Episode 220: In this episode of Accelerate Podcast, host Nicola Graham is joined by Allan Macdonald — a decision-making specialist who has spent 15 years in elite sport before transitioning into government, and who holds a professional doctorate in judgmental forecasting and decision-making.

ㅤ Allan's career has taken him across high-performance sport, public sector strategy, and academic research — giving him a rare cross-domain perspective on how decisions actually get made under pressure. His doctoral work focuses on the science of forecasting and human judgement, exploring why even experienced professionals fall short when it matters most.

ㅤ At the centre of the conversation is a question every high-performance environment faces: how do we make better decisions — not just with better data, but with better thinking? Allan unpacks the gap between having information and knowing how to weigh it, and why expertise alone is no defence against the biases that quietly shape our choices.

ㅤ The discussion also explores how the principles of judgmental forecasting and calibrated confidence translate beyond sport — into business, strategy, and any environment where decisions are made in the face of uncertainty.

ㅤ Topics Discussed:

- 

Where you can find Allan:

- 

Sponsors

Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment

VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training

Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. 

- 

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

-

Our Team