William Hoffman, Ph.D.

Decisions at the Fulcrum

Business EN ↓ 56 episodes

Decisions at the Fulcrum is a show where pivotal moments of crisis are covered with depth and breadth, to explain why the communication that transpires within organizations and groups is central to the process and outcomes of organizational change and tenacity. Each episode unpacks a turning point—a brand pivot, a bold leadership move, a course correction. The show explores pivotal decision moments. Through layered storytelling and applied research moments, Dr. William Hoffman navigates through coy tensions and catalytic decisions that reshape brands, industries, institutions, and the persons...

Author

William Hoffman, Ph.D.

Episodes

La Croix or How the Aesthetic of Flavor Signaled Good Taste 06.06.2025 26:12

This week on Decisions at the Fulcrum, we delve into the unexpected journey of LaCroix, the sparkling water that found its niche not through its flavor, but through its inscrutability. Before it became a meme or an iconic item, LaCroix was simply found in laid-back settings: office break rooms, workplace cafeterias, and your aunt’s second fridge. Then it made its way to Trader Joe's, appeared in y...

Set to High, Forgot to Vent: When You Misunderstand Success as Longevity 29.05.2025 19:08

The Instant Pot was a game-changing kitchen innovation of the digital age. Pyrex was a legendary household icon for over a century. When a private equity firm tied them together under a single corporate roof in 2019, it seemed like alliance, but it felt like an appliance mismatch. In this episode of Decisions at the Fulcrum, we dive into how Instant Brands incorrectly understood online popula...

Detours and Off-Ramps: Diverging Pathways to the Same Future 25.05.2025 32:13

What does it mean for a company to take a detour—not as an error, but as an investment in altering its narrative? In this episode of Decisions at the Fulcrum, we plunge courageously into the symbolic pathways forged by two of the US's iconic automakers: Ford and General Motors. This episode takes a step back from the insights of Part One, going to the underpinning symbolic arrangement supporting...

Driving the Narrative: Bronco, Ultium, and the Stories We Build 16.05.2025 23:09

In this episode of Decisions at the Fulcrum, Dr. William Hoffman explores two startlingly different methods in the car industry—one based on memory and the other on momentum. This episode examines how legacy corporations navigate the conflict between nostalgia and futurity, using Ford's spectacular resuscitation of the Bronco and General Motors' vast shift toward electrification as examples. For...

Trust the Crust: Garlicky, Buttery, and Surprisingly Believable 07.05.2025 23:47

Domino’s didn’t need the numbers to confirm there was a problem with their pizza. They already had plenty of indicators from surveys, which displayed the issues numerically, but lacked the nuance and complexity necessary to understand their causes. This episode explores a critical moment in Domino’s turnaround: the shift from data sheets to direct dialogue, from numerical trends to qualitative und...

A Slice of Redemption: From Cardboard to Craving 04.05.2025 23:46

This week on Decisions at the Fulcrum, we pull a hot one out of the oven! It’s the Domino’s redemption story. It’s about pizza and how a brand researched their way back from decades of being a public embarrassment to become pizza scholars leading the delivery economy. Note: This episode contains 2 archival advertisements, from 1984 and 1986 respectively. This archival audio is used for purposes of...