensuring your messages resonate deeply and drive meaningful action.

Influence Mastery: Change the Frame, Change the Game

Keep in mind, a frame is a lens, a psychological construct that shapes what matters, creates meaning, and influences judgment. It sets the context. A frame is a way that an argument, or issue is presented.

A crisis can be framed as both danger and opportunity.

I like to say face the danger and focus on the opportunity.

The meaning of an event depends on the frame in which we perceive it.

How do you view your home?

As you look at the image we see how the taxpayer ‘view’s’ their home and how the tax collector ‘view’s’ the same home based upon their frame of reference.

Changing the frame, changes the meaning. This changes the expectations of the taxpayer and tax collector.

Take a moment and consider your interactions. You may discover that communications are frame based.

For example who is one up or one down can be heard in the communications framing, one person may be telling and the other person passively asking.

Now consider context. When people speak about context, they are often pointing to their frame of reference.

What is the context of your conversation, to win or engage in deeper conversation for connection. Those are different frames. To keep good relations, you might want to acknowledge the other person’s frame, their point of view, before you try to change or challenge it.

On the other hand, or in other contexts, when people have a difference of opinion, the person who can frame the decision more skillfully typically wins more often.

Frames and Leadership

Leadership is fundamentally a social interaction. Every meeting, conversation, or decision-making session is a social encounter.

Social interactions are shaped by frames—the mental structures that guide how people interpret and respond to situations. Therefore, all leadership is driven by framing. Simply put: Leadership is framing.

As a leader, you are either actively framing the conversation or letting others define it for you. When you master framing, you steer people toward actions that drive meaningful change. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt framed the challenge during the Great Depression by saying, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." This powerful frame mobilized a nation to act with courage and resilience.

In high-pressure environments, framing becomes even more crucial. Think of a modern executive navigating uncertainty: if they set the frame as a chance to thrive amid disruption rather than merely survive it, their team responds with confidence and adaptability. The leaders who consistently control the frame drive the conversation, influence decisions, and shape outcomes.

Influential leaders

If you want to have impact you must influence, move people to take action.

Influence is the hidden force that shapes behavior, drives decisions, and ultimately changes outcomes. Leaders who master influence know that perception shapes reality, it drives behavior.

As I often say, "Perception may not be reality, but it controls meaning."

Influence masters, therefore, are masters of meaning—they shape perceptions, control the narrative, and create lasting impact.

To rapidly change the game, you must change the frame of the conversation.

How a situation is framed determines how others perceive it and, subsequently, how they act. Mastering influence is about understanding and controlling the meanings people assign to events, problems, or opportunities.

Kathy’s Transformation

Kathy, a VP of Quality, struggled to make an impact. 40% of her strategic initiatives were being rejected by the CEO, leaving her frustrated and disheartened.

But those struggles are now behind her. On her gameboard she achieved an 85% approval rate and a seat at the table.

How did she make such a big shift?

Kathy and I had a conversation about the CEO’s priorities—his "gameboard," as I call it.

She thought she understood it and believed she was already working to influence him effectively. In reality, she was only presenting the benefits of her proposals. In fact, she was doing the exact opposite of what he needed to do and didn’t realize it. The proverbial shooting herself in the foot.

Instead, we explored the brain science of framing.

The question was: What’s more persuasive to the brain—gains or losses?

Losses, according to the research, are more powerful than gains. That doesn’t mean that only negative influence works, or that negative frames are more influential. This is about loss. We often hear about the powerful effects of the fear of missing out.

It means how you frame the consequences of your message matters.

With that in mind, Kathy revised her proposals to emphasize the consequences and costs of not taking immediate action. The result? An 85% approval rate.

Here is the before and after language.

Before: Kathy was logical and clear about the benefits of her strategic initiatives. Here’s what it gains and an ROI of the investment.

But it wasn’t compelling to the CEO, he had other strategic funding requests on his plate. She didn’t speak to the risk.

After: She changed the frame by saying something like, “Here are our challenges and we have a window of time to meet them. The consequences are tha if we don’t make timely decisions on this issue our competitors will win the business, and it will cost more to catch up.”

And there is an after of how the CEO perceived Kathy.

As I was speaking with the CEO about her progress, he said, “she seems smarter”. But the truth is, she was always smart. She had simply learned how to frame her ideas differently.

Now, he insists that she have a seat at the table and be part of all future high-stakes decisions.

Make Yourself Indispensable Through Influence Mastery:

Control Perception, Shape Meaning:

In another Newsletter we will discuss how politicians play to people’s fears to influence them.

Fear triggers the brain’s amygdala making people emotional hostages. Unscrupulous leaders control people by controlling fear. And let me state clearly, they know what they are doing.

While emotions shape meaning, the other side of the coin is when you can’t convince someone and you want to. And if you've ever wondered why your ideas aren't gaining traction, it might be because the conversational frame isn't directed at the way people decide.

Leaders who influence effectively know how to guide people’s perceptions by framing challenges in a way that naturally leads to decisive solutions. When you control the narrative, your ideas become the focal point and move people toward action.

→ Tip: Start by phrasing problems to show how the solution is not only necessary but inevitable. For example, instead of saying, "We need to improve sales," say, "With this strategy, our customers will feel now is the time to buy."

Influence is a Game of Perception

At its core, influence isn’t about forcing people to agree with you. In fact, that is counterproductive. And bad leadership. It’s about shaping how they see the situation, at the level of meaning.

If you can shape someone’s perception, you shape the story they tell themselves, and in turn, you shape the outcome.

There are two key elements that drive influence:

1. How people perceive reality and
2. How you create meaning around your message.

→ Perception Drives Reality

People act based on how they see things. If they see a situation as urgent, they’ll respond quickly. If they see you as a trusted leader with the right solution, they’ll follow your lead without hesitation.

Perception is the magic of the magician, and the leader's friend.

→ Masters of Influence Shape Meaning

Those who are truly influential don’t just offer solutions—they create meaning around those solutions. They connect them to both the emotions and the logic of the people they’re influencing. This ability to create meaning changes how people respond to ideas, making you stand out and become essential in any conversation or room you enter.

The Ultimate Value of Influence Mastery:

Leaders who master influence don’t just lead—they control the game by shaping how people perceive, interpret, and act on the world around them.

You don’t have to be in a position of authority to be the most influential person in the room. Remember, in any conversation it’s the meaning that matters. In fact, the ability to influence, to shape meaning levels the playing field.

This mastery of meaning, combined with the ability to frame conversations strategically, ensures that they are always the driving force behind the most important decisions and actions in their organization.

By changing the frame, you change the game. And when you consistently shape the narrative and mobilize others, you become not just a leader, but the indispensable authority that people turn to when it matters most.

The Power of Framing

There are many different kinds of frames

Time frames drive decision-making

Status frames determine who is reacting to whom

Friend or Foe frames change the nature of the relationship

Moral frames are stronger appeals than most arguments

Big idea frame set exactly what the stakes are on the issue

Which is more influential: a valid argument or a vivid argument?

Social science says vivid frames beat valid frames.

I recommend making your valid arguments vivid.

As neuroscientist Greg Berns points out, the key ability of game-changers is influence. Without influence, even the best ideas can fail.

Are you going to throw the dice or frame the game?

So, how do you become a game-changer?

Start by asking yourself: What frame will change the game?

Plant the seeds of greatness.

Change the frame, change the outcome.

About Steven Feinberg, PhD

Steven Feinberg, PhD., is a distinguished Neurostrategist, Executive Coach, and High Performance Team Builder, renowned for enhancing the capabilities of some of America's sharpest and smartest brains and businesses.

His current work is on Mastering Your Game: unlocking the hidden game of patterns to excel. With an extensive portfolio of work with CEOs, senior executives, and business founders, he has contributed to the success of organizations ranging from billion-dollar Corporate 500s to vibrant entrepreneurial startups, including notable brands such as Apple, Nvidia, Google, Visa, Oracle, LinkedIn, Wells Fargo, Autodesk, and Xero, ranked the Number 1 innovation startup. He also works with public service organizations, like the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

For almost three decades, Dr. Feinberg served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco School of Management. Steven guest lectured at prestigious institutions like Stanford and Cal Poly. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Amazon bestsellers, "The Advantage-Makers” and "Do What Others Say Can’t Be Done: Play The Meta-Game”

With more than 40 years of direct experience in high-pressure, high-stakes business environments. Dr. Feinberg specializes in Mastering Your Game, to excel by transforming uncertainty into opportunities for high-velocity advancement, achieving remarkable impact for both individuals and teams.

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