Date: 8 June 2026, 15:00-16:00 CET
Format: Online and Free of charge
Speaker: Dr. Elmar Kutsch, Professor of Risk Management, specialising in decision-making under uncertainty and mindful approaches to judgement in complex organisational settings. He serves as a visiting professor at Cranfield School of Management, Warwick Business School, and emlyon business school. His work bridges academic research and professional practice, with a focus on risk management and the application of analytical frameworks in real-world contexts. Alongside his research, he designs and delivers executive education programmes for senior leaders, with an emphasis on practical relevance and reflective decision-making.
Description: In an increasingly uncertain and fast-moving world, effective decision making depends on far more than processes, dashboards, and risk registers. This 1-hour masterclass explores mindful decision making through personal experiences from the world of skydiving, where preparation, judgement, situational awareness, and rapid adaptation can make the difference between success and catastrophe. Drawing on the work of Ellen Langer and contemporary thinking on risk, resilience, and human behaviour, the session challenges conventional assumptions about control, certainty, and expertise. Using real-world reflections and experiences from skydiving to explore how people respond under pressure, you will examine the subtle ways routine, overconfidence, distraction, and automatic thinking can shape decisions in high-stakes environments. The session culminates in an opportunity for you to challenge and reflect upon your own patterns of mindful decision making through an interactive AI-enabled mindfulness assessment tool, offering fresh insight into how you think, notice, interpret, and act under conditions of uncertainty.
You will learn how mindful decision making differs from routine, automatic decision making.
- Why uncertainty cannot be eliminated and how effective leaders learn to work with it rather than against it.
- How overconfidence, distraction, and habitual thinking can undermine sound decisions.
- Why expertise can sometimes create blind spots as well as strengths.
- How preparation and adaptability interact when circumstances change rapidly.
- Why resilience depends on awareness and flexibility, not simply on rigid procedures and controls.
Registration: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ee136b3e-a593-4c72-a044-cb75f2abf9b7@812a3715-3a4e-40e5-b038-f7b3dc11c71c