The Decision Papers

Archive

  • The Decision Papers — The Alignment Trap: When Agreement Is the Warning, Not the Win. Banner with a flock in perfect formation while one arrow breaks away.

    I.21 — The Alignment Trap: When Agreement Is the Warning, Not the Win

    “For the most part we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see.” — Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion The leadership team reaches agreement in twenty minutes, and everyone feels the relief of it. Heads nod. The tension that walked in has dissolved. Someone says the sentence that always gets said…

    The Decision Papers
  • The Decision Papers — The Question They Never Heard Before: How Surprise Restarts Thought. Banner with a vinyl record in ink wash, evoking a room replaying its rehearsed script.

    I.20 — The Question They Never Heard Before: How Surprise Restarts Thought

    “The only true voyage of discovery would be not to visit strange lands, but to see with other eyes.” — Marcel Proust, La Prisonnière Walk into a recurring strategy meeting and you can watch a room decide nothing, fluently. The agenda is familiar. The issues are known. The dialogue is smooth. The head of sales…

    The Decision Papers
  • The Decision Papers — The Question Has Altitude: Don't Solve Strategy in an Ops Room. Banner with a watercolor hot air balloon rising above the ground.

    I.19 — The Question Has Altitude: Don’t Solve Strategy in an Ops Room

    “It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?” — H. D. Thoreau Many decisions fail not because the idea was wrong, but because the wrong room tried to do the wrong kind of deciding. You demand operational certainty before you will approve a strategic direction. Or you…

    The Decision Papers