HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Why Skilled People Sometimes Fail When the Stakes Rise
Pressure does not erase expertise. It can change the way a performer uses it.
Human Performance, Leadership and Society.
Exploring Human Performance, Leadership and Society through evidence-based journalism, long-form essays and thoughtful analysis.
LEADERSHIP
What Is Leadership?
Leadership is not a title, a trait, or a performance. ALTIUS defines it as a learnable practice grounded in research from Burns, Kotter, Eurich, and Gallup.
Editor's Picks
Latest articles
COMMUNICATION
A Political Consultant Is Not Paid to Tell the Candidate They Are Right
Power does not merely attract flatterers. It changes the conditions under which honest information can reach the person who most needs to hear it.
COMMUNICATION
A Campaign Does Not Begin with a Slogan. It Begins with a Diagnosis
The rush to communicate before understanding produces campaigns that are visible, expensive and sometimes fundamentally wrong.
PSYCHOLOGY
Why Enjoying Competition Makes You More Competitive
Many athletes believe enjoying competition makes them less competitive. The opposite is often true. When athletes embrace challenge instead of fearing failure, they stay curious, adapt more effectively under pressure and unlock more consistent, resilient and sustainable high performance.
Latest Essays
Archive
HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Why Your Attention Fails Before Your Motivation Does
You may still care deeply about the goal and yet struggle to make progress. Before blaming motivation, examine what has happened to your attention.
COMMUNICATION
From Enthusiastic Friends to a Professional Campaign Team
Loyalty can start a campaign. It cannot, by itself, organise one.
COMMUNICATION
A Political Consultant Is Not Paid to Tell the Candidate They Are Right
Power does not merely attract flatterers. It changes the conditions under which honest information can reach the person who most needs to hear it.
COMMUNICATION
A Campaign Does Not Begin with a Slogan. It Begins with a Diagnosis
The rush to communicate before understanding produces campaigns that are visible, expensive and sometimes fundamentally wrong.
DECISION MAKING
What a Politician Is Really Buying When They Hire a Consultant
The visible products are speeches, polling and strategy. The real purchase is harder to see: independent judgment in a profession that makes honest judgment unusually difficult.
HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Why We Forgot How to Think
Deep thinking is becoming increasingly rare. As digital technology trains our brains to expect constant stimulation, the ability to concentrate, reflect and solve complex problems may become one of the most valuable skills of the AI era.
SOCIETY
The Attention Economy Is Rewiring Human Performance
Digital platforms compete for every spare moment of attention. As information multiplies, the ability to protect focus, think clearly and resist constant interruption is becoming a defining advantage in human performance
EDUCATION
Everything We Thought We Knew About Learning May Be Wrong
Why Easy Practice Can Create the Illusion of Mastery
PSYCHOLOGY
Why Enjoying Competition Makes You More Competitive
Many athletes believe enjoying competition makes them less competitive. The opposite is often true. When athletes embrace challenge instead of fearing failure, they stay curious, adapt more effectively under pressure and unlock more consistent, resilient and sustainable high performance.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
When Rigid Thinking Is Really Sleep Debt
Rigid thinking is not always stubbornness. New research suggests that sleep loss can narrow cognitive flexibility, reduce adaptability and make certainty feel more reliable than it really is.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Your Brain Is Not Running Out of Fuel — The New Science of Decision Fatigue
The glucose theory of willpower is dead. New research shows decision fatigue is real but works differently than we thought — and that changes everything.
HUMAN PERFORMANCE
The Cost of Always Being Right
The business world celebrates decisive leaders — but what happens when being right becomes an identity rather than an outcome? The hidden cost of certainty in executive leadership.