Crazy Might Work
Issue #32 | January 2026
It’s No Longer Optional to have a Cybernetic Teammate
Six Ways Human-AI Strategies Outperform Human-Only Equivalents
Whether it’s a People and Culture, Marketing, Technology, or Whatever Kinda Strategy you are working on, it’s no longer optional to recruit a cybernetic teammate. According to Dell’Acqua et al. (2025), human teams working with Artificial Intelligence (AI) outperform human-only teams.
In many leading organisations, this is already shaping how strategic decisions are made across functions like forecasting, risk analysis and customer insight, but this article explores six ways that AI goes beyond automation to provide real strategic value by enhancing sense-making, foresight and decision quality. From large-scale data integration and predictive analytics to market intelligence and scenario simulation, AI is now embedded in strategy to detect patterns, anticipate change and stress-test strategic assumptions.
In these systems AI does not supplant human judgment; it amplifies it.
The Role of Humans In Strategy
What Remains Quintessentially Human
If algorithms are modelling markets, optimising portfolios, testing scenarios, and surfacing patterns at a scale no human team could match alone, then what is left for humans to do?
Humans possess the unique ability to rupture dominant frames by questioning underlying assumptions, redefining system boundaries, and reinterpreting signals that do not fit prevailing models. And human-driven reframing originates as a result of social dialogue, metaphor, and experimentation, rather than through analytic decomposition alone (Orrù et al., 2023). In contrast, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems operate within the frames encoded in their objectives, training data, and evaluation functions. So, whilst AI can accelerate analysis within frames, the human capacity to disrupt and reconstruct those frames remains central to breakthrough thinking and strategy.
Human Intelligence is Embodied
Computer experts estimate the human brain is capable of exaflop computing, which equates to 1018 floating point operations per second (roughly the same processing power as the world’s best supercomputers) (Madhavan, 2023), but there are some fundamental differences in how this intelligence gets expressed. One of these is that human intelligence is embodied. Insight generation or the Aha! moment is one example we have already mentioned, and another can be found in the extensive human hand-brain connections. The human brain has evolved to think in contact with the physical world, and one of the most powerful ways to do this in strategy is using a tool developed for that specific purpose: LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP). LSP is used by global brands to develop their strategies because it has one key attribute: it allows strategists to “Build to Think” using metaphor and storytelling (rather than literal LEGO builds) to imagine the future and co-create a strategy.
LEGO® Serious Play® Full Certification
FULL CERTIFICATION
It’s time to ‘go pro’ with a facilitation skill that has taken the world by storm: LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP). Used for strategy and innovation by some of the biggest brands, this is not child’s play. In the 2-day full accreditation, you’ll learn the key techniques required to frame and tackle business problems, improve team collaboration and drive innovation in your organisation. If you are looking for an approach that is immersive and truly engaging, LEGO® Serious Play® is one to add to your resume.
LSP Certification Course gives you the full repertoire of LSP Methods, from the Foundation Course through to advanced facilitation and commercial guidance. Complete the course and become a Certified Facilitator of LSP.
COURSE OVERVIEW
These workshops are intensive, small-group coaching sessions where we give you everything you need to succeed in bringing LSP to your organisation or business and maximising its impact:
– Background theory on why this method works and when to use it
– Templates to design a range of awesome LSP sessions
– Extensive coaching on delivering LSP
– Innovative ways to capture the powerful conversations from a session
– Traditional uses for LSP (Individual, Team, Business)
– New uses for LSP (customising the workshop to include how you will use the method)
– Key tips and strategies to win over important stakeholders, turning them into advocates
– Understand the various LEGO kits that are available and build your own
– Connect into the worldwide LSP community
WHEN + WHERE
In-person two days on Tuesday, 21st April and Wednesday, 22nd April 2026
Sydney, CBD (Venue to be Confirmed)
PRICING
$2,875 per participant (Includes GST)
Create High-Performing Teams
40 years ago, on 28 January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated just after lift-off, killing its crew and changing the history of spaceflight. A small team of engineers tried to prevent the tragedy but were overruled. After senate inquiries and further fatalities, it was eventually found that the root cause of the disaster was culture and leadership failure. As a result of these incidents, the NASA 4-D System was developed and transformed NASA’s culture. Voluntarily completed by over 1,500 NASA teams, the program spread globally and has become a gold standard for over 100,000 teams across 75 countries. Read the article by the ABC News here
NASA 4-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM ACCREDITATION
Participants complete 16 hours of immersive leadership experiences, including simulations from the current space program, acquiring 8 skills that have made this the gold standard for over 100,000 alumni worldwide. After completing the core program, participants use the NASA Context Shifting Blueprint to shift a selected team from dysfunction or mediocrity to high performance. This demonstrates the power of the 4-D system and will forever change the way you think about leadership and influence.
BENEFITS
HIGH PERFORMANCE: Create psychologically safe and high-performing teams.
SHIFT SOCIAL CONTEXT: Rewrite the Unwritten Rules and transform the social context.
BE INSPIRED: Replicate what NASA did to become the Best Place to Work 13 years in a row.
END THE DRAMA: Eliminate drama and address dysfunctional team beliefs and conflicts.
ACCELERATE TEAM DEVELOPMENT: Forget the ‘forming’, ‘storming’, ‘norming’ and ‘performing’.
IMMEDIATE APPLICATION: Apply these behaviours to your organisation today for immediate impact.
DIGITAL ACCREDITATION: Become certified in the NASA 4-Dimensional and be globally recognised.
VIRTUAL PUBLIC PROGRAM 2026 – EIGHT SESSIONS
Here are the dates in 2026 for our public virtual programs, 2-hour sessions over consecutive weeks on Tuesdays (except the program starting in March):
– 3 March 2026 through to 27 March over 4 weeks with 2 sessions per week on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:00pm to 2:00pm AEDT
– 14 April 2026 and runs through to 2 June 2026 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm AEST
– 21 July 2026 and runs through to 8 September 2026 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm AEST
– 13 October 2026 and runs through to 1 December 2026 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm AEDT
PRICING: AUD $1,999 per participant
Prefer to Run the 4-D Program In-House?
Contact us about internalising a program here: info@crazymightwork.com.
Crazy Might Work are Winners at AUS Space 25 Awards
Crazy Might Work has won Workforce Initiative of the Year in the Australian Space Awards for our 4-Dimensional Leadership program, initially developed by Charlie Pellerin (the former Director of Astrophysics) and made famous by NASA. Thank you to all of you who have joined us on the NASA 4-D journey – this accolade recognises your results and we could not have done it without your support. You can hear us thank you in this very short acceptance speech.
PODCAST
Adam Thorn interviews award-winner Paul Hawkins on the Secret Sauce of High Performance, according to NASA
This conversation between Adam and Paul explores why the 4-D program is so effective at creating high-performing teams. There is also a juicy serving of neuroscience and how leaders can optimise human and artificial intelligence in creative problem-solving at a strategic or organisational level. Paul discusses the skills required by leaders in 2030 and how these are sequenced in Crazy Might Work’s Leading4Breakthrough® program. Leaders combine critical thinking and creative problem-solving with artificial intelligence to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Listen on your preferred podcast platform below:
Build Your Psycho-Cyber Strategic Innovation Capability
The Leading4Breakthrough® Program is a two-day, face-to-face workshop designed for leaders wanting to solve a significant organisational challenge, using the optimal combination of human and artificial intelligence. It combines the latest research in creative problem-solving and neuroscience with the top 10 skills identified by the World Economic Forum as important now, and through to 2030. Future-proof your thinking with a psycho-cyber skillset and mental models that can be deployed wherever and whenever fresh thinking is needed.
For an in-house program, contact us at info@crazymightwork.com.
CRAZY MIGHT WORK OUT & ABOUT
Chief Strategy Officer Conference- 22 + 23 October in Sydney
Crazy Might Work chaired the Chief Strategy Officer conference in Sydney on 23 October 2025. The speakers and panellists provided great insights into how they are navigating strategy in a changing time, using artificial intelligence, data and insights to drive informed decisions.
University of Western Australia – 3 Oct 2025 in Perth
Paul presented his PhD on Psycho-Cyber Co-Creation to the School of Engineering on the UWA campus.
Project Management Institute (PMI) WA – 8 Oct 2025 in Perth
Paul presented on ‘How NASA Builds High-Performing Teams’ at the Project Management Institute in Perth.
International Astronautical Congress 2025 29 Sep – 3 Oct 2025
What a privilege it was to co-exhibit with Investment NSW at the 76th International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, preceded by an exciting couple of days leading Working Group Number Five at the Space Generation Advisory Council to the United Nations.