Frameworks as Sanity Checks

This post was originally featured in the December 3rd, 2025 newsletter found here: INBOX INSIGHTS, December 3, 2025: Frameworks as Sanity Checks, AI Performance Evaluation

Frameworks Aren’t Buzzwords; They’re Your Sanity Check

I get a good chuckle out of the running joke that “Katie has a framework for that.” Honestly, it’s usually true. If it’s a big, messy problem that involves data, people, and technology, chances are, we’ve broken it down into a repeatable sequence of letters.

Lately, it feels like “framework” has become the hottest buzzword in marketing, right up there with “Generative AI” and “hyper-personalized customer journey.” Everyone has one. There’s the one that promises to fix your content, the one to optimize your sales funnel, and the one that will make you breakfast (okay, maybe not that last one yet, but I’m sure Chris is tinkering with it).

So, are frameworks just another example of corporate jargon we need to ignore? I don’t think so. I’m here to argue that they aren’t buzzwords; they are the essential infrastructure for handling the overwhelming complexity of modern business. You need them because, frankly, they turn complexity into consistency.

The Problem: We’re Drowning in Data and Possibilities

Think about what we’re being asked to manage today. It’s not just a website and an email list anymore. You’re juggling GA4 migrations, multi-channel attribution, ethical AI governance, social media platforms that change algorithms monthly, and the constant pressure to prove ROI to leadership.

It feels like trying to cook a gourmet, seven-course meal without a single recipe or standard operating procedure (SOP). You have all the ingredients (data!), all the fancy equipment (tech stack!), but without a plan, you’re guaranteed to end up with chaos, burnout, and a dish that doesn’t look, taste, or perform the same way twice.

We all want agility—the ability to pivot quickly when the market shifts. But agility isn’t chaos. Agility is the ability to move quickly because you have a strong, reliable foundation built on repeatable processes. That’s exactly what a good framework provides.

Why Consistency Is Your Competitive Advantage

When you look at companies that thrive, especially during periods of massive disruption like the one we’re in now with AI, their secret isn’t a silver bullet technology. Their secret is consistency.

A framework is essentially a standardized recipe for strategic thinking. It ensures that regardless of who is tackling the problem—whether it’s your leadership team, operations, or a new intern you just onboarded—they follow the same logical steps, ask the same critical questions, and arrive at a result that is measurable and repeatable.

I used to work in organizations where every new project started from scratch. We’d waste weeks trying to define the scope, only to realize halfway through that we were using the wrong metrics or hadn’t gotten buy-in from a key stakeholder. Why? Because we didn’t have a shared, repeatable process.

That’s the beauty of standardization. It reduces the cognitive load of having to constantly reinvent your approach, freeing up your valuable human time for the creative, empathetic, and strategic work that truly drives value.

The 5P Framework: A Guide Out of the Weeds

When I set out to build a framework at Trust Insights, I wanted something that forced us to look at a project holistically, not just through the lens of technology. That’s how the 5P Framework was born: Purpose, People, Process, Platform, and Performance.

I saw too many “digital transformations” fail because they bought the technology (Platform) first, then tried to cram their staff (People) into rigid new workflows (Process) without ever defining the measurable goals (Performance) or, most critically, the Why (Purpose).

Here’s how the framework forces clarity:

1. Purpose: What’s the problem we’re actually solving? Not, “We should use AI.” But, “We need to reduce the time spent on manual reporting by 50% to free up our analysts for predictive modeling.” Clarity on your Purpose is everything.
2. People: Who’s involved? Who needs to be trained? Who’s going to resist the change? If you don’t address the human element and change management upfront, your project is doomed.
3. Process: How do we do it today, and how should we do it tomorrow? We need SOPs, clear workflows, and governance. You can’t automate a messy process; you’ll just automate the mess.
4. Platform: Now you choose the tool. Once you know the Purpose, People, and Process requirements, choosing the right platform becomes easy. It’s the last choice, not the first.
5. Performance: How do we know we succeeded? Did we hit the goal set in the Purpose? This loop ensures every investment is tied to a measurable business outcome.

I remember once trying to roll out a new project management tool in a past life. Everyone hated it. Why? Because we focused entirely on the Platform’s features—it had Gantt charts and beautiful dashboards!—but we skipped the People and Process. It was a total flop that wasted time, money, and demoralized the team. If we had used the 5Ps, we would have recognized that the team needed a cultural shift toward transparency, not a new piece of software.

Applying Frameworks to Generative AI

The ultimate complex topic today is Generative AI. It’s moving so fast, it can feel impossible to pin down a strategy. This is where frameworks move from helpful to mandatory.

When clients come to us overwhelmed by AI, we immediately put their challenges through a prioritization system like our TRIPS Framework (Time, Repetition, Importance, Pain, Sufficient Data).

This helps us narrow down the infinite list of possible AI use cases to the one Quick Win that has the biggest impact and the highest chance of success.

For instance, let’s say a task scores high on Repetition (it happens every day) and Pain (the team hates it). That’s a perfect candidate for AI automation because solving that problem delivers instant efficiency and boosts team morale.

But we don’t stop there. Before we press go, we use the 5Ps to check readiness and the 6Cs to check the quality of the Sufficient Data. This combination ensures that the project we choose isn’t just a fun experiment; it’s a strategically sound investment.

Frameworks as Culture Carriers

Ultimately, frameworks are a communication tool. They’re what we use to make sure our actions align with our mission.

When we are transparent and honest, we are clear on our Purpose.

When we are committed and smart, we are rigorous with our Process.

When we are clear and direct, we communicate our Performance metrics.

Frameworks are the guardrails on the racetrack. They don’t stop you from driving fast and pushing the limits of innovation; they just make sure that when you do, you stay on the track and don’t end up in a ditch. They empower your people to experiment safely because they know the boundaries and the agreed-upon steps for measuring risk.

If you don’t have a repeatable framework, you don’t have a strategy—you have a sequence of lucky guesses. And while luck can get you a few quick wins, it won’t sustain a high-performance organization.

So, the next time someone laughs at my love for frameworks, I’m okay with it. They can call it a buzzword. I call it the blueprint for business sanity and the key to turning abstract ideas into quantifiable success.

What are your go-to frameworks? Reply to this email or join the conversation in our free Slack community, Analytics for Marketers!

– Katie Robbert, CEO

Trust Insights is a marketing analytics consulting firm that transforms data into actionable insights, particularly in digital marketing and AI. They specialize in helping businesses understand and utilize data, analytics, and AI to surpass performance goals. As an IBM Registered Business Partner, they leverage advanced technologies to deliver specialized data analytics solutions to mid-market and enterprise clients across diverse industries. Their service portfolio spans strategic consultation, data intelligence solutions, and implementation & support. Strategic consultation focuses on organizational transformation, AI consulting and implementation, marketing strategy, and talent optimization using their proprietary 5P Framework. Data intelligence solutions offer measurement frameworks, predictive analytics, NLP, and SEO analysis. Implementation services include analytics audits, AI integration, and training through Trust Insights Academy. Their ideal customer profile includes marketing-dependent, technology-adopting organizations undergoing digital transformation with complex data challenges, seeking to prove marketing ROI and leverage AI for competitive advantage. Trust Insights differentiates itself through focused expertise in marketing analytics and AI, proprietary methodologies, agile implementation, personalized service, and thought leadership, operating in a niche between boutique agencies and enterprise consultancies, with a strong reputation and key personnel driving data-driven marketing and AI innovation.