The Art of Deciding

In this enlightening discussion, Professor Robin Dunbar, an expert in evolutionary psychology, and Sam Rockey, a consultancy guru, unravel the complexities of group dynamics. They explore the ideal group sizes for effective decision-making and the concept of Dunbar's number, shedding light on the number of meaningful relationships one can maintain. Insights on fostering trust, the importance of connection in workplaces, and lessons from businesses like SAB Miller provide a roadmap to enhance collaboration. Who knew pubs could improve company culture?

“Be brilliant for ten minutes a day.” Is that enough? It’s worked for award-winning West End and Broadway producer, Colin Ingram who spends his life making multi-million-pound decisions about what audiences are going to like. Sometimes he’s right – his Back to the Future: The Musical is a smash hit. But sometimes he’s wrong – his Gone With The Wind crashed and burned. How does he get into people’s heads? What has he learned? What can we learn from him? "The only thing that doesn't lie is the box office." You’ve got to be realistic about whether something is actually working or not and make tough decisions – even if it’s your personal passion or your creative team promise they can save it. He talks us through the lessons he learned with his unsuccessful production of Gone With The Wind."Success is as hard as failure." There are pitfalls involved in big successes – especially if you’re young and inexperienced. It can cloud your vision and so interfere with your decision-making ."Be brilliant for 10 minutes a day." There are those moments that make all the difference. No one can be 100% all the time - so don’t put yourself under that kind of pressure. But if you can be inspired just for a short time each day, it can make the difference between success and failure.Chapters:(00:56) One of life's big pleasures is deciding to go to a show(02:42) Colin Ingram is one of the West End's most successful producers(06:08) Colin’s early days working for Cameron Macintosh(08:06) What decisions would you have made differently today versus the younger version of you(09:35) Colin’s process, considering a theatre production from conception to execution can take a decade(21:43) Making big decisions that are not always popular can be difficult(24:03) Be brilliant for 10 minutes a dayReferencesColin Ingram: https://coliningramltd.comBack to the Future: The Musical https://www.backtothefuturemusical.comGhost the Musical https://www.ghostthemusical.comBilly Elliot the Musical https://billyelliotthemusical.comCameron Mackintosh https://www.cameronmackintosh.com The Art of Deciding has been charting in the top 10, and featured in The Guardian Podcast Newsletter, Podnews, The List, and the Podbible newsletter, amongst others. The Art of Deciding is produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne Morgan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Year, new decisions to make? Here is a collection of the best pieces of decision-making advice from The Art of Deciding so far - all designed to make 2025 your year of making the right choices. More episodes coming soon.Bruce Whitfield is an award winning journalist, best-selling author and popular speaker. More here: www.brucewhitfield.comYou can also follow him on Linkedin and get links to all his latest projects on LinktreeThe Art of Deciding has been featured in The Guardian Podcast Newsletter, Podnews, The List, and the Podbible newsletter. It's produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne Morgan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Art of Deciding is just six episodes old and already having an impact. As we wrap up 2024, here are just some of the life-changing lessons we've learned so far. The Art of Deciding is back mid-January with more fascinating decision-makers.Bruce Whitfield is an award winning journalist, best-selling author and popular speaker. More here: www.brucewhitfield.comYou can also follow him on Linkedin and get links to all his latest projects on LinktreeThe Art of Deciding has been featured in The Guardian Podcast Newsletter, Podnews, The List, and the Podbible newsletter. It's produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne Morgan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 22 July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik blew up Norway’s government buildings. He then travelled 23 miles to the island of Utoya where, posing as a policeman, he shot everyone he saw.  By the end of the day 77 people were dead – 38 of them under the age of 20. Breivik was immediately taken into custody - but was threatening that this was just the beginning of an even bigger killing spree. Police Superintendent Asbjorn Raschlew was appointed to lead the interrogation of one of the deadliest individual mass murderers the world has ever seen.  The science of decision-making was at the heart of his questioning.He explains: - The importance of questioning biases and the revolutionary shift in interrogation techniques that Norway adopted following the attack. The move away from confession-driven methods to a more research-based investigative interviewing technique, which focuses on gathering reliable information rather than forcing confessions. "We don't judge and we don't moralize."How the police had to navigate a complex web of emotions, public pressure, and the need for justice. The decision-making process was not just about determining guilt or innocence but about understanding the deeper motives behind the perpetrator's actions. This is where the concept of confirmation bias becomes crucial.The need to consider alternative explanations and question our initial beliefs.“Our minds are desperately looking for evidence to confirm our beliefs and opinions."We learn that the methodology used was designed to stimulate communication and ensure that suspects felt listened to and respected, regardless of their crimes. A stark contrast to the dramatized interrogations we often see in movies, it focuses on building rapport and gathering accurate information."Information is the lifeblood of the investigation." References:Asbjorn Rachlew’s book, A Guide to the Professional Interview https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Professional-Interview-Research-based-Methodology/dp/1785277987Asbjorn Rachlew TEDx Talk https://youtu.be/1H8Mcku6adA?si=d63cLq5RkGSqQEBAProfessor Gisli Gudjonsson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%ADsli_Gu%C3%B0j%C3%B3nssonThe extract from the court proceedings is taken from here.Bruce Whitfield is an award winning journalist, best-selling author and popular speaker. More here: www.brucewhitfield.comThe Art of Deciding has been featured in The Guardian Podcast Newsletter, Podnews, The List, and the Podbible newsletter. It's produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne Morgan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liv Boeree, a champion poker player and podcaster, shares her journey from a significant loss in a TV poker finale to becoming one of the most successful female players ever. She discusses the importance of data in decision-making, highlighting that intuition must be backed by statistics. Liv also unpacks how competitive environments can be both beneficial and harmful, and emphasizes the need for a balance between rationality and emotional intelligence in making choices. Her insights resonate not just in poker, but in all high-stakes situations.

Karan Bilimoria was a Cambridge law student when he discovered that the UK just didn’t have the right beer for his favourite curry. Ignoring his degree and his family’s military background, he decided to solve the problem by setting up Cobra Beer when he was just 27. It went on to become one of the most awarded beers in the world. Since then, he’s applied his entrepreneurial mindset to a huge range of organisations, including as President of the Confederation of British Industry, working with government during COVID, when he was the first person to suggest the widespread use of lateral flow testing and saving thousands of lives. He’s now Lord Bilimoria, an independent crossbench life peer, and still just as focused on taking action. How does he approach decision-making? What does he see as the role of luck? What is the one thing he thinks everyone should remember when it comes to making choices?Key takeaways:·   He introduces the concept of luck as "when determination meets opportunity," highlighting the need to be proactive in seizing life's waves of opportunity.·   He contrasts the entrepreneurial mindset of "playing to win" with the bureaucratic mindset of "playing not to lose," encouraging listeners to adopt a proactive and positive attitude towards opportunities.·   Bilimoria discusses the significance of trust and credibility in business, drawing from personal experiences where his unwavering faith in his product helped him overcome the credibility gap.·     Cobra Beer https://www.cobrabeer.com/ ·     Cambridge University https://www.cam.ac.uk/ ·     Confederation of British Industry https://www.cbi.org.uk/ ·     TED Talk by Karan Bilimoria https://youtu.be/J4yzoTClUMk?si=Q29ifNgfRHrE53W_ ·     House of Lords https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/ ·     University of Birmingham https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ABOUT BRUCE WHITFIELDBruce Whitfield is an award winning journalist, best-selling author and popular speaker who has spent over two decades hosting a nightly business radio show, questioning influential people about the decisions they made. More on bruce here: www.brucewhitfield.comThe Art of Deciding is produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne MorganMusic: Brad O'Regan & DJ Darkness - https://soundcloud.com/dj-d-rkn3ssArtwork: Adam Richardson - https://www.podcastcoverart.co.uk/Audio engineer: Mark Pittam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When he was a young, bored accountant in Cape Town, Brad Fried decided to ring up Jim Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank to get some career advice. He figured - what’s the worst that could happen? Brad went on to chair the board of the Bank of England as well as Investec and Goldman Sachs. Hear how his 'art of deciding' is all about ‘the counterfactual’. Plus, discover his extraordinary insight into the power of silence when it comes to chairing committees - and how to avoid the deadening grip of groupthink. Discover more about Bruce Whitfield here - https://www.brucewhitfield.com/ The Art of Deciding is produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne MorganMusic: Brad O'Regan & DJ Darkness - https://soundcloud.com/dj-d-rkn3ssArtwork: Adam Richardson - https://www.podcastcoverart.co.uk/Audio engineer: Mark Pittam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharmadean Reid was a talented design student who loved technology - and getting her nails done. Now she’s one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs. What decisions took her from founding the smash hit brand WAH Nails at the age of 24 (clients included Serena Williams and Margot Robbie), to becoming the first black woman in the country to raise more than £1 million in venture capital? She tells us about her journey from art school into business, tech innovation and then towards her vision of gender equity - one she’s very willing to admit hasn’t been easy. In our second episode, hear about the extraordinary ‘art of deciding’ that has been at the heart of it.  One of Sharmadean’s recent decisions was to write a book, New Methods for Women: A Manifesto for Independence – 49 essays drawing on her own experience to help women do better in business … and in life. Find out more about that here - https://amzn.eu/d/aj8AbHX  Discover more about Bruce Whitfield here - https://www.brucewhitfield.com/ The Art of Deciding is produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne MorganMusic: Brad O'Regan & DJ Darkness - https://soundcloud.com/dj-d-rkn3ssArtwork: Adam Richardson - https://www.podcastcoverart.co.uk/Audio engineer: Mark Pittam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some sources say a Jack Reacher book is sold every nine seconds, some say twenty. Either way, Lee Child is one of the most commercially successful authors ever. But he never intended to be a writer! What decisions led to his incredible achievements? In the first episode of The Art of Deciding, discover how Lee made the risky decision to solve a redundancy crisis by writing a best-seller. Find out what was behind the choices that brought to life one of the most popular action heroes of all time. Then, despite millions of adoring fans, learn how he nearly decided to kill Reacher off (“he was going to bleed to death on a filthy motel bathroom floor”) and what he chose to do instead. A brand-new Jack Reacher – In Too Deep – is out now. Find out more here - https://amzn.eu/d/9kIQFvGDiscover more about Bruce Whitfield here - https://www.brucewhitfield.com/ The Art of Deciding is produced by Podcart - https://www.podcart.co.uk/Series Producer: Jayne MorganMusic: Brad O'Regan & DJ Darkness - https://soundcloud.com/dj-d-rkn3ss Artwork: Adam Richardson - https://www.podcastcoverart.co.uk/Audio engineer: Mark Pittam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.