
The Surprising Science of "Decision Intelligence" With Simon Hill
Is your organisation actually innovating, or are you just participating in "innovation theater"? In this deeply analytical episode, Andy Lopata sits down with Simon Hill, CEO of Wazoku, to explore how leaders can close the gap between looking innovative and actually delivering measurable, future-proof value.
Simon challenges the common wisdom of separating innovation from the core of the business, arguing instead that true transformation must happen from the inside out. Drawing fascinating parallels from sports analytics—specifically how Premier League clubs like Brentford balance massive data teams with old-school character scouting—
Andy and Simon debate the tension between quantitative data and human intuition. Simon introduces his patent-pending algorithmic approach to "quantifying the qualitative," explaining how leaders can map their "problem landscapes" using synthetic data. Finally, they dive into the revolutionary concept of "Kill Credits," showing how organisations can turn failed, $10 million projects into tangible balance sheet assets that drive future success.
About Our Guest:
Simon Hill is the founder and CEO of Wazoku, a leading collective intelligence and innovation platform that works with global organizations including NASA, HSBC, and Shell. Simon is the author of Expected Value, a regular contributor to Forbes, and an Entrepreneur in Residence at the prestigious business school INSEAD. Under his leadership, Wazoku has run some of the most complex, large-scale innovation programs globally, focusing on turning innovation from a corporate slogan into a measurable science.
What We Discussed In This Episode
Innovation Theater vs. Performance: Why cultural gestures, mindsets, and learning are only valuable if they ultimately result in the creation of new and novel value for the future.
The Sports Analytics Debate: A look at Premier League football clubs (like Brentford and Brighton) employing up to 100 data analysts, contrasted with traditional, relationship-driven managers who scout a player’s character by visiting their homes.
Desirable, Feasible, Viable: Why the "best on paper" solution is rarely the one chosen, and how leaders can codify their unique organizational "special sauce" (culture, risk appetite, and leadership style) as a core dataset.
The "Kill Credit" Concept: A revolutionary accounting mechanism that takes the expected value of a failed, terminated project and applies it as a temporary (12-month) balance sheet asset representing documented organizational learning.
Bridging Strategy, Innovation, and Finance: Why the typical corporate disconnect between future-mapping (strategy), value-building (innovation), and funding (finance) is so damaging, and how a shared metric can align them.
AI vs. HI (Human Interaction): Why artificial intelligence is not actually intelligent, but rather a tool designed to enhance human decision intelligence and drive more meaningful collaboration.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Simon Hill’s Book: Expected Value: How to Quant the Qual and Avoid Innovation Theater
Alvin Turner’s Work: The concept of "Zombie Projects"
Download the full episode to learn how to turn your qualitative ideas into quantitative business value!
Connect with Andy & Simon Hill
Connect with Andy Lopata: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | X/Twitter | YouTube
D'autres épisodes de "The Connected Leadership Podcast"



Ne ratez aucun épisode de “The Connected Leadership Podcast” et abonnez-vous gratuitement à ce podcast dans l'application GetPodcast.








