This program will provide you with the tools to use historical “test cases” to develop your own decision-making strategies in both the business world and in your everyday life. Participants will learn from some of the most monumental decisions in history as we consider the thought processes behind key historical “tipping points.” We will analyze Julius Caesar’s decision to cross the Rubicon, Abraham Lincoln’s move to end slavery, and John F. Kennedy’s masterful avoidance of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This is a specially designed seminar taught by Joseph Luzzi, a Professor of Comparative Literature at Bard, winner of a Yale Teaching Prize, and a New York Times “Editors’ Choice” author who has taught leaders in finance, business, the corporate world, and NYU Stern Business School’s Executive MBA program.

Joseph Luzzi, author and professor at Bard College, teaches leaders what they can learn from the most monumental decisions in history.

How to Leverage History for Better Decision Making

Decision Making 

Joseph Luzzi (PhD, Yale) is an internationally renowned award-winning teacher, author, scholar, and speaker who has inspired audiences worldwide with his insights into the transformative power of literature, art, and the humanities. He is Professor of Comparative Literature at Bard College and Faculty Member in Italian Studies at Bard College, and taught previously at the University of Pennsylvania. A frequent contributor to publications including the New York Times and Chronicle of Higher Education among many others, Luzzi is the author of five books including My Two Italies, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love, a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection that has been translated into multiple languages.

Dr. Luzzi is the founder of DeepRead, which offers a uniquely original approach to leadership and business education by basing its teaching and “test cases” on the great ideas of literature, history, and philosophy. He speaks and consults regularly for businesses, corporations, and conferences, and has taught in New York University’s Stern Business School Executive MBA and Smith College's Executive Education programs.

Joseph’s many awards include a Yale Teaching Prize, National Humanities Center Fellowship, Dante Society of America Essay Prize, and Wallace Fellowship at Villa I Tatti, Harvard’s Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. In 2017 he was named Cittadino Onorario/Honorary Citizen in Acri, Calabria, his Italian parents’ birthplace. Luzzi’s work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the Guardian and National Public Radio, and his next book, Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance, will be published by W. W. Norton in 2022.

Professor Luzzi recently created The Virtual Book Club, an international online community of passionate readers devoted to exploring some of the best books ever written.

Decision Making

How to Leverage History for Better Decision Making

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