The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving26 Elo

680: Psychotherapist, Glenn Hutchinson, on Why Good People Cheat: What Infidelity Reveals About Decision-Making

Glenn Hutchinson, a psychotherapist who developed the personality science behind the assessments used by Match.com, explores one of the most misunderstood aspects of infidelity: why people sometimes violate their own values without fully understanding how they arrived there.

The conversation begins with a broader look at human behavior. Glenn explains that much of what drives our decisions happens outside conscious awareness. Using the familiar experience of driving on "autopilot," he argues that our unconscious mind is constantly shaping our judgments, emotions, and interactions long before we recognize it. As he puts it, "subjective experience is very deceiving," and "our behavior is more complicated. It comes from a deeper place than we realize."

A central theme is how people interpret situations through mental categories rather than objective reality. Someone may believe they are "just being friendly" instead of crossing emotional boundaries, or see an affair as "a unique situation" rather than recognizing it for what it is. Glenn explains that these unconscious mental frameworks can influence behavior in powerful ways, even for people who genuinely see themselves as honest and faithful.

The discussion also challenges the tendency to blame oneself after betrayal. Glenn explains that there is "no evidence" that a partner's infidelity means the betrayed person was lacking. He discusses several research-backed risk factors, including growing up aware of parental infidelity, having many sexual partners before marriage, and an anxious attachment style, while emphasizing that these are risk factors—not predictions—and that greater self-awareness and healthy boundaries matter far more.

The conversation concludes with practical guidance for both preventing and recovering from infidelity. Glenn argues that no one is completely immune to temptation, making honest communication and emotional openness essential in long-term relationships. For those healing after betrayal, he advises avoiding rash decisions, finding a trusted person to talk to, and recognizing that recovery takes time. As he says, "The first thing you got to do is become aware of it." Lasting change begins by recognizing the unconscious assumptions that shape behavior and gradually aligning actions with personal values.

Get Glenn's book, Unfaithful Minds, here: https://tinyurl.com/ybxtnrcs

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683:Professor of Finance at Copenhagen Business School, Jesper Rangvid, on the End of 40 Years of Falling Interest Rates

Jesper Rangvid, professor of finance at Copenhagen Business School, explores what leaders should understand about interest rates, inflation, the cost of capital, prioritization, and AI. Rangvid explai...

7 Syys 50min

682: Founder and CEO of High Alpha Innovation, Elliott Parker. The Illusion of Innovation (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a strategy skills classic interview with the author of The Illusion of Innovation: Escape "Efficiency" and Unleash Radical Progress, Elliott Parker. The Illusion of Inn...

2 Syys 48min

681: Harvard's Cornelia Choe on How Great Leaders See Differently

Cornelia Choe explains why being right is no longer enough for leaders operating in environments of constant change. She calls the problem "perspective blindness": we may be correct about what we see ...

31 Elo 40min

679: Director of the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research Center at MIT, Amos Winter on Global by Design

Amos Winter, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research Center at MIT, explains how innovators can create high-performance, affordable product...

24 Elo 58min

678: Social Organizational Psychologist, Jeremy Pollack, on Why Smart Leaders Still Fail at Conflict Resolution

Jeremy Pollack, PhD, argues that most workplace conflicts cannot be resolved by negotiating solutions alone. Before people can solve a problem together, they must first feel understood, respected, and...

19 Elo 43min

677: Global by Design: Vijay Govindarajan on Building Better Innovations

Vijay Govindarajan, Coxe Distinguished Professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and co-author of Global by Design, explains how innovations developed for emerging markets can also serve wealth...

17 Elo 44min

676: The key strategy question most boards do not answer, and cannot answer

Porsche just announced workforce cuts because of dropping sales in China. Every board reads that as an operations problem. It isn't. It's a risk problem — and it's the wrong risk almost every board is...

12 Elo 18min