JP Castlin
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jpcastlin.bsky.social
JP Castlin
@jpcastlin.bsky.social
110 followers 19 following 230 posts
Strategy, complexity, profanity. Creator of the ABCDE framework, the 4E model of market dynamics + Idun and Edda. As seen in books, on stage, on TV, in newspapers, in columns etc. Website: jpcastlin.com Newsletter: strategyinpraxis.substack.com
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— RPD works best in dynamic uncertainty when tempo is high and data are limited.

Enjoy!

strategyinpraxis.substack.com/p/the-third-...
— Klein’s Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model establishes that decision-makers recognize patterns (goals, critical cues, expectancies, typical actions), run quick mental simulations, act, learn, and adjust.
— Rational Choice Theory does not fit reality (time pressure, high stakes, organizational messiness); Naturalistic Decision-Making does.
— The standard trio of aleatoric, epistemic, and radical uncertainty are static; real life is demarcated by dynamic uncertainty.

— In dynamic settings, optimization is unattainable; decision-makers act on good-enough information.
Is it a seagull? Is it a space ship? No, it is an analysis of the state of AI investments. Oh, and the actual newsletter: this week on Gary Klein’s RPD model for decision-making under uncertainty.

TL;DR:
The (third) on decision-making
Introducing RPD
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
I'm available whenever throughout the day, so just squeeze me in between the skeletons, candy, and whisky-reserved-for-dad-for-once-the-kids-are-in-bed.
At home with Child #2 until beginning of November, but the family are off on a trip without me (as I try to finish a book) so Friday in a fortnight (31) is entirely open.
Thank you, kind sir.

On a somewhat related note, we need to catch up soon. It has been FAR too long.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is the supply for popular demand: a free-for-all one off newsletter on writing and AI.

Is it doomed to constitute, as so many writers appear to believe, intellectual entropy?

strategyinpraxis.substack.com/p/the-only-o...
The (only) one writing and AI
A pause in the natural order of things
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
Only a fourth, dynamic kind of uncertainty describes this ebb and flood.

As always, I hope that you will like it and have a great weekend.

strategyinpraxis.substack.com/p/the-second...
The (second) one on decision-making
Enter dynamic uncertainty
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
While Kauffman’s screwdriver proves radical uncertainty, new uses are not guaranteed to recombine. Possibility space reductions are thus possible at least in principle.

New information may lead to a reduction, but also to an increase, of the uncertainty delta (ΔU).
John Kay and Mervyn King expand the lens by introducing radical uncertainty, but fail to acknowledge that there is a significant practical difference between that which is inconceivable and that which is unpredictable but anticipatable.
The most common approaches with which decision-makers attempt to manage uncertainty — by collecting data and making models — break down in contexts where the future is unknowable.
Is it a dragonfly? Is it a kite? We are still not quite sure. Oh, wait! It is another newsletter on uncertainty — this one on my own work.

The TL;DR:
The (second) one on decision-making
Enter dynamic uncertainty
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
Alas, it is far more common to face radical or dynamic uncertainty. These variants require a completely different way of thinking.

As always, I hope that you will enjoy it and have a great weekend.

strategyinpraxis.substack.com/p/the-first-...
A far more helpful method is to define the kind of uncertainty that one is facing.

Aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty, respectively, provide the traditional baseline. Both are inherently resolvable.
We all live and work amid unknowable outcomes; despite an army of tools and data, the future resists prediction.

The classic (economic) split is that of risk referring to known probabilities, while uncertainty refers to unknown probabilities. Reality, however, requires far more nuance.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? We aren’t really sure. Oh, wait! It’s a free-for-all newsletter about decision-making under uncertainty! And the 2026 keynotes too!

TL;DR:
The (first) one on decision-making
A free-for-all
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
Mintzberg’s umbrella strategy addresses many of the issues identified by critics of his work, but only if one applies the approach in a different way to that suggested.

His process strategy, on the other hand, neither holds in theory nor practice.

strategyinpraxis.substack.com/p/the-second...
The (second) on emergent strategy
The Strategy Omnibus contined
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
One of the undeniable drawbacks of the concept is that describes what happens after the fact, not what the firm might want to do beforehand. From this follows that, contrary to popular belief, one cannot “do” emergent strategy; if visible, it has already been done.
A number of conventionalists have claimed that emergent strategy would lead to a lack of mobility, but this is untrue. On the contrary, in rapidly changing environments, adaptability will always beat prediction unless dumb luck is involved.
TL;DR:

While strategic planning can be said to constitute strategy as wished for, emergent strategy is closer to strategy as actually done. Purely emergent strategies are as rare as purely deliberate strategies, however.
Is it a pterodactyl? Is it an airship? No, it’s the latest newsletter: the second on emergent strategy.
The (second) on emergent strategy
The Strategy Omnibus contined
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
The strongest outcomes typically braid top-down intent with bottom-up learning. Humility is required to adapt and scale local successes.

As always, I hope that you will like it and have a great weekend.

strategyinpraxis.substack.com/p/the-first-...
The (first) one on emergent strategy
A free-for-all
strategyinpraxis.substack.com
Deliberate strategies inevitably fail via misdiagnosis, lack of alignment, and uncontrollable external shifts — meaning that intended and realized strategies diverge.

Emergent strategy, which complements deliberate strategy, may be defined as patterns in actions taken over time.