The concept of the “ladder of inference” was originally articulated by Chris Argyris but was brought to the mainstream in 1994 with the “5th Discipline Fieldbook” written by Peter Senge. The concept has become one of the most effective tools in understanding and explaining why we so often get into conflict and fail to get resolution. It is a logical representation of the natural process of decision making used by humans. Please excuse my butchery, but the logical flow is as such:

Jet Blue Airlines

“Some people were asking for help, and others were saying things that weren’t correct,” recalls JetBlue’s manager of corporate communications, Morgan Johnston. He’d been spending time on Twitter search, and he’d realized that JetBlue customers, often on the move, were Twittering about travel problems. “You can only see that a few times before you want to jump in and do something.”

Dell Outlet faces a common but vexing challenge. A division of the giant made-to-order computer business, Dell Outlet carries refurbished equipment and other inventory that it needs to sell quickly. Because the division has to get the word out fast, it doesn’t have the luxury of hiring an agency and developing an ad campaign.