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decisions

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

How Human Emotion, Identity, and History Shape Decisions

How Human Emotion, Identity, and History Shape Decisions Issue 224, August 7, 2025 It is human emotion, identity and history that shape our culture and inform our decisions. So, here’s a question that should keep every leader awake at night: In an era where data-driven decision-making and AI-powered analytics lead strategy, why do so many consequential business choices still get made in conference rooms based on gut feelings, unspoken fears, and organizational memories? There appears to be an ongoing debate…

Kevin Novak
August 7, 2025
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Decision-Making: The Revolving Door of Organizational Centralization and Decentralization

Decision-Making: The Revolving Door of Organizational Centralization and Decentralization Issue 202, March 6, 2025 We have been keen observers of an organizational cyclical pattern to solve problems that we call the revolving door of centralization and decentralization. Organizations across many industries experience this recurring pattern, shifting between these two organizational constructs. Counterintuitively, organizations seem to repeat the cycle every few years, often framed as a novel strategic solution to operational challenges. A decentralized approach fails. Centralize. A centralized function becomes…

Kevin Novak
March 6, 2025
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Mastering the Art of Decision-Making: Part One

Mastering the Art of Decision-Making: Part One Issue 196, January 23, 2025 Uncertainty has become a defining characteristic of both our personal and professional lives in today’s rapidly changing unpredictable world. Stated simply, uncertainty is a certainty. From navigating disruptive markets and responding to global crises to contending with career challenges and family issues, decision-making under pressure has become a persistent and constant reality. Consider those impacted by the ongoing wildfires in California who were instantly thrown into uncertainty when…

Kevin Novak
January 20, 2025
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

De-Risking Too Much Choice in Organizational Decision-Making

De-Risking Too Much Choice in Organizational Decision-Making Issue 184, October 31, 2024 You are ready to publish an article in the content section of your website and you go to GPT4 to game the system and fine-tune the title with SEO phrases to attract the most search traffic possible.  You cut and paste the article into OpenAI’s tool, enter the prompt and voila!  GPT spits out 20 choices. It then asks you if you want it to expand on any…

Kevin Novak
October 31, 2024
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Why Do We Lie? The Sequel

Why Do We Lie? The Sequel Issue 180, October 3, 2024 Even the most optimistic among us must admit that we are living in an unprecedented and unpredictable public arena of deliberate misinformation and lies. It has become accepted behavior, and among some, a badge of honor. It is confusing and discouraging that intentional lies have become part of the fabric of our lives. If we don’t know what is true and whom to trust, it can lead to the…

Kevin Novak
October 2, 2024
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Trouble with Making Assumptions and Over-Generalizations

The Trouble with Making Assumptions and Over-Generalizations Issue 160, May 16, 2024 We’ve noticed a disturbing trend over the past three years. To put it bluntly, organizations including governments, are making many assumptions about their stakeholders and constituents. The assumptions stem from over-generalizations, past knowledge, or due to wearing blinders.  In each instance, we will discuss how you, the consumer, will bear the cost and impact of these behaviors. Failing to See the Total System Let’s take a US political…

Kevin Novak
May 16, 2024
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Misfortunes of Uninformed Urgency

The Misfortunes of Uninformed Urgency Issue 159, May 9, 2024 We write often and passionately about the sense of urgency organizations should feel as they manage disruptive marketplaces, unpredictable consumer trends, and geopolitical instability. Coupled with urgency are our mantras about market orientation, shared purpose, and critical thinking.  We could stop right there but we’re not going to! We don’t want our advocation about modern leadership and organizational strategies to become platitudes and buzzwords. In that spirit, we’re taking a…

Kevin Novak
May 9, 2024
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Value of Intangibles

The Value of Intangibles Issue 132, October 26, 2023 We continue to be fascinated by the value proposition of intangibles. This isn’t some weird magical idea. We’re talking about assets that have no physical form but are nonetheless valuable. Considering that we are living in a digital marketplace, intangibility has a profound relevance despite our inherent and deeply programmed need to see, feel, and touch something tangible. If it can be seen, felt, and touched we believe it is real…

Kevin Novak
October 25, 2023
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Motivation of Manipulating Data and Information to a Desired Outcome

The Motivation of Manipulating Data and Information to a Desired Outcome Issue 129, October 5, 2023 Some recent headlines have reported disturbing news about respected and respectable scholars falsifying or just ignoring data conclusions in scholarly papers. This is another example of the skepticism many of us have with the shifts in misinformation flooding our inboxes and newsfeeds, compelling each of us to exercise our critical thinking skills.  And the examples we’re referring to aren’t even results of AI.  It…

Kevin Novak
October 5, 2023
Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Making Faulty Assumptions, Part II – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

Making Faulty Assumptions, Part II Issue 108, May 11, 2023 Last week we explored how making bad assumptions can derail a business model and debilitate a team. Operational assessment and readiness can fall victim overnight based on assumptions that are out of alignment with shared purpose and market orientation. As we have stated, often the infrastructure can be so dysfunctional that bringing new strategies to life and achieving new goals simply isn’t possible. Here are a few signs that indicate…

Kevin Novak
May 11, 2023
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