how we approach our work?
What’s our main philosophy?
At Trivista Strategies, we're big fans of DEC - and it's not the airport code for Decatur, Illinois USA. It's short for divergence, emergence, and convergence, and it is the essence of design thinking.
Divergence is all about exploring new ideas and possibilities, emergence is where those ideas start to take shape and form, and convergence brings it all together into something amazing. It's like a triathlon for problem solving, and we're here to help you cross the finish line.
Where did we get the idea for trivium?
Like a triathlon, good things come in threes. Trivium is an ancient concept that emphasizes the importance of balance, well-roundedness, and critical thinking. In Latin, it literally means "the place where three roads meet."
From the three foundational subjects of grammar, logic, and rhetoric in education, to the three basic elements of melody, harmony, and rhythm in music, to the three principles of durability, utility, and beauty in architecture, the trivium has proven to be a powerful construct.
The trivium has also appeared in modern frameworks for innovation and design thinking, including the Venn Diagram of desirability, feasibility, and viability from IDEO, and the Minto pyramid for effective communication.
It is present in religious contexts, such as the concept of the Holy Trinity in Christianity, and in philosophical contexts, where it is used to refer to the three domains of reality: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.
The trivium even appears in the structure of the United States government, which is divided into three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial.
What are our values?
At Trivista Strategies, we believe that the enduring philosophy of the trivium provides a strong foundation for our work, which is rooted in the methodology of design thinking - all in service of helping our clients achieve their goals in a holistic and sustainable way. Alongside our philosophy, our values guide our work:
Being hardworking, with a sense of pride in work
Being gentle, with a sense of humility and generosity
Being gracious, with a sense of dignity and propriety
Being optimistic, with a sense of possibility and impact
For the Geeks: Where does trivium show up in history and human experience?
Trivista Strategies has a strong philosophical foundation that draws on the idea of the trivium, which has been present in many fields throughout history. By paying homage to the enduring value of this concept, we believe that we can help our clients approach their challenges with a sense of balance, well-roundedness, and critical thinking.
Trivista Strategies: The trivium we use are the principles of divergence, emergence, and convergence. Divergence is about going broad and being explorative. Emergence is the hard work of sussing out the insights. And convergence is bringing it all together. This pattern repeats itself as we do our work: within a particular design thinking method we might use, and also across methods themselves at a more meta level.
Education: The trivium was originally used in medieval education to refer to the three foundational subjects of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Today, the trivium is still used in some educational settings as a way of emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and effective communication skills, which are essential for success in many areas of life.
Music: The trivium is also used in music to refer to the three basic elements of melody, harmony, and rhythm. By mastering these three elements, musicians can create complex and beautiful compositions that engage and inspire their audiences, and can even push the boundaries of what is possible in the field of music.
Architecture: The trivium is connected to the work of Vitruvius, the father of architecture and engineering. Vitruvius' principles of durability, utility, and beauty are still widely used in these fields today, and are a testament to the enduring value of the trivium as a symbol of balance and well-roundedness in design.
Innovation: The trivium appears in a wide range of frameworks and methodologies for innovation and design thinking, including the popularized Venn Diagram of desirability, feasibility, and viability from IDEO, and the Minto pyramid for effective communication. These frameworks highlight the importance of balancing different aspects of a problem or opportunity to achieve the best outcomes.
Religion: The trivium is present in religious contexts, such as the concept of the Holy Trinity in Christianity, which refers to the three persons of the Christian God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This concept is essential to Christian theology and represents the idea of a God who is both unified and multifaceted.
Philosophy: The trivium is also used in philosophical contexts to refer to the three domains of reality: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. This framework helps us understand the complexity of the world around us and our place in it.
Government: The trivium appears in the structure of the United States, which is divided into three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. This structure is designed to ensure a balance of power and prevent any one branch from becoming too dominant, which is essential for the functioning of a democratic society.
Psychology: The trivium appears in some psychological frameworks, such as Freud's structural model of the psyche, which divides the human mind into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. This framework helps us understand the different aspects of the human psyche and how they interact with one another.
Physics: The trivium concept is present in physics through both the three fundamental particles (protons, neutrons, and electrons) and the three fundamental forces (the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and the electromagnetic force). Understanding these particles and forces is essential to understanding the behavior of matter at the most fundamental level.
Sustainability: The trivium concept can be applied to sustainability through frameworks like the triple bottom line, which emphasizes the three pillars of social, environmental, and economic sustainability, as well as the three spheres of sustainability, which include the environment, the economy, and society. These frameworks help us understand the importance of balancing different factors for a more sustainable world.