A reference for the specialized terms used across CCG’s research, white papers, and journal essays. Each definition is the first-use anchor across the rest of the site. Cited where the underlying evidence comes from.
The economic framework in which human cognitive capacity (creativity, judgment, emotional intelligence, adaptability) is the foundational driver of growth and competitiveness. As AI automates more transactional work, the value of distinctively human cognitive contribution rises. The brain economy frame treats this rising value as a measurable input to organizational strategy, not a soft cultural claim.
The collective cognitive, mental, and neurological assets of a workforce. Treated as a measurable input to organizational performance alongside financial and technology capital. The McKinsey Health Institute and World Economic Forum estimate $6.2 trillion in cumulative GDP gains from brain capital investment globally; the Lancet Commission estimates a $26 trillion brain capital opportunity.
Workplace conditions that directly drive brain and mental health outcomes. The six conditions CCG works on are: job demands, control over work, support at work (from managers and peers), relationships at work, role clarity, and change communication. These are organizational design variables, distinct from individual health behaviors.
The regulatory and operational concept of work-related stressors that produce health outcomes. Now embedded in EU-OSHA Framework Directive, Brazil NR-01 mandate, and Spanish workplace mandates. A risk to be managed at the organizational level, not a benefit to be offered.
Krystal’s framework distinguishing organizational-design interventions (upstream: how work is structured) from individual behavior-change programs (downstream: apps, employee assistance programs, resilience training). Upstream is where the leverage lives. You cannot out-app a toxic work environment.
An organization that treats cognitive health as an organizational design standard, not a benefits offering. The frame Krystal presented at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit in 2024 and 2025.
The framing of brain health as an operating decision (workflow design, meeting density, decision authority, recovery time) rather than a wellness decision. Cognitive operations sit alongside financial operations and technology operations as a measurable infrastructure layer.
The holistic employee wellbeing measurement framework Krystal developed at Shell. Published in the American Journal of Health Promotion. Connects employee health metrics to business outcome metrics: productivity, engagement, safety, retention.
CCG’s diagnostic frame for the organizational conditions that drive brain health risk. Drawn from occupational psychology and the UK Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards. The six conditions: job demands, control, support, relationships, role clarity, change communication.
CCG’s intervention sequencing model: Cultural (psychological safety, manager capability), Operational (meeting hygiene, recovery time), Individual (evidence-based practices). Sequenced for compounding return.
The figures CCG cites most frequently across the white papers, journal essays, and engagements: