The time filter is another indicator of how we make meaning of the world and, most importantly, how we respond to changes.
Do we operate mainly in the past, mainly in the present, or mainly in the future?
Leaders who want to introduce essential changes for the future will often come up against an audience that is past oriented (almost by definition: if they were future-oriented they might have already made the changes themselves). The most persuasive strategy in this situation is likely to involve historical examples that have some similarity to the structure of the desired outcome: these will be influential.
It is also worth recognising other filters that may be in action at the same time. – for example, someone who is strongly oriented to the past is also often very strong on Similarity and may well be centred in Graves’ level 4 (Blue). Building and using systemic awareness is much more likely to yield the desired results than merely arguing how wonderful and exciting this new emerging future is going to be.