The Orchestration Triangle
From Chapter 8 of AI and the Art of Being Human
What it is
Integrates three ways of knowing — Data, Intuition, and Context — so you conduct them instead of defaulting to any single one.
Where you would use it
- 01
When an AI-driven recommendation conflicts with your gut
- 02
When a decision feels reduced to a single number
- 03
When efficiency and human context pull in different directions
- 04
Before signing off on a high-stakes, AI-informed decision
The tool
Three Corners (draw a triangle, name the silent one)
- 01
Data (top)
What does the model, the dashboard, the algorithm say? Be specific — name the source, the time window, and the confidence interval.
- 02
Intuition (bottom-left)
What does your trained gut say? Not a guess — the pattern recognition earned through years of practice that the model can't see.
- 03
Context (bottom-right)
What does the room know that the data doesn't? Local history, relationships, the things that don't fit a column. Often where dignity and duty live.
How to use it
Draw a triangle on a single page. Write tomorrow's biggest decision in the center. At each corner, mark where the decision is currently landing — Data, Intuition, or Context. Then name the corner going silent: the one you've been ignoring under pressure. Discuss with one other person what changes if you bring it back in. The goal isn't to balance the corners equally — it's to make sure none of them gets drowned out when the math gets loud. The returns come from integration, not balance.
Try it