IDENTITY FIRST™
HIGH-END LIBRARY
Decision · Role · Governance · Identity at Work
Research, cases and field observations on decisions, role, governance, transitions and professional identity.
A selective collection of insights supporting the work of Executive Decision & Identity Advisory.
ADVISORY · JUDGMENT · DECISION
The value of an advisor is not in making the decision
When authority and judgment need not reside in the same person
Being close to a decision does not mean owning it. The advisor's value can lie precisely in the ability to get close enough to the process to question, together with the decision-maker, the Field Reading from which the choice is emerging.
READ →DECISION · JUDGMENT · AI
When preparing a decision well is not enough
Data, alternatives, and scenarios can improve preparation. But one question remains: what have we truly tested before deciding?
AI makes it increasingly fast to prepare a decision: summarising information, building scenarios, generating alternatives. But a very well-documented decision can still have a blind spot. Preparation, judgment, and ownership are not the same thing.
READ →GOVERNANCE · JUDGMENT · ACCOUNTABILITY
When governance cannot decide for you
Judgment, accountability and the point where the system leaves room for choice
Procedures, controls, data and support systems can take a decision very far. Then comes a point where the system has done its job and someone must exercise judgment. The 2026 revision of the Japanese Corporate Governance Code offers an interesting perspective on the relationship between governance, decision-making and accountability.
READ →GOVERNANCE · TRANSITION · DECISION RIGHTS
When the CEO leaves, what must they truly leave behind?
Succession, decision rights and the risk of shadow authority
Continuity during a succession can protect knowledge, relationships and judgment. It can also leave intact an authority that the new CEO should now be exercising. Adobe and AIG show two different architectures and bring back into focus an often-overlooked question: when the role changes, who truly decides?
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