The Three-Shirt Rule: Contextual Performance Is a CEO’s Greatest Asset
The Three-Shirt Rule: Contextual Performance Is a CEO’s Greatest Asset
Published on Rolling Stone Culture Council October 20, 2025 by Jason Barnard
In 2015, I found myself on local TV, but not for my digital marketing expertise. I was playing double bass with a friend in a local acoustic rock band, Barcoustic. For the first half of the gig, I wore a vibrant red shirt (a hand-me-down from the legendary Manu Chao) and switched to a plain blue one for the second.
When I saw the footage, the difference astounded me. Jason, in a blue shirt, was just a guy playing bass. But the red-shirted Jason was a true performer. He was more interesting, more dynamic; he had a completely different personality.
That was the ‘aha’ moment that led to a system I now call the Three-Shirt Rule. I realized that peak performance, both on stage and in the boardroom, comes from being the right person for the right moment. So I built a system using my shirts as the physical artefact I call a “Role Signal” to consciously activate the right persona. I started with two and eventually expanded to three.
This directly challenges a pervasive myth of the monolithic leader. We’re often told that to be truly effective, we must project a single, consistent persona 24/7. I don’t agree.
My Personality-Shifting Shirt Strategy
The idea of using a physical artefact as a trigger to consciously activate the facet of your identity you need in any given situation is a super-effective strategy that is often overlooked. For me, the artefact is the color of my shirt.
I use shirts because they are practical; I wear one every day - at home, at the office or on stage. Your artefact could be anything: a specific ring you put on, an object you place on your desk or something you keep in your pocket. The point is to have a tangible trigger that puts you in the right mindset to be the personality that is most appropriate for the situation.
• The Green Shirt: The Pragmatic CEO
This is my default business state. The Green Shirt is the CEO working on the business, not just in it. This is the version of me that built Kalicube, the Kalicube Pro SaaS and The Kalicube Process™, our proprietary methodology. The Green Shirt is calm, pragmatic and analytical. As CEO, I need deep focus and pragmatism, free from any need to perform or be “on.”
This is the role where I make the right decisions without interference from my emotions. I would suggest that this is a necessary state of mind for any leader… the mode where you solve the hard problems and chart the course.
• The Red Shirt: The Showman Public Figure
When I step onto a stage, appear on a podcast or walk into a high-stakes pitch, the Red Shirt helps me become the performer. With the red shirt, I am the showman and the public face of the company. The Red Shirt’s job is to be dynamic, engaging and memorable. It helps me channel the energy I learned playing bass in a punk folk band across Europe.
This is the role where my goal is to capture attention and build authority in a crowded room. A leader cannot afford to be forgettable (the green shirt is fine), and the red shirt artefact ensures my words and personality cut through the noise.
• The Blue Shirt: The Easy-Going Father and Friend
This is the most important role, and the one I believe many leaders unintentionally sacrifice. The Blue Shirt is me with my daughter, my friends and my girlfriend. This is the private person who needs to be relaxed and fully present with the people who matter most.
The Blue Shirt is my way to just “be” - I relax and replenish… the Blue Shirt keeps me sane.
Three Shirts, One Person
These aren’t three different people; they are three facets of my personality. Each shirt is just an artefact that helps me emphasize what’s needed in the moment: green for pragmatic strategy, red for convincing performance and blue for letting go.
This clarity doesn’t just keep me sane - the people around me appreciate it, too. My team needs the pragmatic, reliable CEO in the green shirt. Clients and partners need the dynamic, authoritative showman in the red shirt. And my friends and family? They don’t need those two; they want the easy-going guy in the blue shirt. And so do I!
Mastering Your Mindset
Ultimately, the greatest challenge for any leader isn’t managing their company; it’s managing themselves. This system, whether you use three shirts or a set of rings, is a practical framework for doing just that. It provides the clarity to separate the strategist from the showman, and the discipline to protect the person behind both roles.
It is a framework for conscious, intentional leadership, ensuring you show up as the right person, in the right mindset, for every moment that matters.
