The Decision-Making Studio Podcast

Does it feel like the odds of achieving something aren't in your favour? Then forget the odds, and embrace the power of small victories. This in-betweenisode offers some perspectives on why and how.

  Why is our first episode of 2017 part 2 of the "best" of 2016? Because as many of us are looking to make some changes, take some risks, or become more resilient, many of our 2016 conversations have featured some great insights and perspectives that can help. And as a side note and a tip on the practice of New Year's resolutions: start small.  This episode is designed for you to dip in and out of...

I had a number of excellent conversations with awesome guests this year that touched on "big picture" topics and it is my pleasure to share some highlights of these in the first of two "best of" episodes.  They discuss the origins of the calendar and the concept of time, systems thinking, corruption and ethics, the global financial crisis of 07-08, Brexit, Trump and technocracies, counterinsurgenc...

We talk about "lenses" on the All Things Risk Podcast - ways of viewing the world.  One  of the lenses through which we can understand human potential is sport, and in particular, endurance sport.  The conversation in this week's episode may, at first glance, seem like a discussion about nutrition in this domain, and in a way it is.  But, it is about much more than that. Meet Erica and Warren Pole...

Like any other field, the professional discipline of risk management is filled with jargon and multi-syllabic words. That can make it seem distant and inaccessible to many.   That's a problem because we all deal with risk and uncertainty on an everyday basis.  If only there was a way to make the practice and benefits of risk management accessible to all of us. Meet John Lark, this week's guest on...

Today, we revisit a theme we have explored many times on the show: resilience.  Resilience provides us with agency or control of our circumstances. Even though we live in one of the safest times in human history, we also live in the midst of high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity. If we want to be able thrive and perform well, cultivating resilience is an incredibly important skill and practice....

Probabilistically speaking, if you were born without your right hand, what are the odds that you would become a world-class concert pianist? You might be mistaken (and forgiven) for assuming that the chances would be relatively low. However, that's perhaps because you have not heard of my guest on this week's episode. Meet Nicholas McCarthy . Nicholas is a world-class concert pianist who has playe...

Today we take a look at the important and fascinating world of humanitarian aid and conflict  and disaster response, particularly in some of the world's most crisis-stricken areas. My guest is Ros Kirkland. Ros has eighteen years of experience in this field for both the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the British Red Cross. Ros has been involved in relief operations in North K...

What happens to our brains when we take risks? How do successful risk-takers process information? Do they look at risk any differently? What does the science of risk-taking tell us? Meet Kayt Sukel, author of The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution and Chance .  Kayt is a science writer and traveller who "has no problem tacking interesting and often taboo subjects spanning love, sex,...

  What would life be like if you could read people's minds? Of course "mind reading" isn't magic.  However, why mind reading tricks work is fascinating stuff.  What is even more fascinating is knowing the power of an understanding of how the mind works. This can be used to take risks successfully, improve performance, and design your life.  That is exactly what I discuss with my guest on this week...

Imagine that an obstacle (like a wall) that has been in your way is removed.  Would you take that risk you've always been meaning to take?  How about when you no longer find joy in what you are doing?   What steps would you take to change it? Meet Anke Herrmann.  Anke is my guest on Episode 26. She is an entrepreneur and coach and lives in Andalucia Spain where she runs her own studio specialising...

Where does the rise of anti-elite sentiment, as evidenced by Brexit and Trumpism come from? Why and how have much of the Western world, particularly in the EU, been told what to do by a bunch of technocrats?  Why is government debt not like household debt? And why is austerity (the policy of cutting back public spending) dangerous? This episode is a "big picture" conversation with a focus on the g...

  We have long-form conversations in large part because we get to go deep with our guests.  Today, we almost get to do that literally as we go under the surface of the ocean and discuss a fascinating world.  My guest is maritime historian, shipwreck expert and author Taylor Zajonc.  Taylor is an incredibly interesting guy and we have the rare opportunity to talk about topics that are both fascinat...

Imagine bringing together some of the world's most distinguished artists to tell the story of arguably the most important advancement in the recent history of humankind.  That advancement is the vaccine.  And just some of the artists we're talking about are: Photographers and photojournalists Sebastiao Salgado , Mary Ellen Mark , Glen Wexler , and Annie Leibovitz ; Writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie...

Sometimes, that "edge" you may be looking for ends up providing you with an advantage, but in unexpected ways.  That's just how uncertainty works.  This was true for my guest on this episode Drew Taddia.  Drew spent many years as a professional baseball player.  Being from Canada, one of the disadvantages he had to contend with is not playing as many games as his American counterparts prior to tak...

How many people can draw a line in their lives that connects living in the West Bank, yacht racing around the world, doing polar expeditions, and becoming the CEO for a highly successful technology firm?  Probably one - and this week, he joins me on the All Things Risk Podcast to talk risk, digital media, leadership, and much more.  Meet Tony Haile, founding CEO of Chartbeat ( www.chartbeat.com ),...

This is just a short in-betweenisode in which I look ahead to our exciting autumn line-up and make a few announcements about the show. Enjoy the rest of your summer and check in for the next full episode on Sept 6th! Also, if you are wondering about how to get the show on you Android device but don't know how, there are several ways.  You can download and listen to the show on any of the following...

Do you ever feel like our organisations are trying to chisel fine sculptures with blunt instruments?  This could be a company pursuing a cost-cutting drive at the expense of innovation and growth, a public policy that aims to solve last year's problem instead of dealing with future challenges, or an education system transfixed on improving test scores at the expense of deeper education.  The world...

In this in-betweenisode, I offer a "yin and yang" perspective on intelligent risk-taking.  "Think Big" is a about finding an aspiration, vision or goal that based on deep meaning and will keep you motivated during times of adversity.  "Start Small" is all about taking practical steps towards that goal. Show notes: Pablo Casals:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Casals "The Black Swan" by Nassim...

I thoroughly dislike New Year's resolutions because in the vast majority of cases, they fail.  So, I think it is highly appropriate that we have an episode in August that revolves around the themes of health, wellness, resilience improving performance and becoming a better version of yourself by a measure of 10x.  Today's show discusses all of these things and much more without relying on the clic...

Imagine cycling up and over the Andes mountains in Ecuador and Peru (a few times), into the Amazon, across the desert in Bolivia, then into Paraguay and finally Argentina, finishing in Buenos Aires.  Sounds pretty gruelling, doesn't it?  Now let's add a twist: do this on no money, nothing.  Well, that is exactly what my guest Laura Bingham recently accomplished. Laura is an adventurer and very rec...

People love to hear expert predictions and forecasts during times of high uncertainty and volatility.  Many of these are wrong - with an important exception. In this this short episode, I discuss why we should embrace nuance ("shades of grey") and how to do so.  Show notes: Future Babble by Dan Gardner:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Babble-Expert-Predictions-Believe/dp/0753522365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=...

Risk management needs an overhaul.  It needs to join the 21st Century.  Daniel Wagner and Dante Disparte's new book Global Risk Agility and Decision-Making: Organisational Resilience in the Era of Man-Made Risk  not only discusses why this is the case, but also provides a great road map of how to achieve it. This week, Daniel joins me as the first guest to make a re-appearance on the show.  He dis...

What is it about travel? Why put yourself in positions of almost pure uncertainty in foreign lands? What is about not knowing what a place is going to be like that is so wonderful? To explore these and other topics, Hayden Lee joins me today. Hayden is the host of a show called "The Travel Stories" podcast. Hayden is also a musician (he was the bassist for a band called Lazarus Mode), sound techni...

This is an in-betweenisode in which I offer some thoughts on the recent UK referendum to leave the EU (Brexit), and how to respond to greater uncertainty caused by changes in our external environments. Did you like this episode? Subscribe to the All Things Risk podcast, leave a rating or review, and share it on social media: Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on iTunes: http://apple.co/1Pj...