Spatial Thinker
Skating Lanes. Rewriting Rules. Reframing Relevance.
In a world still obsessed with verticals,
I’ve learned to think in space.
Not swim lanes.
Not silos.
Not job descriptions.
Space.
The kind where connections are made sideways.
Where pattern recognition outpaces protocol.
Where context matters more than credentials.
I call this being a Spatial Thinker.
And if you’re reading this, maybe you’re one too.
NOW: The Limits of Vertical Thinking
Most systems still favor specialization.
Climb the ladder. Master the niche. Stay in your lane.
And for a long time, this worked.
Vertical thinking brought structure, scale, and predictability.
But the world isn’t predictable anymore.
It’s not linear. It’s layered. It’s entangled.
Enter the spatial thinker.
We see across. We stitch things together.
We don’t just solve for efficiency; we solve for emergence.
If you’re a generalist, a connector, a narrative synthesizer…
You’ve probably felt out of place in vertical structures.
Not because you’re unfocused.
But because you’re seeing things that those structures were never built to hold.
Ask yourself:
~ Where am I being measured by a vertical lens that doesn’t fit the value I bring?
~ What connections do I make that others don’t even see?
NEW: Playing the Game Sideways
Being a spatial thinker means learning how to thrive in environments built for vertical rules.
You don’t need to become more linear.
You need to make your contextual intelligence visible.
Here’s how:
Name Your Connective Value
You see the throughlines. Say them out loud. Frame your pattern recognition as insight, not intuition.
Translate Across Domains
Your ability to skate across industries, disciplines, or stories is rare. Don’t hide it. Highlight it as your edge.
Narrate Your Navigation
Spatial thinkers often lead quietly, behind the scenes, between the cracks. Start telling the story of how you move.
This isn’t about fitting in.
It’s about becoming legible, without compromising what makes you multidimensional.
NEXT: Designing from the Edges
ShiftStory exists because I refused to work only in verticals.
Because linear frameworks couldn’t hold the layered complexity of a human life.
Narrative work. Real narrative work requires spatial intelligence.
Not just what’s said. But what’s not said.
Not just the resume.
But the resonance.
Spatial thinkers are architects of nuance.
Of context.
Of transformation that doesn’t follow protocol, but invites presence.
So here’s the provocation:
What if your next move wasn’t about climbing higher…but widening your field?
What if the future didn’t reward depth or breadth, but dimensionality?
In a world reshaped by AI, your greatest asset won’t be raw knowledge.
It will be your ability to see the space between.
THE PAYOFF: A Mind That Moves Across Is the One That Moves Things Forward
In the Now, we name the friction we feel when we don’t fit the mold.
In the New, we claim the power of seeing sideways and skating diagonals.
In the Next, we design systems and stories that aren’t about climbing, but composing.
If you’re ready to stop shrinking your story to fit someone else’s frame,
Let’s build a mosaic instead.
ShiftStory is for spatial thinkers like you.
Not because you need help being more linear,
But because your depth deserves a narrative that can move across, through, and beyond.
You’re not a lane.
You’re a landscape.
And a Shift Story becomes the map for how you will realize that landscape.
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” ~ Albert Einstein
I’m Tobin Trevarthen, a Narratologist, founder of Spatial Shift by Tobin, co-author of Narrative Generation, and creator of ShiftStory™.
I’ve spent decades in the corporate and start-up worlds, selling over $1 billion in marketing programs before shifting into narrative work designed to help people and organizations make sense of transformation through storytelling.
I’ve worked with founders, executives, startups, Global 1000 companies, and cultural institutions to design narrative frameworks that spark clarity and alignment.
Now New Next is where I reflect on the long game, with a sense of urgency. I write for modern elders, edge thinkers, and curious builders trying to name what matters now, what’s emerging, and what’s worth pursuing next.
You’ll find no hype here. Just a mix of strategy, story, and soulful direction for a shifting world. I also write about narrative worth, identity, and becoming a portrait of you.
ShiftStory™ is my new ideation for building narrative agency in uncertain times. The pilot Walk n Talks have helped to shape the program now in progress with a few test customers.
I am pleased with the early feedback and will be launching the beta program this summer. It will be limited to 10 participants in the first cohort.
Follow me on LinkedIn. Or DM at tobin@spatialshift.com for more information.
Join my success roster of Global 1000 companies, Senior Executives, and Emerging Movements.
My mom told me that I was spatial.
Toby, so good, interesting, necessary, thanks!