The next HemingwayConnect is currently being planned. The date will follow later.

From instrumental to more creative governance

What can we learn from creatives in our decision-making?
The HemingwayConnect meeting in October 2023 took place at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. The afternoon focused on the ‘wicked problems’ of our time and how these are often no longer solvable in a binary manner—like a project. With speakers such as Tabo Goudswaard, social designer and commissioner, and Vincent van Herk, director of Dutch Design Week, we discussed how to tackle these exceptionally complex problems. Tabo pointed out that what is truly valuable often cannot be captured in lists, numbers, or a step-by-step plan: “It cannot be easily planned or controlled. It can only be known, or rather, experienced and felt.” This is challenging because our brains are quite machine-like and linear-causal in nature.

Creatives, who are accustomed to working from empathy and “human values,” can play a significant role in this systems change. They begin with a drive to contribute to values without a clearly defined endpoint. This allows room for relevant new insights along the way and space to anticipate changing circumstances. Because this approach can feel quite uncertain, it is essential to derive certainty from a clear process.

This meeting was fascinating and provided the space to view things from a different perspective. How can you, as a supervisory board member, recognize if your organization is stuck in causal thinking, and how can you steer the dialogue in a new direction? How do you create space for creativity?

Control over decision-making

On Friday, April 14th, a Hemingway Connect networking event was held at B. Amsterdam for alumni of our training programs. The session’s content focused on effective decision-making by the executive team under high pressure. The topic was inspired by the doctoral research of Wijnand Nuijts, who studied which practices contribute to a balanced consideration of financial and non-financial interests by executives. One of the findings of the research indicates that external pressure (due to competition or time constraints) often leads executives to focus on tangible short-term goals (such as profit and growth), which can then come at the expense of the long-term and non-financial interests of stakeholders connected to the company. Although the research also shows that executives can “arm” themselves against this with targeted measures, the negative impact of stress remains a constant threat in today’s challenging environment.

This was also evident from the fascinating presentation by Fedor von Balluseck PCC, economist, executive coach, and specialist in insecurity. He pointed out that the quality of decision-making is strongly influenced by our autonomic nervous system, which often just does what it wants. Fedor guided us through the neurophysiological components of our humanity and the impact this has on decision-making. Several findings and focus areas from the doctoral research were thus further explored and call for management attention and training. A practical assignment for the participants made everything even clearer. There was plenty to discuss during the networking reception that concluded the afternoon.