• The Decision Papers — The Hidden Question: What the Room Is Negotiating. Banner with a watercolor eye motif above layered strata, suggesting what sits beneath the surface of a debate.

    I.18 — The Hidden Question: What the Room Is Negotiating

    “People are not against you; they are for themselves.” — a maxim of negotiation A room can debate for ninety minutes and never touch the thing it is negotiating. The slides are clean, the arguments intelligent, the data abundant, and nothing resolves. Not because the people are irrational, but because the question on the table…


  • The Decision Papers — Rational to Whom?: Utility, Values, and the Mirage of Objectivity. Banner with a human head profile containing a maze and a green watercolor thought.

    I.14 — Rational to Whom?: Utility, Values, and the Mirage of Objectivity

    “There are no facts, only interpretations.” — Nietzsche In every high-stakes project there comes a moment of exasperation when a leader calls a colleague, client, or regulator “completely irrational.” The phrase offers a dangerous mix of frustration and comfort. It performs a quiet exit. By ruling the counterparty a malfunction rather than an actor with…