FUNDAMENTAL THESIS:

Humans are driven by unconscious emotions and existential conditions → Awareness is the precondition for a good life → A good life is a meaningful life, anchored in love, work, and health.

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SELF-AWARENESS – A HIDDEN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
A key driver of well-being, effective decision-making, and a productive work environment lies in the development of self-awareness. This is a timeless truth, yet in a world overwhelmed by information, rapidly evolving technology, and increasing decision-making complexity, self-awareness remains one of the most crucial – yet often overlooked – factors for success and wellbeing.​

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THEORETICAL FOUNDATION - WHY SELF-AWARENESS MATTERS

Throughout history, humanity’s tendency to be guided by unconscious forces has been expressed in various ways. From the Greek maxim "Know yourself", inscribed in Apollo’s temple at Delphi, to Freud’s insight that "The ego is not master in its own house", to what is now called cognitive bias. Modern research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics confirms that our decisions are often influenced by such unconscious patterns rather than purely rational considerations.

 

Herbert Simon (1978), Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith (2002), and Richard Thaler (2017) were all awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for research that in various ways showed that humans are not always the - Homo Economicus - rational decision makers that traditional economic theory once assumed. They demonstrated that we make decisions based on limited information and cognitive capacity, rely on heuristics, are influenced by psychological factors, and take mental shortcuts that sometimes lead us astray.

 

Examples of common biases in leadership include:

• Confirmation bias – the tendency to seek confirmation of what we already believe rather than challenging our assumptions.

• Status quo bias – the reluctance to change things, even when change is necessary.

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​FILOSKOP’S ROLE – CREATING VALUE THROUGH DEEPENED SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND A BROADENED PERSPECTIVE

Filoskop helps leaders deepen their self-knowledge and broaden their perspective – in order to make more considered and strategic decisions, address challenges with greater clarity, and identify more opportunities in complex situations.

 

The foundation of this work is the insight that deeper understanding emerges in the living encounter between feeling and thought – when raw experience can be tolerated and processed into something symbolisable and thinkable. Through this process, the ability is developed to adopt a meta-perspective, to decentre (avoid being locked into one’s own position), and to shift between different interpretive frameworks. This leaves the leader better equipped to perceive and analyse complex situations, regulate emotional charge in challenging contexts, and transform uncertainty into understanding and decisive action.

 

IN CONDENSED FORM

Leadership that understands and regulates its subjectivity, and consciously broadens its perspective, attains clarity through objective analysis – and can thereby unite economic development and human well-being without compromising the value that the product or service creates for people and society – thereby securing the organisation’s long-term relevance and its very reason for being.

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CONTACT
indre@filoskop.se