Your organization is making better decisions than ever. The question is whether anyone in it is developing the judgment to make the next generation of decisions without the systems doing it for them.
Why the AI era is producing smarter organizations and a generation unprepared to lead them — and what to do before it's too late.
"The concern is not new. The structural basis for it is."
— The Judgment Vacuum, Chapter III
For most of organizational history, judgment was built through friction — the slow accumulation of context, consequence, and correction. The efficiency era dismantled this system, link by link, without anyone noticing what was also being removed.
Today's leadership tier was forged before automation. Behind them, the pipeline is hollow — not because of talent, but because the conditions that produce judgment have been systematically dismantled. AI is accelerating this at every level simultaneously.
The conditions that produced judgment were never designed — they emerged by necessity. They can be deliberately recreated. The organizations that choose to do this are building the only sustainable competitive advantage the AI era allows.
This is not a guide to using AI tools or a meditation on the future of work. It is a rigorous account of how a specific human capacity — judgment — is formed, why the conditions for its formation have been dismantled, and what organizations must do before the last generation of judgment-holders retires.
Drawing on Polanyi, Ericsson, Klein, Weick, Edmondson, and two decades of hands-on experience leading global transformations at Accenture, The Judgment Vacuum names the problem that every serious leader already senses but cannot quite articulate.
Read the Book"The premium is not for people who can do what AI cannot. It is for people who can do the conductor's job — orchestrating the relationship between AI's processing power and the judgment that determines what that power is for."
— The Judgment Vacuum, Chapter VIII: The New Human Premium
A 45–60 minute keynote built for C-suite audiences, board offsites, and executive education programmes. Martin speaks from two decades of experience building — and then watching the consequences of — the efficiency transformations the book describes.
Delivered at board offsites, executive leadership forums, business schools, and AI transformation summits across Europe, the US, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.
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A modular in-company programme for leadership teams built directly on the frameworks in The Judgment Vacuum. Designed for organizations navigating AI transformation who want to understand — and act on — the formation problem before it becomes a succession crisis.
Each engagement begins with a Judgment Formation Assessment — a structured diagnostic that identifies where your organization stands and what needs to be rebuilt. Modules are then tailored to your specific gaps and context.
Leave your details and Martin will be in touch to explore whether this programme is the right fit for your organisation.
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A structured organizational diagnostic that measures the structural conditions under which business judgment is — or is not — being formed in your organization. Not a survey. A mirror.
The self-serve version of this instrument: your readiness score, your weakest axis, and your organizational archetype — immediately, no application required. The Pulse shows whether the gap exists. The full Assessment maps it.
Whether the reasoning of senior leaders is visible to — and absorbed by — the generation behind them.
Whether the pursuit of operational efficiency has quietly removed the conditions where judgment was forming.
Whether AI adoption is outrunning your organization's investment in human judgment formation.
The experiential depth gap between your current senior tier and the generation that will succeed them.
Whether your organization's design — roles, forums, succession — deliberately creates conditions for judgment to form.
A scored report across all five axes, your organizational archetype, a risk horizon, and a prioritized action plan.
The full report also includes your organizational archetype with match percentage and a five-intervention action plan calibrated to your axis profile.
The full Assessment is by application. Each request is reviewed before a code is issued.
Tell us about your organization and what you're trying to understand. Martin will review your request and be in touch within 48 hours.
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Martin will review your request and be in touch within 48 hours.
Access is granted at Martin's discretion. Your details are used solely to evaluate and process your request.
Five instruments that translate the book's argument into organizational action. Each addresses one axis of the formation problem. Together, they constitute a diagnostic and design system.
Each instrument is a standalone diagnostic. Select one to see what it measures, what it produces, and how to access it.
The Judgment Vacuum is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle, and through major booksellers. For bulk orders for leadership teams and executive programmes, contact us directly.
