In this video, Timo Vuori explores how leaders’ emotions can shape—and sometimes distort—strategic decision-making. Using Donald Trump’s approach to Iran as an example, he highlights how factors like overconfidence, relying on intuition and failed assumptions can lead to flawed strategy.

0:00 Introduction

0:44 Lesson 1 Dangers of relying on intuition alone

2:07 Lesson 2 Encourage and listen to critical opinions

4:29 Lesson 3 Understand your own team

5:40 Lesson 4 Understand your competitors

7:23 Lesson 5 Understand the ecosystem

9:25 Lesson 6 Update your assumptions frequently

11:10 Conclusion

He connects these findings to his own research:

Vuori, T. O., & Huy, Q. N. (2022). Regulating top managers’ emotions during strategy making: Nokia’s socially distributed approach enabling radical change from mobile phones to networks in 2007–2013. Academy of Management Journal, 65(1), 331-361.

Vuori, T. O., & Huy, Q. N. (2016). Distributed attention and shared emotions in the innovation process: How Nokia lost the smartphone battle. Administrative science quarterly, 61(1), 9-51.