Naturalistic Decision Making

#45: Researching how people actually make decisions with Christian Madsbjerg

Aug 15, 2023

Christian Madsbjerg, an expert in human perception and observation, discusses the importance of ethnographic practice in understanding decision-making. They explore the benefits of observing the world without forming opinions and discuss the shift towards algorithmic processes in areas like coffee and courtship. The concept of naturalistic decision making (NDM) is explored, emphasizing the study of real-life decision-making. The speaker also shares their love for travel and fascination with Seoul's transformation.

48:46

Creator website

Episode guests

Christian Madsbjerg

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Combining observation, experimentation, and large datasets leads to insightful and accurate business decision-making.

Using storytelling techniques can effectively communicate research findings and enhance understanding and memory retention.

Deep dives

Christian Mansberg's Career and Approach to Business

Christian Mansberg is a professor and consultant with a wide range of experience in various fields, including applied humanities and global policy. He co-founded consultancy firm Red Associates and a health data startup, Lateral Data. Mansberg emphasizes the importance of bringing philosophical and anthropological tools into the world of business decision-making, similar to how psychologists adopt naturalistic approaches. He highlights the need for combining research methods, including observation and experimentation, to achieve insightful and accurate results. Mansberg discusses the limitations of relying solely on data-driven models, acknowledging the importance of observation before designing experiments.

Introduction

2min

The Importance of Proper Methods and Ethnographic Practice

32min

Observing and Describing the World in a Raw Way

2min

Observing Unpleasantness and Strong Opinions: Insights into Coffee, Dating Algorithms, and Courtship

3min

Naturalistic Decision Making and Its Differences

5min

Exploring New York City and Reflecting on Seoul

3min

Christian is interested in human worlds, human perception and the skill of observation, which is reflected in the diversity of his professional experience. He has been a full time Professor of Applied Humanities at The New School for Social Research; a Senior Fellow at The Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) in Tokyo, Japan and a Distinguished Visitor at The Buffett Center for International Affairs at Northwestern University in Chicago.
He co-founded ReD Associates, a pioneering consultancy with offices in
Copenhagen, Paris, London and New York City, and a health data start-up Lateral Data based in Dallas TX. His board appointments include Chairman of the top-tier architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group: BIG; Independent director of the luxury furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen; Independent director and Nomination/Governance Committee chairman at the battery metals company The Metals Company; Member of the high-end home textiles manufacturer Kvadrat; and Board member at Red Associates Holding. His work has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and Bloomberg Business week. And he is the author of three books:

The Moment of Clarity - Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems

Sensemaking - The Power of The Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm

And just released:
Look - How to pay attention in a world of distraction.

Learn more about Christian:

Connect on LinkedIn

See more of his work

Learn more about NDM at NaturalisticDecisionMaking.org.

Where to find the hosts:

Brian Moon

Brian’s website

Brian’s LinkedIn

Brian’s Twitter