Topic:
Good Judgement: Making Better Business Decisions with the Science of Human Personality (Harper Business, June 11, 2024)

Speaker:
Richard Davis, Organizational Psychologist and Managing Director, Russell Reynolds Associates

Moderator:
Julie McCarthy, Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough and Rotman School of Management

Book Synopsis:
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

From an experienced organizational psychologist comes a unique guide to learning how to better read and understand people and make improved, more informed business decisions about them—including choosing the right employees, fostering relationships in the workplace, resolving conflicts more effectively, and optimizing your performance on the job—using the science of personality.

Psychologists widely agree that five key traits define our personalities—intellect, emotionality, sociability, drive, and diligence. Unlike emotions, which are transitory in nature, these traits determine our behaviors, including our motivations, social inclinations, reactions to crisis or complexity, patterns of thinking, and more.

Organizational psychologist Dr. Richard Davis is an expert in assessing personalities. He has spent decades advising business leaders and evaluating executives from some of the world’s biggest companies, including Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Under Armour, Meta, Starbucks, Nike, LVMH, and the NBA. Over the course of his career, he has helped numerous executives make tough, highly consequential hiring calls based on personality. A company’s board might want its next CEO to be decisive, focused, and a strong communicator. Investors backing a start-up might want a leader who is not only a visionary but also a team player who doesn’t retaliate when given constructive feedback. That’s where he comes in. As a result of his life’s work, Dr. Davis has developed not only a unique perspective on what human personality is, but an indispensable toolkit for analyzing it, and using the information effectively.

In Good Judgment, he brings his expertise to you. Dr. Davis explains what the science of personality is and how it works, and how all of us can use it to improve our working relationships, careers, and lives. Whether you’re a novice manager looking to hire your first assistant, a board member in need of the ideal CEO, an angel investor trying to choose between two different startups, or a new parent selecting a pediatrician, understanding the science of personality and how to utilize it is the key to exercising good judgment—at work and in life.

About our Speaker:

Richard Davis is a seasoned industrial and organizational psychologist with extensive experience advising CEOs, private equity investors, and board directors. He works across a wide range of industries, including financial services, professional sports and entertainment, apparel, and manufacturing. He specializes in CEO succession, executive assessment, management due diligence, family office advisory, and executive coaching.

Richard has been a consultant to organizations for more than 20 years. Before joining Russell Reynolds Associates, he founded Kilberry, a leading firm of organizational psychologists, until its acquisition by RRA in 2023. Previously, he was a Partner at RHR International, where he led the private equity practice in Canada. Richard is the author of two books: Good Judgment and The Intangibles of Leadership. He has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, BusinessWeek, Globe and Mail, and CNBC.

Richard is licensed as an Industrial and Organizational Psychologist by the College of Psychologists of Ontario. He received his MA at Boston University and his Ph.D. at York University. He has held board positions in various not-for-profit organizations.

About our Moderator:

Julie McCarthy is a Professor of Organizational Behaviour and HR Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, with a cross-appointment to the Organizational Behaviour area at Rotman. Julie’s research examines strategies that employees, leaders, and organizations can use to build resilience, reduce stress, and achieve success. She also studies how organizations can ensure that their policies and practices are viewed favorably by job applicants and employees.

Julie is the Associate Chair of External Relations and Strategic Initiatives in the Department of Management at UTSC and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology and the Journal of Business and Psychology. Her work is published in leading academic journals and she has received numerous awards and recognitions for her research contributions. Julie’s work has also been featured in several prominent media outlets, such as Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Financial Post, CBC, CTV, and Macleans.

In the corporate sector, Julie has collaborated on research initiatives, training programs, performance management systems and selection tools on behalf public and private corporations that include Deloitte, Microsoft, TMX, Rogers, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Department of National Defense, among others.