Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it is knowing how to think.
Decisions Beyond was founded on a simple conviction: that the quality of our lives is shaped by the quality of our decisions, and that better thinking can be taught.
Our Mission
We exist to make the art of thinking clearly both accessible and transformative. Drawing from chess strategy, classical philosophy, and modern decision science, Decisions Beyond helps individuals, leaders, and organisations develop the practical wisdom to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and high-stakes choices with greater confidence and clarity.
“Every decision creates a new position in life.”
Our Philosophy
At the heart of our work is a belief that good decision-making is a learnable skill — not a fixed trait. We draw on three interconnected disciplines:
Chess
Chess is the ultimate laboratory for decision-making under pressure. It teaches pattern recognition, long-range thinking, the management of uncertainty, and the discipline to pause before acting. Every move has consequences — and so does every choice in life.
Philosophy
From Aristotle's phronesis — practical wisdom — to Stoic principles of focus and resilience, philosophy gives us the conceptual tools to examine our assumptions, clarify our values, and reason more rigorously about what matters and why.
Decision Science
Modern research on cognitive bias, heuristics, and judgment helps us understand how and why we go wrong — and what we can do about it. We translate complex findings into practical frameworks that work in the real world.
Edwin Ruiz
Founder & Principal
Edwin Ruiz holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His academic grounding in ethics, logic, and the history of ideas forms the intellectual backbone of everything Decisions Beyond does.
An experienced chess educator and competitive chess player, Edwin is also the founder and Executive Director of Day & Knight Chess Club — a nonprofit organisation dedicated to making chess education accessible to underserved communities. Through this work, he has seen first-hand how chess develops not just strategic thinking, but character, patience, and resilience.
As an entrepreneur, Edwin brings a practitioner's perspective to the theory of decision-making. He has navigated the real pressures of building something from nothing — the uncertainty, the trade-offs, the moments where clarity matters most. That experience shapes his approach: grounded, practical, and deeply human.
Edwin founded Decisions Beyond to bring these three worlds together — philosophy, chess, and entrepreneurship — in service of one goal: helping people think more clearly and choose more wisely.
What We Stand For
Clarity over cleverness
We believe clear thinking is more valuable than impressive-sounding complexity. We work to make ideas accessible without making them shallow.
Practice over theory
Philosophy and decision science are only useful if they change how you act. Everything we teach is designed to be applied — in the boardroom, the classroom, and everyday life.
Humility over certainty
Good thinkers know the limits of their knowledge. We cultivate intellectual humility — the willingness to question assumptions, update beliefs, and sit with uncertainty.
Access over exclusivity
Wisdom should not be the preserve of the privileged few. Through our nonprofit work and our educational programmes, we are committed to making great thinking available to everyone.
Work with Edwin
Whether you are looking for a keynote speaker, a workshop facilitator, or a strategic thinking partner, we would welcome the conversation.