Why is it so difficult to spot signs of change in the environment? Why do we often fail to respond in new ways to the shifts we do see? One tool used widely within the Soci- ety for Organizational Learning network, drawn from 60 years of research in cognitive psychology and linguistics, provides some useful answers. The Ladder of Inference is a way of thinking about what goes on when we perceive the world. It distin- guishes several levels on which the mind operates and suggests ways to overcome the psychological blinders that can inhibit fresh under- standing.