In this high-stakes interactive simulation, participants step into a complex workplace situation where every decision shapes what happens next. Led by Colby Jones and Bukky Gray of Cognitive Humanity, the Quest explores how pressure, bias and incomplete information affect the way we judge people and situations.

Q: What common piece of conventional wisdom does this Quest flip?

That empathy is simply about being nice or understanding other people’s feelings. In reality, empathy is a decision-making capability. It’s about gathering better information, challenging assumptions, and making more accurate judgements about people and situations.

Q: Why do people need this Quest right now?

The way we work is changing faster than our ability to relate to one another. With AI adoption, constant change and increasing pressure, misunderstandings can escalate more quickly than ever. Organisations need better judgement, stronger collaboration and greater capacity to navigate uncertainty together.

Q: What is the single biggest “lightbulb moment” you predict participants will have?

We all have ways we want to show up at work, but when pressure rises we tend to lose perspective and narrow our empathy. Participants will realise just how often they are responding to assumptions rather than evidence — and that insight changes how they approach conflict, leadership and collaboration.

Q: What is one hands-on activity attendees will actually do?

Participants will walk into a situation that is still unfolding and have to make decisions before they have all the answers — just like they do every day at work.

Q: Complete this sentence: “People will walk into this Quest feeling ______, but they will walk out feeling ______.”

People will walk into this Quest feeling confident in their instincts, but they will walk out more aware of how easily pressure, bias and incomplete information shape those instincts.

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Quests take place on the morning of 2 October, before the main TEDxTinHau Women event. You can purchase a full-day ticket that includes the Morning Quest workshop, lunch and transport to the venue for the main event in the afternoon. Spots are limited so book your tickets HERE.

Facilitator: Colby Jones – Co-Founder of Cognitive Humanity (LinkedIn)
Location: AIA Office, 1st Floor,  Stubbs Road, Wan Chai
Time: 8:45am – Arrival – Workshop: 9am – 1130am

Part workplace simulation, part social experiment, explore how bias and assumptions when combined with pressure, drives what we notice, the people we believe and who we hold responsible: influencing our judgement and empathy in the workplace.  

Most of us like to believe that when something goes wrong at work, our response will be calm, empathic, and fair. But when the pressure is real, the information is incomplete, and everyone wants an answer yesterday, we tend to make assumptions, lose our ability to take on others’ perspectives, and follow signals that may not tell the whole truth. 

Join Bukky Gray and Colby Jones of Harvard-backed Cognitive Humanity on an immersive journey that takes you inside an organisation in crisis. 

Whether you lead a team, manage stakeholders or regularly make decisions without the full picture, this Quest will leave you with a clearer understanding of your own instincts, a sharper ability to separate evidence from interpretation, and practical ways to navigate workplace conflict and complexity with greater empathy and clarity.

For more information about other five Quests see the details on our website HERE.