The Decision Corner

In this episode of the podcast, Brooke chairs a roundtable discussion at the intersection of risk, scenario planning and cybersecurity. His guests are Sanjay Khanna, Strategic Advisor and Foresight Expert, and Advisor to The Decision Lab; Alan Iny, Global Lead for Creativity and Scenarios at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Michael Coden, Global Lead for BCG Platinion’s Cybersecurity Practice. Together they discuss the human and systemic vulnerabilities that expose us to cybersecurity risks, and how scenario planning and creative problem solving can help mitigate such threats. Drawing from countless real-world examples of major global crises, they argue that although our best thought-out plans may never materialize, the process of planning itself is invaluable.

Some topics discussed include:

The guests’ recent thought leadership on cybersecurity, including two potential future cybersecurity scenarios - one reflecting greater multi-stakeholder cooperation, the other reflecting a more fragmented, individualistic response.

Balancing a need for individual awareness and responsibility around cybersecurity with a wider systematic approach to the challenge.

If human error is the root cause of cybersecurity breaches, how can we help people avoid such errors?

The case for scenario planning, not as a prediction tool, but as a mechanism to prepare for a range of plausible scenarios.

Real-world examples of how scenario planning has enabled international organisations to prepare for risks that bear similarities to events such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke is joined by James Danckert, professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo and co-author of Out Of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom. They dive into the purpose of boredom and how we can make these dull moments important and meaningful.

This podcast covers:

Why boredom is so important for finding meaning in your life

How the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ can help you get focused

What Chris Hadfield, farming, and the myth of “only boring people get bored” all have in common

Why COVID-19 has made us more bored than ever before

How the “Dark Room Problem” means our brains can’t operate as predictive machines

Why you should sometimes binge watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke is joined by Cary List, the past president and CEO of FP Canada, an organization designed to professionalize financial planning. Throughout this episode, he provides his expert perspective on the changing industry of financial planning. Zeroing in on the transformational power of technology, behavioral science, and improved professional standards, List paints a picture of a brighter future for the field of financial planning.

Some specific topics of this episode include:

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke is joined by Sanjay Khanna, a strategic advisor and foresight expert. Sanjay’s job is to be ahead of the curve on wide-ranging issues, whether they be geopolitical, socioeconomic, sociocultural, psychosocial, technological, or ecological. This has led him to have a unique and interesting career, with his evidence-based insights informing scholarship, innovation and foresight practice at a global law firm, numerous businesses, governments and NGOs, including a senior advisor to Biden’s transition team. Drawing on his knowledge, this conversation focuses on issues such as converging crises, how to model plausible future scenarios, and how behavioral science can help us understand the future.

In this episode of the Decision Corner, Brooke speaks with Jonathan Haidt, the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the Stern School of Business NYU, and Alison Taylor, the executive director at Ethical Systems and an adjunct professor at NYU. In today’s episode, they discuss the role of ethics and values in business, including the challenges associated with Generation Z, and the workplace culture changes that have been fuelled by the evolution of social media and increasing polarization in countries like the United States. They talk about the challenge of hearing from all members of the workforce, and not just the most polarized who are shouting the loudest. If you’re curious about whether businesses should remain politically neutral, have an interest in business ethics and the changing landscape of modern corporate leadership, this episode is for you!

Some of the topics discussed include:

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke speaks with Jordan Ellenberg, best-selling author and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Through his research and his books, which include How Not to be Wrong, and more recently, Shape, Jordan illustrates how abstract mathematical and geometric equations can be brought to life, and indeed used to address some of the major challenges facing the world today. In today's episode, Jordan and Brooke talk about:

In this episode of The Decision Lab podcast, Brooke is joined by Olivier Sibony, co-author of Noise, and experienced consultant and researcher focused on how to improve the quality of decision-making. He is currently a professor at HEC Paris, and Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School at Oxford University. This episode explores the three categories of noise, and how they can affect our decision making in ways that can be incredibly difficult to detect. Olivier draws on real-life examples to illustrate this and proposes several strategies to mitigate and avoid noise when making important decisions. Some topics we discuss include:

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke sits down with Khan Bouba-Dalambaye, high school guidance counsellor, EDI consultant, and curriculum designer. Through counselling work, Bouba-Dalambaye’s clients have taught him that the pandemic has triggered a wide-spread dip in motivation, communication, and relationship maintenance. During this episode, he offers listeners tips on how to get more in touch with our own feelings and needs, and increase our motivation to meet our goals. His most important takeaway: start small.

Some specific topics of this episode include:

In this episode of the Decision Lab, Brook speaks with Wendy De La Rosa, co-founder of the Common Cents Lab, and host and creator of the new TED series; Your Money and Your Mind. Wendy was a founding member of Google’s behavioural economics unit, helping over 30 teams to optimize product strategy and design, customer engagement and retention, as well as revenue. In their discussion, Brooke and Wendy discuss the changes in the economy caused by the pandemic, as well as strategies and techniques that business and individuals can use to help improve their financial standing. Some of the topics include:

In this episode of the Decision Corner, Brooke speaks with Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. Paul is globally recognised for his work on the measurement of happiness, its causes and consequences, and its implications for public policy. His experience includes working with the British Office for National Statistics and the government's Behavioural Insights Team – also known as the 'nudge' unit. He is the author of two bestselling books, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles. In his conversation with Brooke, Paul discusses some of his most influential work on the topic of well-being and public policy. He gives his view on what’s needed to address some of the burning policy issues facing governments all around the world today.

Some of the topics discussed include: