About

PatternShifts was founded in 2018 as a Texas Historically Underutilized Business and reorganized in 2024 as a Wisconsin woman-owned business with many of the same values and principles developed by the three original partners.


Our programs and services evolve from a three-pronged approach:  A deep understanding of organizational needs, the application of scientific research on cognition and behavior, and highly experiential and personal self-development.

Susan Franzen, Founding Principal, is a collaborative, strategic, and visionary leader with over 25 years of experience in transforming organizations and growing leaders of character. She has served as the Vice President of Strategy and Leadership at AXIOM Learning Solutions, LLC, Leadership and Strategy Manager at The University of Texas Permian Basin, Assistant Director of Organizational Effectiveness at The University of Texas System Administration, and President of LifeU, Inc.

With a Master’s in the Neuroscience of Leadership from Middlesex University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Elmhurst College, Susan brings insights from the latest scientific research on cognition and behavior as well as transformative adult learning theories.

ThoughtShift Methodology

Our ThoughtShift methodology is based on a powerful collection of research in the areas of neuroscience, adaptive leadership, and transformative adult learning.  It involves awareness, examination, exploration, and choice.

The value of this approach is its real-world application and potential for immediate personal reward, which leads to repetition of more desired thoughts while reducing the reward for thoughts that no longer align with our Personal or People Systems.

Using our ThoughtShift methodology, whether applied during coaching, in formal leadership sessions, or as part of an Organizational Systems process, creates a highly personalized learning environment where behavior change can both be observed and measured.

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