The Human Risk Podcast12 Maj 2024

Elspeth Kirkman on Decisionscape

What can we learn from artists about decision-making? More than you might think.
We often see decision-making in binary terms and whether decisions are good or bad. But what if they’re more subjective and akin to the way an artist looks at the world? That’s what my guest explores in her new book.

That guest is Elspeth Kirkman, Chief Programme Officer at the innovation agency Nesta and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King's College London's Policy School and Exeter University's Business School. She works at the intersection of design, data, and experimentation to solve societal problems.

Elspeth’s book ‘Decisionscape’ explores how the decisions we make are influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are personal to each of us.

In our discussion, we explore:

Elspeth’s career and work;
What Decisionscapes are and how using an artistic lens can help us to understand how and why we make decisions;
How factors like social capital can lead people to make seemingly counter-intuitive decisions;
Parallels between the creative process in writing and decision-making;
the impact of everyday choices on life's narrative and long-term happiness;
the significance of small, habitual decisions in shaping our lives;
the concept of counterfactual thinking and finding contentment in reality;
the enjoyment of making decisions, even without complete information;
why embracing imperfection in decision-making can help us live more satisfied lives

and much, much more.

Links to topics we discuss during the show

The Green Day concert where the audience sings Bohemian Rhapsody - https://youtu.be/cZnBNuqqz5g?si=SSkpKTIZ1OVv4qfn

Oliver Burkeman’s Book ‘Four Thousand Weeks’ - https://www.oliverburkeman.com/books

Pablo Picasso’s Picture of a Bull - https://drawpaintacademy.com/the-bull/

Links to Elspeth and her work

Decisionscape - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048941/decisionscape/

Behavioural Insights, the book she co-authored with Michael Hallsworth - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647522/behavioral-insights-by-michael-hallsworth-and-elspeth-kirkman/

Elspeth’s work at Nesta - https://www.nesta.org.uk/team/elspeth-kirkman/

Her profile on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/elspethkirkman

Twitter/X - https://twitter.com/Karminker

Previous episodes of the show

I have featured topics related to decision-making in many episodes of the show, which are available at www.humanriskpodcast.com.

Two recent episodes of particular relevance are my discussions with:

Dr Melina Moleskis - https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-melina-moleskis-on-decision-making-part-one/

and

Ben Cattaneo - https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/ben-cattaneo-on-decision-making-part-two/

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