Cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand illustrates that a system's tightness or looseness correlates with the threats it faces, and understanding this framework can enhance collaboration, reduce tensions, and improve organizational health.

Strategic thinking, as defined by Michael Watkins, involves critically and creatively envisioning potential futures beyond the current situation, and he outlines six specific disciplines to intentionally cultivate this mindset.

Professor Cass Sunstein defines "sludge" as the unnecessary bureaucracy and frictions, like long wait times and excessive paperwork, that hinder access to desired outcomes, suggesting organizations can improve experiences by minimizing these obstacles.

This class explores human cognition and decision-making through insights from experts like Michio Kaku on magical thinking, Madhavan on systems-level thinking, Mlodinow on elastic thinking, Konnikova on deductive reasoning, and Summers on structured decision-making, promoting a scientific mindset for effective problem-solving.