I’m Joseph Lavoie.

I work at the intersection of politics, business, and decision-making, focusing on how power shifts under pressure and how institutions respond when the ground moves beneath them.

Most of my career has unfolded inside high-stakes environments shaped by regulation, media scrutiny, and competing commercial interests. I’ve advised G7 leaders, premiers, and global organizations as they navigated political change, public backlash, and moments where decisions had to be made quickly and with incomplete information.

A pattern emerged over time. Organizations rarely struggle because they lack intelligence or intent. They struggle because they’re forced to make complex calls without a shared system for interpreting signals, weighing trade-offs, or deciding what truly matters when conditions turn volatile.

This newsletter attempts to explore that gap.

This is where I write and speak about power, decision-making, and the operating systems that shape institutional performance. The focus is less on reacting to headlines and more on understanding the underlying forces driving political, demographic, technological, and regulatory change, then translating that understanding into better judgment and action.

What Power Shifts covers

Power Shifts examines how leaders and organizations adapt when power reallocates across governments, markets, and societies. Topics range from regulatory strategy and political risk to leadership under uncertainty, institutional design, and the practical use of AI in public affairs and strategy work. Across each theme, the through line is the same: how institutions build systems that can keep up.

What you’ll find here

Here, you’ll find analysis and applied thinking for people making decisions in complex, high-pressure environments. Shorter pieces focus on regulatory shifts, political dynamics, and emerging risks as they develop. Longer essays explore books, research, and frameworks related to leadership, performance, and power. From time to time, I also publish practical work on using AI as a decision-support tool in strategy and public affairs.

I co-host the Craft Politics podcast, where these ideas are tested in conversation through current events and real-world examples. Episodes appear here when they extend or deepen the thinking.