The Tricycle Theory of Values

At a recent RUSH leadership offsite, Mike Bennetts (with Taumata Advisory and former CEO of Z Energy) introduced us to a mental model so elegantly simple yet applicable that it's immediately had an impact on how we think about our work. It turns out, the humble tricycle might be the perfect metaphor for organisational success.

As a company that specialises in connecting seemingly disparate dots in the digital landscape, we're always on the lookout for frameworks that make the complex understandable. This one delivered.

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The Value Clusters framework organises human and organisational priorities into three distinct but interconnected categories:

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⏱️ Control Values: These focus on structure, discipline, and efficiency - the systems and processes that keep everything running smoothly.

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🤝 Relational Values: These emphasise connections, collaboration, and shared understanding - how we work together and build trust.

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💡 Developmental Values: These centre on growth, innovation, and adaptability - how we evolve and improve.

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What makes this framework stick is the tricycle metaphor. Imagine your organisation as a tricycle:

• The front wheel represents developmental values, steering your direction and driving innovation
• The two rear wheels symbolise control and relational values, providing stability and balance

Just like a tricycle needs all three wheels to move forward effectively, organisations need all three value clusters working in harmony. Remove or diminish any "wheel," and your progress becomes wobbly, unstable, or completely stalled.

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Why This Matters for Digital Product Companies

This framework resonates deeply with how we approach digital product design and development at RUSH. When we reflect on our most successful client partnerships, they've always maintained a healthy balance across all three value dimensions:

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⏱️ Control: Clear project governance, well-defined processes, and efficient resource allocation

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🤝 Relational: Strong client-agency trust, collaborative problem-solving, and shared understanding of goals

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💡 Developmental: Openness to innovation, adaptation to changing requirements, and continual learning

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When any of these dimensions falls short, we see the effects immediately. An overemphasis on control without developmental values leads to rigid products that don't meet evolving user needs. Strong relationships without proper control structures result in scope creep and missed deadlines. And innovation without relational foundations often produces technically impressive but ultimately unusable solutions.

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The Leadership Connection

Mike's presentation highlighted how understanding these value clusters transforms leadership effectiveness, particularly in client relationships and complex B2B engagements. Leaders who grasp and apply this concept can:

• Communicate more effectively by aligning their approach with client priorities
• Make more informed strategic decisions by considering the balance of all three value dimensions
• Foster genuine innovation through collaborative value creation
• Build stronger trust networks among competing stakeholders
• Drive performance through improved alignment and shared purpose

In our work creating human-centred digital products, this balanced approach isn't just nice-to-have—it's essential. The most successful digital projects maintain momentum across all three value dimensions simultaneously.

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Applying the Tricycle in Practice

As we engage with clients on their digital journeys, we're struck by how often the "missing wheel" explains stalled initiatives. For instance:

• A client might have strong developmental aspirations (they want to innovate) and solid control structures (they have processes in place), but lack the relational foundations to bring their teams along the journey.
• Another organisation might excel at relationships and have robust governance, but lack the developmental courage to truly transform their customer experience.
• Others might be champions of innovation and collaboration, but without the control mechanisms to deliver consistently and efficiently.

The tricycle gives us a language to diagnose these imbalances and address them proactively.

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Confronting the Ordinary

Perhaps what resonated most from Mike's talk was the idea of "confronting the ordinary"—challenging the status quo and comfort zones that keep us from reaching our potential. In the context of value clusters, this means continuously examining whether our tricycle is properly balanced and making the sometimes difficult adjustments when it's not.

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Are we emphasising efficiency at the expense of innovation? Are we so focused on relationships that we've let our delivery discipline slip? Have we become so enamoured with new technologies that we've neglected the human connections that make them meaningful?

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These are the questions that help us confront the ordinary in our work and push toward the extraordinary.

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Final Thoughts

As we integrate this framework into our thinking, we're reminded of our RUSH purpose statement: to design and build technology to better serve humankind. This purpose requires all three value clusters working in harmony. We need the developmental mindset to innovate, the relational foundation to understand human needs, and the control structures to deliver reliable solutions.

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The tricycle metaphor gives us a simple but powerful way to check our balance and ensure we're truly making better happen for our clients and their customers.