A Decade of Framework Thinking — With More to Come
Published Books
Two published books and a forthcoming trilogy. One thread runs through all of them: how systems under tension — individuals, organizations, nations — can channel disruption into breakthrough innovation.
Tension: The Energy of Innovation
2015 · Co-authored with Mitch Wasden
The book that introduced the Tension Transformation Framework. Tension makes the case that organizational tension is not a problem to be solved but the energy source for innovation. Drawing on decades of experience in healthcare consulting and entrepreneurship, Chris and co-author Mitch Wasden show leaders how to recognize, diagnose, and channel tension productively.
The book distinguishes between three response patterns — maladaptive, adaptive, and creative — and provides practical tools for shifting organizations from incremental improvement to paradigm-shifting transformation. It remains the foundational text for all of Chris’s advisory and speaking work.
What Leaders Say
“Tension contains very practical wisdom to guide leaders to move towards, and embrace, creative tension.”
— Ed Catmull, Co-Founder of Pixar, President of Walt Disney & Pixar Animation Studios“Innovation is the key to long-term organizational survival. This is an important read and a great confidence builder for leaders of established companies.”
— Neal Patterson, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, Cerner
Solving for Why: Change Your Identity, Change Your Destiny
2019 · Co-authored with Mitch Wasden
The intellectual bridge between the original Tension and the TTF Trilogy. Solving for Why introduces the BKD framework — Being, Knowing, Doing — and argues that sustainable transformation begins with identity, not strategy. Organizations and individuals who try to change what they do without changing who they are inevitably revert to old patterns.
The book explores how purpose-driven organizations navigate tension differently than those optimizing for efficiency alone. It introduces the concept that “solving for why” — understanding the deeper purpose behind disruption — unlocks creative responses that “solving for what” or “solving for how” cannot.
The TTF Trilogy
Three books that apply the Tension Transformation Framework at every scale — from the personal to the organizational to the civilizational. Each volume stands alone; together they form a comprehensive system for understanding how opposition drives transformation.
Opposition in All Things — A Letter to My Posterity
The personal scale. Written as a letter from father and grandfather to posterity, this volume establishes the ontological foundation: opposition is an eternal feature of existence, not a problem to solve. Drawn from 57 countries and 40 years of lived experience, it shows how individuals can learn to embrace creative tension in their own lives.
Tension: The Energy of Innovation (Second Edition)
The organizational scale. A complete reimagining of the 2015 original, rebuilt from scratch with institutional data, comparative research, and healthcare case studies. Each chapter opens with a real organization facing disruption, maps the three response patterns, and resolves through identity insight.
Creating Spontaneous Order
The civilizational scale. Applies the TTF to America itself — revealing how structural superpowers like federalism, mobility, and free speech create the world’s most productive innovation engine. Shows why decentralized experimentation outperforms centralized planning at every level, from healthcare policy to national competitiveness.
Bring the Frameworks to Your Organization
Each book’s framework can be experienced live — as a keynote for your event or applied directly to your organization’s strategic challenges.