This article explores the challenges of navigating complex information and making confident decisions in our knowledge-saturated world, proposing multidimensional thinking as the solution. Using the parable of blind men describing an elephant from their limited perspectives, the author argues that embracing diverse viewpoints creates more complete understanding than relying on single sources or experts. The piece outlines five benefits of multidimensional thinking: it helps identify bias and misinformation, breaks down knowledge silos, fosters empathy across different perspectives, promotes self-reflection about our own assumptions, and enables more creative and sustainable decision-making.

This article traces the evolution of human-centered decision-making through three phases, arguing that understanding "humanness" remains crucial even in our AI-driven era. It begins with Decision-making 1.0 (traditional market research like focus groups), noting limitations such as short-term focus, isolated methods, and susceptibility to echo chambers that stifle innovation. Decision-making 2.0 introduced technology and AI to improve connections and streamline processes, but the author argues that algorithms cannot handle non-existent information, exceptions to rules, or unexpected anomalies. Decision-making 3.0 emphasizes that human ingenuity creates discontinuities and envisions possibilities beyond past data, making our "shared humanness" essential for better choices despite the complexity it introduces.

This article discusses the concept of perspectives and human ingenuity, referencing political scientist Thomas Homer-Dixon's "ingenuity gap" theory—the idea that as we solve problems, new and more complex issues emerge that outpace our ability to address them. The piece explains how human perspectives are formed through combining emotional responses, personal experiences, sensory feedback, and input from others and the environment. It describes how humans can understand and adopt other people's perspectives, which enhances collective problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

This article reports on WebSummit's focus on human-centricity in business, featuring quotes from executives at major companies like IKEA, Microsoft, and Lush who emphasized putting humanity at the center of their operations. The piece highlights how leaders discussed moving beyond traditional sustainability goals toward actively improving human conditions, shifting from "know-it-all" to "learn-it-all" cultures, and understanding stakeholders as people rather than just data points. The article includes commentary from Sir Ridley Scott about the urgent need for intervention in humanity's crisis state and digital technologies' role in addressing sustainability goals. The piece frames human-centricity as a movement that enables companies to understand real problems people face and offer solutions with broader social impact beyond traditional sales funnel approaches.