Power of the color RED

Early in my career, I encountered two striking examples that revealed just how powerfully color and focus can shape — or derail — a conversation.

We were in the process of rolling out an internal marketing scorecard, and I began by interviewing each of the VPs to understand which metrics mattered most to them. From those conversations, I built a simple spreadsheet: KPIs as rows, VPs as columns, with each cell labeled “High,” “Medium,” or “Low” based on the priorities they had shared with me. To make the data easier to read at a glance, I color-coded the cells — green for “High” and red for “Low” — and distributed the sheets at the start of our alignment meeting.

I had barely begun my opening remarks when one of the VPs interrupted to ask why his cells were red. I was, quite literally, one sentence away from explaining exactly that. As I acknowledged his question and started to respond, a second VP jumped in with the same concern. When I looked around the room, everyone had their fingers tracing across the page, scanning their own rows — and it was immediately clear they were all forming the same question.

In a matter of seconds, I witnessed two things happen simultaneously: the undeniable power of color to direct attention, and the rapid onset of what I came to call “chasing reds” — a phenomenon where the instinct to defend or explain a low rating completely overtakes the intended agenda.

Having sat in enough executive discussions over the years, I can say with confidence that this kind of distraction is remarkably common, even among the most seasoned leadership teams.