We’re back with the next episode of A Little Bit Forward, short, five-minute episodes designed to slow you down, interrupt autopilot thinking, and create space for better decisions.

In this episode, Simon Waller explores a familiar but often unspoken tension: structural problems being treated with ad hoc solutions.

From weekly stand-ups and quarterly reporting to burnout fixes and team-building exercises, Simon examines how organisations are structurally set up to think short term, even while making decisions with years or decades of impact. Drawing on examples from strategic thinking, safety systems, and even flood mitigation, this episode challenges the habit of applying quick fixes to deep, systemic issues.

Five minutes. One question.

We’re back with the next episode of A Little Bit Forward, short, five-minute episodes designed to slow you down, interrupt autopilot thinking, and create space for better decisions.

In this episode, Simon Waller introduces a deceptively simple question that sits beneath every decision we make at work. How far into the future should we actually be thinking?

Drawing on his experience in scenario planning and large-scale investment decisions, Simon explores the idea of the “half-life” of a decision. The point at which its value should begin to outweigh its cost. From billion-dollar infrastructure investments to everyday leadership choices like hiring, this episode reframes strategy as a matter of time horizons.

Not every decision needs a 20-year view. But many need more than the next quarter. When leaders mismatch the importance of a decision with the timeframe they’re considering, short-term thinking quietly shapes long-term outcomes.

This episode invites you to reflect on the decisions you’re making regularly, and the future they are really designed for. What period of time captures most of the impact you are responsible for, and are you giving it enough attention?

Five minutes. One question.A deliberate pause to recalibrate how you think about the future, and move a little bit forward.

We’re back with episode five of A Little Bit Forward — short, five-minute episodes designed to slow you down, unsettle familiar thinking, and create space for better decisions.

In this episode, Simon Waller explores a quiet but powerful habit shaping the way we work and lead: the tendency to treat tomorrow as less important than today. Drawing on the concept of “discounting,” he examines how short-term thinking becomes normalised — even rewarded — in our organisations and systems.

Through a blend of economic thinking, cultural reflection, and practical insight, this episode questions whether our obsession with immediacy, productivity, and the present moment is distorting how we value future outcomes. What happens when urgency consistently outranks longevity? And what might change if tomorrow mattered just as much, or more, than today?

This isn’t about abandoning action. It’s about noticing where short-term decisions quietly undermine long-term impact, and whether our assumptions about time are really serving the work we care about.

Five minutes. One question.A deliberate pause to think differently — and move, just a little bit forward.