Using Psychometrics for Strategic Decision-Making with Araz Najarian

The Business Simplicity Podcast

In this Business Simplicity Podcast episode, Araz Najarian joins Chris Parker in a conversation about how psychometrics can sharpen leadership and strategy.

The key to organizational longevity? Staying connected to customers and adapting continuously - not industry trends or luck. Araz highlights the difference between value creation (as perceived by customers) and value capture (extracting returns). Companies focused only on capture lose relevance when markets shift.

Araz debunks the myth that strategy is a one-time, top-down exercise. Instead, she champions "strategizing as learning" - a dynamic, inclusive process. Psychometric tools help leaders understand team dynamics, revealing biases (e.g., avoiding tough decisions) and aligning diverse strengths. These tools aren’t for labeling but for asking better questions and fostering psychological safety. The episode also underscores the importance of skilled debriefing to turn psychometric insights into action - like adjusting meeting habits that are biased towards certain preferences over others or recognizing team blind spots. And Araz debrief Chris’s personal Strategising Preferences Report with him live in this episode.

For executives navigating complexity, this conversation is a reminder that staying relevant requires constant connection to the outside world and the discipline to create value as perceived by customers. These insights matter now more than ever as leaders face markets defined by rapid change and must organize themselves not just to survive, but to pay people well, reinvest intelligently, and drive compounding growth across generations.

Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/psychometrics-araz-najarian/