The Decision-Making Studio Podcast

Today, we tackle some big-picture questions about the role of business in society when it comes to protecting human rights and democracy. And of course, this is very topical. I am honour to welcome Michael Posner to the show. Michael is the director of the Centre for Business and Human Rights at New York University's Stern School of Business. He is a human rights lawyer, and he was Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour under the Obama administration. He is the author of a new book, Conscience Incorporated: Pursue Profits While Protecting Human Rights, which, given the state of things in the world and the United States, is pretty timely and important. Michael covers a ton of ground here, from the primacy of shareholder capitalism, how to make decisions in a world comprised of competing expectations and trade-offs, the tensions associated with decisions around human rights and environmental concerns, when CEOs should speak up, and his thoughts on the Trump administration and what's happening with regard to the United States' role in the world and to democracy and human rights. Show notes: Michael Posner - https://bhr.stern.nyu.edu/author/michaelposner/ Conscience Incorporated: Pursue Profits While Protecting Human Rights - https://bhr.stern.nyu.edu/publication/conscience-incorporated/ Centre for Business and Human Rights at New York University's Stern School of Business - https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/about/departments-centers-initiatives/centers-of-research/business-and-human-rights/center-business-and-human-rights Fair Labour Association - https://www.fairlabor.org/ Xinjiang, forced labour, and solar panels - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-57124636 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=cbd8d34efe Get in touch: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/contact-us

Today, we talk about happiness. Is happiness a choice? Is it a skill? Is it a set of practices? Is it all those things? What's the difference between happiness and fulfilment or well-being? I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Mark Fabian to the show. Mark is a professor of public policy at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He was previously a Fulbright scholar. He studies well-being from an interdisciplinary lens. Mark is also the author of a fabulous new book called Beyond Happy - How to Rethink Happiness and Find Fulfilment. So, we talk all about that in this episode, including what happiness is, the foundations of happiness, success and its hidden costs, relationships, happiness and the decisions we make, and something very important today - happiness and confronting nihilism. Show notes: Mark Fabian Beyond Happy - How to Rethink Happiness and Find Fulfilment. Theory of Subjective Well-being Hedonic treadmill Introjection Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation Moneyball Sonya Lyobomirsky Epicureanism Laurie Santos Jonathan Haidt Cyber punk _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=cbd8d34efe Get in touch: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/contact-us

Today, we delve into the world of organizations and what my guest calls a “future-fit” organisational culture. My guest is Geoff Marlow and he has over three decades of experience around the world helping organisations create these future-fit cultures. That term caught my attention because around here, we're interested in the future and uncertainty. For part of his career, Geoff spent time on the leadership team of the Society for Organisational Learning, which included the legendary Dr. Peter Senge - a renowned or was a renowned management guru and Arie de Geus, a scenario thinker who was the head of Shell's strategic planning group. Geoff helps leaders understand why organisations fail or succeed. And we tackle all of that in this conversation. We get into Geoff's three aspects of a future-fit culture, which are sense-making, decision-making, and action-taking. We also talk about leadership, change, and so much more. Show notes: Geoff’s substack: https://geoffmarlow.substack.com/ Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreymarlow/ Peter Senge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Senge The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge Mike Jackson and Critical Systems Thinking The Dance of Change by Peter Senge Geoff’s “The Five Fatal Habits” The Big Con by Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington Intentional Revolutions by Nevis, Lancourt and Vassallo Eric Weinstein’s DISC – “Distributed Idea Suppression Complex” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=cbd8d34efe Get in touch: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/contact-us

What can we learn about business and society from a seasoned sustainability practitioner? Plenty! Meet Isobel O'Connell. Isobel has a couple of decades of experience in areas related to the environment, social issues - particularly local community consultation across the globe, human rights and related areas. She's now an advisor, and a board member, and was named one of the top global 50 women in sustainability. In this episode, she shares several insights and perspectives from her broad career in these areas. We get into a variety of stories, the different landscapes and definitions out there for things like ESG and corporate social responsibility, how these things have evolved, and how people who work in these areas navigate a variety of complexities and trade-offs when it comes to decision-making. This conversation provides a fascinating window into how both business and society interact via a career path you perhaps didn’t know existed. Show notes: Isobel on LinkedIn The Juukan Gorge destruction Double materiality assessment UN Global Compact Alison Taylor on The Decision-Making Studio Podcast OECD Guidelines for citizen participation processes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=1e2a6c0ea9 Get in touch: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/contact-us

This episode is about thinking differently around climate change, and it will help you think about this topic much more expansively. My guest is John Morrison, who is the CEO of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, which is a global “think and do tank” with consultative status at the United Nations. John serves on a number of boards and advisory councils, and he is the author of a new book called The Just Transition - A Systems Thinking Approach to Climate Action. And John posits that if we try to solve the climate crisis in isolation from tackling other challenges, particularly social challenges around how local communities and workers feel about a transition to a net zero world, we won't solve the climate crisis. Things are interconnected and we need to recognise that. So, we get into that. We talk about systems thinking, navigating the complexity of these topics, trade-offs, technology, accountability, and of course, decision-making. According to John, we need to move beyond narrow, linear and box-ticking type of approaches to these challenges. Otherwise, we are doing ourselves and the planet a huge disservice. Show notes: John Morrison The Just Transition - A Systems Thinking Approach to Climate Action The Institute for Human Rights and Business Herbert Simon Donella Meadows Free, prior and informed consent The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive The EU Corporate Responsibility Reporting Directive Transition minerals _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=1e2a6c0ea9

Why is it seemingly so difficult to find a human to speak to when having an issue with your bank or mobile phone company? And if you do, why do they sound like robots and/or aren’t empowered to make a decision that will solve your problem? More broadly and worryingly, why is it nearly impossible to hold an individual accountable for decisions that led to a major societal or organisational calamity like the Global Financial Crisis, or the UK’s Post Office Scandal? Something is going on, and today, we're going to talk about it. My guest is author Dan Davies, and we are talking about his latest book, The Unaccountability Machine - Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions and How the World Lost Its Mind. The book was long-listed for the Financial Times and Schroder's Business Books of the Year. Dan is a former investment banker turned author. His previous book, Lying for Money, was about the 2008 global financial crisis in which no banker went to jail. Dan became interested in why that was the case and to see if the same types of causes for that exist elsewhere. And they do. And it led him to write The Unaccountability Machine. Dan also has a wonderful term called the “accountability sink”, in which a human system delegates decision-making to a rule book rather than an individual, which means that when something goes wrong, no one is to blame. We get into all of that and so much more. Show notes: -The Unaccountability Machine: https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/ -Dan’s newsletter: https://backofmind.substack.com/ -Dan’s author page: https://profilebooks.com/contributor/dan-davies/ -Lying for Money: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38605195-lying-for-money?from_search=true -Dan’s previous appearance on the podcast: https://allthingsrisk.libsyn.com/ep-89-dan-davies-lying-for-money -Stafford Beer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford_Beer -Brian Eno: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno -“Designing Freedom”, Stafford Beer’s lectures from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNVZ3IuNlXY&list=PLW6YNX5jIRDEvjZz0_icNAaelHXArzfc- -Norbert Wiener: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener -Neural Networks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_network_(machine_learning) -Variety engineering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_(cybernetics) -Good regulator in management cybernetics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_regulator -Ben Recht: https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~brecht/bio.html -Jen Pahlka’s Recoding America: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61796680-recoding-america -William Butler Adams / Brompton Bicycles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Butler-Adams _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=1e2a6c0ea9

Today, I welcome Roger Spitz back to the show. Roger is a futurist, author, and president of Techistential, which is a strategy consultancy. He's also the chair of The Disruptive Futures Institute, which is a global education hub. For the purposes of this episode, however, he is the author of a new book, Disrupt with Impact - Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World, which is all about helping to guide us through uncertainty and unpredictability. Roger was in London at the end of last year and we met up and recorded this fabulous episode in an external studio. We covered lots of ground with this chat, including what Roger means by “disruption 3.0”, uncertainty, AI, some of the shortcomings of our education system, and what leaders can and should be doing to disrupt with impact. Show Notes: Disrupt with Impact - https://www.thrivingondisruption.com/disrupt-with-impact Roger on LinkedIn - Roger Spitz Techistential – www.techistential.ai Roger on the podcast on episode 198 - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LTP4xkhxwpjwpUEDeE7Xe?si=LhgixrbnRXGB9OXSccLK4Q Joseph Schumpeter - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter Clayton Christensen - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Christensen Dr. Peter Bishop - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-bishop-2866257/ Teach the Future - https://www.teachthefuture.org/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ All our podcast episodes are here: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=1e2a6c0ea9

This “inbetweenisode” is based on the latest edition of our newsletter. It’s all about uncertainty. After two and a half decades of working with decision-making under uncertainty, I have come to the following conclusion: uncertainty is about emotion. Show notes: Our latest newsletter: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=f19fc74942b40b513cf66af32&id=1e2a6c0ea9 Scenario planning guide: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-cattaneo_scenario-planning-taster-guide-activity-7200947403045175296-EXlT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ Subscribe to our podcast: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast

For the past few years, I've had Daniel Wagner on the show at about this time of year to give a look ahead at the state of the world from a geopolitical perspective. We do that again as 2024 comes to a close and 2025 is just a few days away. Daniel is my co-author of Decision-Making in the Polycrisis Era. He is the CEO of Country Risk Solutions and knows quite a bit about geopolitics. This is a conversation that I hope gets you to be perhaps a bit more curious about the state of the world. It is concerning out there, and we don't shy away from that. But with understanding comes a better ability to act. _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ Subscribe to our podcast: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast

Today, we're going to hear about something called “the housefly effect”, which is all about how little interventions affect our behaviour and how we don't even realize that. My guests are the co-authors of a fascinating book by the same name, The Housefly Effect – How Nudge Psychology Steers Your Everyday Behaviour. They are Dr. Eva van den Broek, and Tim den Heijer, both are based in the Netherlands. Eva holds a PhD in behavioural economics and is the founder of Behavioral Insights. She works with a lot of policymakers on these topics. Tim is a creative strategist, the founder of B.R.A.I.N. Creatives and has over 20 years of experience in advertising for some of the biggest brands in the world. And they make a great team, as you will hear. This conversation is a fun one, but it makes you think. And, as you listen to it, it's interesting to consider the choices that we make and whether or not there's something at play in these decisions that's almost imperceptible - the housefly effect. Small things can have big impacts. And if we understand that, it opens many fascinating possibilities. Show Notes: The Housefly Effect – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Housefly-Effect-Psychology-Everyday-Behaviour/dp/183501142X Eva on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evdbroek/ Tim on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timdenheijer/ Eva’s firm Stichting Behavioural Insights - https://www.behaviouralinsights.nl/ Tim’s firm B.R.A.I.N. Creatives - https://braincreatives.nl/wie Morioka Shoten – the Tokyo bookshop that only sells one book: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/23/japanese-bookshop-stocks-only-one-book-at-a-time Robert Cialdini - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini Gerd Gigerenzer – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Gigerenzer Koen Smets – https://behavioralscientist.org/author/koen-smets/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ Subscribe to our podcast: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast

Today, we talk about one of the most influential people in world history - how he thought and how he made decisions. That person is Charles Darwin, the man who caused the Western World to reassess what it thought was true. Charles Darwin had a way of thinking and deciding and hear all about that in this episode. We obviously could not get Charles himself. However, we have fabulous conversation with his great-great grandson, Chris Darwin. Chris has very interesting background. Earlier his early life he had enough of hearing about his famous ancestor and he pursued a career in advertising. As you will hear however, he came back to Charles and how he thought and how he made decisions. Chris is based in Australia. He is an author, adventurer, and conservationist. He joins me in a stimulating, fun and insightful discussion into how Charles Darwin thought and made decisions. Show notes: The Darwin Challenge Chris on finding one’s purpose Tiny Habits by B.J. Fogg Atomic Habits by James Clear _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ Subscribe to our podcast: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast

Today, we talk about the arc of international business in Russia over the past 30-some years. Our guest is Charles Hecker. Charles is a self-professed “Russia geek” who has written a fabulous new book entitled Zero Sum - The Arc of International Business in Russia. It largely covers the time starting from the fall of the Soviet Union to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's utterly fascinating on so many levels. International business in Russia, as you will hear, is almost like a huge natural experiment in decision-making. You will hear about complex to nuanced decisions, bad decisions, good decisions, and downright batshit crazy decisions. To fully understand and appreciate a topic as complex as Russia, you need to live and breathe it, and Charles has and does. He studied in Russia during the Cold War. He was a journalist there with Moscow Times in the 1990s and also led Control Risks Russia office in the country. Control Risks is a specialist risk consultancy where Charles and I were colleagues. Charles is also a great storyteller. That will come through in this conversation and it also comes through in the book which is filled with colour. In reading it, one can almost see, and smell vodka dripping from the page and imagine oneself in Russia in the nineties and the noughties. While it's impossible to go back in time and fully understand what people were thinking and feeling when they made decisions when it comes to business decision-making in Russia, Charles's account comes about as close as you can get. Show notes: Charles’ website - https://www.charleshecker.com/ Zero Sum - The Arc of International Business in Russia Charles on LinkedIn The loans for shares scheme The BRICS Mikhail Khodorkovsky Yukos The Kursk submarine disaster TNK-BP The Beslan school siege The Moscow theatre siege Putin’s 2007 speech at the Munich Security Conference The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ Subscribe to our podcast: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Sign up for our “Decision Navigators” course: https://lnkd.in/eMZSPft4

Today, I bring you my conversation with an absolute legend, Gary Klein. Gary is a renowned pioneer in naturalistic decision-making. He has extensively researched how experienced professionals (e.g. experienced physicians, firefighters, police officers, etc.) make decisions in high-pressure environments, relying on their intuition without extensive analysis. This led Gary to develop the “Recognition Primed Decision Model”. And if you've ever come across the PreMortem technique, Gary invented that. The PreMortem is something that helps decision-makers anticipate failures before they occur. He's also collaborated with Nobel laureate, the late Daniel Kahneman, but did so as “collaborative adversaries” as he has a different take on cognitive biases. And you will hear more about that directly from Gary. Gary's work also inspired Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, and so much more. He is an absolute legend. In this conversation, we talk about the role of intuition and decision-making in reducing errors and enhancing insights, which Gary has done extensive work on. Gary shares some great context and advice on the PreMortem and so much more. I think Gary's work is essential to understanding and practising quality decision-making. Show notes: Gary’s website Naturalistic Decision-Making - www.naturalisticdecisionmaking.org Gary’s firm, Shadow Box Training: www.naturalisticdecisionmaking.org Gary’s “Masterclass in Practical Decision-Making” QR code to the masterclass: Gary’s latest book, Snapshots of the Mind Recognition-primed Decision Model PreMortem method Gary’s article with Daniel Kahneman, “A Failure to Disagree” Gary’s book Seeing What Others Don’t – The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast Sign up for our “Decision Navigators” course: https://lnkd.in/eMZSPft4

This episode is a bit different. It’s a “Decision Clinic” in which Dr. Melina Moleskis and I offer some views on three “decision dilemmas” submitted to us by wonderful listeners. The format is a bit like an “ask me anything” podcast. Enjoy! Show notes: Sign up for our Decision Navigators course: https://tdo04pxyq8y.typeform.com/to/Bgn3Qd5K FOCUS framework Weight and rate tool Hot and cold empathy gap Base rates Premortem Inversion Trip wires Susan David _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast

This episode is all about how to perform better in a crisis. I am joined today by Dr. Dan Dworkis. He's not only an emergency physician, he's someone who's taken the high pressure experiences of the emergency room and turned them into a framework for performing better under pressure across all kinds of fields from emergency medicine to the boardroom. He's the founder of The Emergency Mind Project. In this episode, we deep dive into how Dan helps teams and individuals build the skills needed to handle unpredictable situations. We get into understanding emergencies, decision-making under pressure, training for these types of situations, recognizing and responding to them, listening and learning from errors, debriefing, recovery, and so much more. Show Notes: The Emergency Mind Project Dan’s book: The Emergency Mind: Wiring Your Brain for Performance Under Pressure The Emergency Mind’s “Crisis Skill Test” Annie Duke Dave Snowden _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast Have a tricky decision to make? Consider taking it to “The Decision Clinic” Get in touch: hello@thedecisionmaking.studio

In this episode, I sit down with Joel Pearson, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia where he is a Director of the Future Minds Lab and a leader in the science of intuition and decision-making. This conversation will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about intuition. We often hear that intuition should either be suppressed in decision-making or trusted like some kind of mystical superpower. The reality, as Joel reveals, is far more nuanced—and far more fascinating—than either of those extremes. Joel and his team have developed groundbreaking methods to measure intuition and mental imagery, offering a rare glimpse into how these elusive processes work in our brains. Throughout the episode, he breaks down his five rules for knowing when to trust your intuition and when to ignore it. He explains how intuition is a learned skill, not an innate talent, and how it can be both a powerful tool and a dangerous trap depending on the situation. He also introduces the concept of "mis-intuition," where our gut instincts lead us astray, and shares compelling examples of when intuition works and doesn’t. From life-or-death decisions in the military to everyday choices in business, this episode will challenge your assumptions and give you practical insights on making better decisions. This episode is a must-listen if you’ve ever wondered whether to trust your gut or dismiss it. Show notes: Joel’s website Joel’s book - Intuition: Unlock Your Brain's Potential to Build Real Intuition and Make Better Decisions Future Minds Lab Joel on LinkedIn Joel’s Five Rules for Using Intuition Self-awareness:Mastery:Impulses and Addiction:Low Probability Events:Environment: Associative Learning (Pavlov’s Dogs) Context-Dependent Memory System 1 and System 2 Thinking (Daniel Kahneman) and Thinking Fast, and Slow by Kahneman The Monty Hall Problem The Gambler’s Fallacy Alchemy by Rory Sutherland Gary Klein Box breathing _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ get in touch: hello@thedecisionmaking.studio

This is Part Two of Two of our conversation with Marischa van Zantvoort and Alasdair Philip. You will probably get more out of it by listening to Part One. Show notes: Marischa Alasdair Magnifor Consulting William Gibson Gemba walks Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech – “Make Good Art” Sir James Black _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ get in touch: hello@thedecisionmaking.studio

Our latest episode and this is Part One of Two. My guests are Marischa van Zantvoort and Alasdair Philip. Both Marischa and Alasdair are partners in their own consulting firm called Magnifor Consulting. They call themselves business interventionists who co-create solutions. Both are incredibly interesting thinkers and doers. They are both incredibly open-minded, incredibly experienced, and incredibly insightful. I loved every single second of this, so much so that I decided to turn this into two episodes. Partly that's because of the length, but partly also because there's so much good stuff here that I think it's useful to let part one kind of sink in and then move on to part two, which will be out tomorrow if you're listening to Part One on the day of its release. Part One covers both Marischa and Alasdair's backgrounds, which are fascinating by the way, navigating complexity and uncertainty, leadership traits for the modern era, listening and the importance of weak signals, plus much more. Show notes Marischa Alasdair Magnifor Consulting William Gibson Gemba walks Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech – “Make Good Art” Sir James Black Webinar: How to Practice Good Judgement in a World We Don't Fully Understand _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ get in touch: hello@thedecisionmaking.studio

Today, my guest is Dave Snowden, a leading expert in complexity theory and knowledge management. Dave is the creator of the Cynefin Framework, which is a tool for understanding challenges and helping us make decisions within the right context. His work is international in nature. It covers government and industry, looking at complex issues relating to strategy and organizational decision-making. He is a popular and passionate keynote speaker on a range of topics, and he's well-known for his pragmatic cynicism - and you will hear that come through as you listen to this episode. I wish I had come across Dave's work earlier in my career because I think I'd have made some different career choices. In particular, his 2007 Harvard Business Review article with Mary Boone is excellent. It was on the cover of the November edition of the HBR and won the Academy of Management Award for Best Paper of that year. In this episode, we dive into the nuances of decision-making in complex environments. He walks us through the Cynefin Framework and how it helps us understand the challenges at hand. Dave shares insights into how organizations can avoid the pitfalls of traditional decision-making approaches that often oversimplify complex issues. We also explore the role of narrative in making sense of complexity and how his work with something called SenseMaker, supports capturing and interpreting diverse perspectives. If you're interested in how to navigate complexity and make better decisions in uncertain times, this episode is a must-listen. Show notes: Dave Snowden The Cynefin Framework Dave and Mary Boone’s 2007 HBR Article, “A Leader’s Framework for Decision-Making” SenseMaker Estuarine Mapping EU Field Guide to Managing Complexity (and Chaos) in Times of Crisis Wardley Maps - A strategic mapping technique that helps organizations understand and adapt to their competitive landscape. Gary Klein’s Pre-mortem Max Boisot’s I-Space London taxi drivers’ “The Knowledge” Taylorism Agile Hawthorne effect Cynefin’s ‘risk matrix’ Abductive thinking Dave on algorithmic induction Dave on AI: “anthropomorphising idiot savants” _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast Sign up for our Decision Navigators Course https://thedecisionmaking.studio/

Today, we delve into the role of our nervous system in decision-making, and we explore whether the best decision-making is emotional. This one will perhaps make you think differently about that. That does not mean that we ought to decide impulsively or like a toddler, but it does mean that we should integrate our emotional states into our decision-making. And doing that is a skill that involves knowing how to work with our nervous system. My guest is Jonny Miller, who makes his second appearance on the show. Jonny works with leaders and founders on burnout and how to regulate their nervous systems. He was a successful startup founder himself, but for the last several years has studied and practised nervous system mastery intensely, he has curated the most effective evidence-based practices he's found, and he leads a program called Nervous System Mastery. On this episode, we cover breathwork and how to regulate our nervous system, how to work with our emotions, the body and its role in emotions and decision-making, why Johnny believes that the best decision-making is indeed emotional, making decisions in triggered states and how to avoid that, leadership, and so much more. Show notes: Jonny’s website Jonny’s Nervous System Mastery programme Jonny’s article “Why The Best Decision-Making is Emotional” Curious Humans with Jonny Miller Rory Sutherland Iain McGilchrist Confabulation The Hour Between Dog and Wolf by John Coates The Sports Gene by David Epstein Patrick McKeown, The Oxygen Advantage – Ep. 137 of our podcast The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Non-sleep deep rest _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Decision-Making Studio Podcast Sign up for our Decision Navigators Course https://thedecisionmaking.studio/