The Momentum Framework
How Ideas Gain Traction Through Curiosity Waves
Share Idea
"What if..."
How Ideas Build Momentum
When you share an idea, you create a wave of curiosity. If your three elements are aligned, something amazing happens: they don't just listen - they start asking "What if we..." and building on your idea.
When their curiosity wave meets yours at just the right moment, they amplify each other. Each exchange creates more excitement than the last. That's how ideas gain real momentum.
Trust Equity
Is there balanced trust to explore together?
Think of someone where if they said "I have a wild idea..." you'd lean in, and they'd do the same for you. When trust is unbalanced or too low, waves get distorted into compliance or politeness instead of genuine curiosity.
Potential Alignment
Can they imagine the future you're hinting at?
You need to be envisioning compatible possibilities. If they can't even picture what you're suggesting, or they're imagining something completely different, your waves won't sync up.
Contextual Intrigue
Is their attention nudgeable right now?
You're looking for that "Wait, what?" moment when their focus can be gently shifted toward your possibility. If their attention is scattered elsewhere, even great ideas get distracted responses.
Different Types of Momentum
Unbalanced Trust: Creates compliance or politeness instead of genuine curiosity. Waves don't amplify naturally.
Misaligned Potential: They're imagining different possibilities. You get responses, but they're building toward different futures.
Distracted Attention: Their focus is scattered elsewhere. Responses are delayed, weak, or forced.
All Elements Working: Creates additive momentum where each response makes the next one stronger.
Why This Matters
Most approaches to sharing ideas create reactive momentum. When you pitch, plead, or use power, you're constantly pushing waves at people, trying to force a reaction. Even when it "works," you get compliance, resistance, or politeness - not genuine engagement that builds on itself.
This framework creates additive momentum instead. When trust equity is balanced, potential is aligned, and the moment is right, their response doesn't just react to your energy - it adds new energy to the system. Their "Wait, what?" becomes "What if we..." which amplifies your next response, which amplifies theirs.
The difference is profound: reactive momentum requires you to keep pushing. Additive momentum builds itself once the conditions are right. That's why some ideas spread naturally while others need constant effort to keep alive.