The Brainy Business | Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy | Behavioral Economics

A few months ago, in episode 162 you got to hear from Leidy Klotz about his fantastic new book Subtract, which is based on this question of why we humans look to add first when often subtracting can be a better option. It is a little bit of minimalism/essentialism and a really great episode to help people overcome loss aversion and see that, as he says, "less is not a loss," such a cool insight. Anyway, while he and I were doing our pre and post-interview chat, he mentioned that his friend and colleague Eric Johnson had a book coming out soon called The Elements of Choice and that I should talk with him about it, so here we are. Dr. Johnson is not a newbie to the space by any means, as you will hear in the interview. He has had the opportunity to work and train with some of the most notable names in the field, including Herbert Simon, Amos Tversky, as well as his friends Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. He is the Norman Eig Professor of Business and the Director of the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia Business School. He has been the president of both the Society for Judgment and Decision Making and the Society for Neuroeconomics. He has decades of experience and definitely knows his stuff, which is one of the many reasons I was so honored to chat with him and share the conversation with you. Show Notes: [00:07] In today's episode I'm introducing you to Dr. Eric J. Johnson, author of the brand new book, The Elements of Choice. [03:57] Eric shares his background and how he got into the field. His research has always been about helping people make choices and how the way we present information to them affects their choices. [05:40] He was fascinated with the choices he observed people making. [07:06] Eric shares research from a former student of his. She implemented the health records systems at a major New York hospital. [09:18] Memory played an important role in the doctor's behavior in her research. [11:31] When you put in the time to plan the architecture upfront, the actual intention itself can be very small. Designers often have more influence than they realize. [12:42] He shares his research about taking different doors at the Copenhagen airport. [14:06] Little bits of effort at the beginning of the decision have an influence throughout the course of the decision. Choice architecture usually works by favoring one path over another. [16:10] If I know exactly what you want I would give you just one option, but the person making the choice knows a lot about themselves so they often know more about what they want. [18:10] There is a trade-off between how much you are asking of people (in terms of deciding) and how much variety you need to give them so they can find the option that is best for them. [20:45] Choice is not determined by myself and my preferences alone. [21:38] We are all designers all the time. [23:14] Order will have an influence depending on your medium. There are many other things as a designer to think about also. [24:50] Defaults are powerful. Eric and Dan Goldstein researched defaults in organ donations. [27:07] Not all situations are the same, so you really need to look across all the studies and understand your own situation and context. [28:44] Our preferences aren't written in stone. We have many preferences. Depending on what comes to mind, I might make different choices. [29:36] Eric shares one of his favorite studies where they ask people about climate change and would they pay a carbon tax (or carbon offset) to fight climate change. [32:26] One study is not enough to actually build a science. We need to do cross studies. [35:16] Eric shares how choice architecture can affect COVID vaccinations. [38:00] Defaults work because they endow you with the option. You think less about the disadvantages. [39:26] The decisions of our privacy and cookies are decisions we make multiple times a day. [40:32] Choice architecture and designers have amazing influence. Hopefully, people will design in ways they want to be designed to. [41:46] Melina shares a study about trying to influence people to take the stairs instead of riding the elevator. [43:31] Defaults are everywhere. They save us effort by not having to make a decision every time. [46:16] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [47:44] The more you know about someone, the fewer choices you can provide to them. When you have no idea who your customer is – what they like, what the context is of them finding you, why they are there, what needs they are looking to fill or problems they need to solve, you then have to present a whole bunch of choices, which can make it harder for them to make a decision. [50:33] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about

Today, I am very excited to introduce you to Dr. Andy Luttrell, a social psychologist who has (at least so far) devoted his career to understanding people's opinions. You know I love a good question, and he is mostly curious about those opinions people hold onto really tightly and can't seem to let go of. As he asks on his website, "Why do we hold some views that define us and others that we're happy to change?" Such an interesting topic, and I am excited to let you hear some of his findings on the science of opinions and how that ties in with persuasion in our conversation today. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Andy Luttrell, professor and host of the Opinion Science Podcast. [03:15] Andy, a social psychologist, shares about himself and his background. [05:45] In some cultures, our view of ourselves is ever changing. Others are more fixed. [08:17] Your audience is going to have its own way that it prefers to navigate certain questions. The way you present yourself and your brand image, or the messages you communicate with ought to take that audience's preference into account. [09:56] Oftentimes, we have to pick what works for our brand and just go with it. [10:41] If someone sees their stance as rooted in morality, they are often not going to budge. [11:18] If the message matches the kind of opinion the audience already has, it is going to go further. [12:49] When we are trying to talk about these moral issues, sometimes we feel like we want to retreat from talking about morals, but that is exactly the dimension that the audience cares about (and has proven to be more persuasive). [14:54] Are logical arguments the most persuasive or are emotional arguments the most persuasive? It depends on who you are talking to. [15:56] Most people are not only logical or emotional people. It also depends on the context of what you are talking about. [17:20] There are all sorts of ways personality variables can come into play with the persuasion process. [18:34] Anyone has the potential to change their mind. Some personality variables can have to do with one's willingness to engage with certain ideas. [20:20] Some research shows that we can sell our products or ideas framed in terms of the personality traits that define you best and that is going to have more leverage. [21:34] The personality of the person you are trying to influence is going to determine which message is going to be most impactful. [23:29] If we are framing something in terms of a very political audience and the wrong person comes across it, that might actually tarnish the image or backfire. If you are working in a sensitive space, be aware. [25:45] We have this foundational understanding of persuasion that goes back to the 40's. [26:07] Persuasion is at the heart of what we do every day. It doesn't feel like we are trying to constantly influence the people around us, but we are talking about our opinions almost all the time. [27:06] There are always going to be some growing pains in the application process. [29:09] We can have good guesses but we don't have specificity. [31:10] If you run the same simulation a dozen times it is not going to go exactly the same in each one. There is a bunch of stuff you can never really account for. [32:26] You run the risk of chasing things that are not relevant if you have too much to account for. [33:40] Persuasion is about changing your evaluation of something. [35:14] A strong opinion is one that people say they will not change and it will be the thing that guides the decisions they make. [37:22] One place confidence comes from is consensus. If we think most people hold the same opinion, we become confident in it (for better or worse). [39:46] Strength is an important part of the equation in getting people from one side to another. [40:19] One interesting way people have looked at persuasion is through self affirmation. [41:29] You are perfect with room for improvement. [43:27] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [45:13] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our fre

Back on episode 160, I was joined by Dr. Matt Johnson to discuss his book Blindsight and the work he and his counterpart were doing at Pop Neuro. Today, that counterpart, Prince Ghuman, is here to expand on that conversation and discuss some more amazing work. One of the things I loved in the book, and that Prince and I really expanded on today, is why we like the things we like. Some of what we discuss today tie back to my recent interview with Dr. Troy Campbell in episode 169 on the Science of Cool. It was a much-loved episode and I expect similar high praise from today's conversation! Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Prince Ghuman, coauthor of Blindsight. [02:57] Prince Ghuman shares about himself, his background, and how he got into the world of behavioral science and marketing. He is an author and professor. [05:11] Prince and Matt are founders of Pop Neuro where they teach marketers how to ethically apply neuroscience to marketing. [06:07] One of the things lacking in the marketing curriculum is a heavier emphasis on neuroscience and psych. [07:05] If we are marketers, we are fundamentally students of human behavior and human psychology. [09:37] The principle piece is as important if not more important than the traditional neuroscience imaging techniques. [11:38] He would love for there to be one person on each marketing team that specializes in neuromarketing principles because, at the end of the day, marketers want to create good marketing and good brand experiences. Consumers also want to be charmed by brands, products, and experiences. [13:31] Cross-functional teams are the answer. Having one neuromarketer on every marketing team is the bare minimum. Every marketing position should understand behavioral science. [16:03] The next operating system of marketing is more deeply scientific. [17:06] The more we philosophically touch and experience something, the more we are likely to prefer it. [17:50] We like things that are different because we like novelty, and we like things that are similar because we like the safety of similar things. If something is too new it hurts adoption. If something is too safe it hurts adoption. It needs to be somewhere between new and safe. [18:48] Sandwiching something new in between two familiar things helps bump up the likability. [19:48] Early adopters have a higher acceptance of an imbalance of new and safe when it is tilted towards new. Late adopters are tilted towards safety. [22:43] When Oreo brings out new cookies, it gets them back on your radar even if you don't try the new types. [23:27] Listener Question! Attention is based on the brain's statistical learning tendency. Our brains are also taking into account and picking up on patterns. [26:04] Unpredictability gives you a bigger hit of dopamine. Unpredictability hits the reward center a lot harder. The brain's pattern-seeking behavior primarily happens behind the scenes. It just drives a lot of what we do. [28:27] It is called the "pursuit of happiness" because it is the pursuit that gives us the most amount of happiness, not the achievement of happiness. [30:10] Unpredictability works to increase engagement. [32:59] Today's new thing that you hate is replacing something that was new once (and that you hated then). [35:25] As much as we want to point a finger at companies that are using digital products to model behavior, we also have to look at ourselves. Until we decide to kick our addiction to "free" it is going to be really hard to kick our addiction to Instagram. [37:48] For marketers, the challenge is to understand neuroscience and psychology throughout the entire marketing process so we can create better products, brands, and experiences. [39:01] The answer to bad marketing isn't no marketing. It is better marketing. Neuroscience is the way to do it. [41:46] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [43:54] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina

I know you have a lot of options for what to listen to, and I'm glad you chose The Brainy Business. Especially because (as you'll hear about on today's episode), due to the paradox of choice, having too many options and decisions can leave people paralyzed instead of empowered. That paralysis can make it so people don't make any decision at all, so you stick with the status quo of scrolling Instagram or playing a game on your phone. With over 2 million podcasts out there to compete with (plus all the YouTube channels, Netflix, and other streaming services, music options like Spotify and Pandora), plus games and email, and...well you get the idea...There are a lot of options out there that could have made tuning in a very complicated choice. In today's episode, I will tell you all about the paradox of choice: what it is, and why it matters for you in life and in business (including some tips for creating and presenting options to your current and potential customers). Show Notes: [00:06] Today's behavioral economics foundations episode is about the paradox of choice. [03:02] As I mentioned in the introduction, the paradox of choice is a term and concept popularized by Barry Schwartz, whose book and popular TED talk have been shared around the world. [04:42] When presented with too many choices (like we have in most societies today) people become paralyzed, stressed, and feel stuck. It can cause mental anguish and regret. Some choices are good, but too much and we are definitely worse off. [05:24] The really important thing to know is that adding some choice is important. Because we humans can't value one-off items, having at least some choice and comparison helps us to make a decision and feel good about it, but too many and we get overwhelmed. [07:15] When there are too many choices, our brains get overloaded. [09:41] It is easier to stick with what we have always done than to look for something that may or may not be better. [11:42] Your subconscious is dealing with this sort of letdown constantly. It can get very taxing over time and it's no wonder our brains rebel at the idea of evaluating too many options. [13:14] In a world where there is always another option, always a list of potential matches and the feeling that (much like the pair of jeans) perfection is "just one search away"...it can be hard to settle even when the choice is something you would be incredibly happy with. That constant thought of "what if" can be too much for many to bear. [13:53] Anticipated regret can have a huge impact on behavior. We want to choose wisely and, frustratingly, this pursuit of perfection (or even just a little bit better) can cause us to make worse decisions. [15:02] The important thing to know is that while it seems like lots of choice and infinite options would make us happier (increasing our freedom and wellbeing to use the terms from earlier) that just isn't how it works. [17:12] A maximizer is always looking for the best of the best. They want to make sure that they choose whatever is objectively the best there is every single time. That anyone else could look at and know that it is conclusively "the best choice". [17:28] Satisficers are people who find something that is "good enough" and feel satisfied with that choice. Once satisficers find something they are happy with, they are good to go and don't necessarily dwell on "what might have been" too much. Even if there was a better option out there you could have made, you are subjectively happy and therefore at peace with the decision. [20:04] For maximizers (like my husband), these details are vital pieces of information needed to make a decision, and for satisficers (like me), it is just too much to think about. [22:45] The first tip is to choose when to choose. If you only save the big evaluation for the really important stuff, it will help you have that mental capacity when you need it and not be so stressed and overwhelmed with the small stuff. [24:07] Don't waste a bunch of mental energy on decisions that don't matter. Be happy with good enough whenever you can, so you can have more mental energy when you need it. [24:22] The next tip, which is to become a chooser, not a picker. [25:27] The next tip is to satisfice more and maximize less. As you just heard, satisficers are happier, less stressed, less regretful, and so much more. Good enough is often good enough. [25:58] Think about the costs of missed opportunities. In short, you should look for the balance of thinking of missed opportunities. [26:20] Next is to make your decisions nonreversible. If you aren't able to "what if" you are more likely to be happier with a choice you made because you won't dwell on it. [26:31] Practice an attitude of gratitude. There are lots of studies that find we are happier and better off when we appreciate what we have. Be grateful for everything you have in your life [27:05] Regret less. If you don't think about choices you have made after the fact and don't allow r

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being a speaker at Greenbook's IIEX Behavior Conference, an amazing event that brings people together from around the world to talk about behavior and insights and so much more. My piece of this event was doing a live podcast interview with Dr. Ingrid Nieuwenhuis for the session called When Machine Learning Meets Neuroscience. A couple of weeks ago, Sam Albert joined me to discuss AI and its role in behavioral science, and this conversation with Ingrid was so fantastic and really building on that. I was delighted when the team at Greenbook said I could share this conversation here with you on The Brainy Business. This is the exact audio from that conference, and if you want to see it in video form, it will be shared via my free global community, the BE Thoughtful Revolution when the episode airs. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Ingrid Nieuwenhuis, head of science at Alpha.One. [00:56] My piece at Greenbook's IIEX Behavior Conference was a live podcast interview with Dr. Ingrid Nieuwenhuis for the session called When Machine Learning Meets Neuroscience. [03:21] Ingrid shares about herself, her background in neuroscience, and what she does as head of science at Alpha.One. She is trained as a neuroscientist. [05:03] After a whole academic career, she joined a start-up company where she used similar techniques to measure consumers' responses. Then she moved to New York and worked with the marketing department at Facebook. After ten years, she moved back to the Netherlands and joined Alpha.One. [07:49] Ingrid has done amazing work over her career. [09:12] Expoze.io is a technique based on deep learning. [09:54] Deep neural networks are networks that are based on the brain layers and instead of having to tell the network what the rules are. If you have a lot of data the network can figure out the rules itself. To train this network you need a lot of labeled data. [11:16] When you have this big data set where you have all this labeled data, you can actually get the network to create a heat map that is very similar to reality. [14:14] Branding is very important. In the long term, to build value you have to build your brand. [15:14] Building a brand and being able to communicate your brand in your packaging and ads is so essential for successful marketing and branding in general. [17:43] We are so wired for social interaction that our eyes are unconsciously drawn to faces and are attracted to them. [18:43] With small changes, you can really change how something is drawing attention. [19:48] They are currently building a product that is measuring brand value. They are focusing on getting measurements on brands. [21:34] Contrast is going to draw our attention. [23:02] There is always a balance between the story you want to tell, the emotion you want to create, and how you want to draw people in. [24:00] If your story has to build up and there is no brand in the first few seconds it is almost a wasted impression. [26:20] Really good creative agencies are able to integrate a brand into a story in a way that isn't intrusive and the brand can really be the hero in the story. [28:25] You have to really work to create multi-disciplinary teams. [29:41] Statistics is an area that is so important and not always present in companies. So much of what we are currently doing is big data. [30:37] Be open to multi-disciplinary teams and realize that it helps. When you take the time, really good things automatically emerge and it becomes very fulfilling and rewarding for everyone. [32:38] There is so much we can learn from each other if we are just open to it. [32:55] Having a diverse team is really important in making sure you can think about as much as possible before you launch. [33:25] Often you need the input from all the areas to actually get it right. [34:18] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [35:35] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business

Today is a very fun episode about something that you might not think has a science to it, but definitely does which is so amazing! My guest is Troy Campbell, who got his Ph.D. at Duke University and has worked at/for Disney, Netflix, Nike (and much more) as well as taught at the University of Oregon. He has done so many cool things so far in his career, and he is here to talk about how you can do the same by incorporating the science of cool. Coolness may feel intangible. Like it is this enigma some brands or people just have or don't and if you aren't cool you just have to accept it. But as Troy will show us today, that doesn't have to be the case. There is a science to it and there are lots of important lessons for your brand (and even making something as mundane as meetings more fun, effective, and cool). Listen to learn this and more in today's episode... Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Troy Campbell, Chief Scientist at On Your Feet. [01:21] There is a science to cool and there are lots of important lessons for your brand. [03:51] Troy shares about himself, his background, and how he got into behavioral science. [05:23] Behavioral science has the closest thing to a magic spellbook that exists. [07:14] He shares an origin story about a lecture he created based on the song "Everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie. [10:12] On Your Feet is a group that brings more joy, less fear, and better results to everything in business. [10:55] Suffering from meeting burnout? The first thing to do is include the right warm-up for the meeting. Different meetings need different warm-ups. [11:47] Tell the story of the meeting. [13:57] It is a personal warm-up because the thing you need to do is warm up people talking, chatty, and being with each other. In non virtual spaces, it is usually accomplished when you walk in and start talking to the person sitting next to you. [15:40] Melina shares about using story cubes. [16:39] Another great warm-up activity is a scavenger hunt. [17:27] The mind is not a Tesla Roadster that can go from 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds. It's more like an old Ford. It is reliable if you give it time to warm up. [18:17] In general, everyone wants to be cool to some degree. We all want to feel cool, we all want to give people cool experiences, and we as a brand have to need to be cool to our audience. [19:02] Cool is autonomously breaking the norm in a somewhat positive way. [20:44] There is no objective cool. Cool is all about norms, individuals, and the way to engage with the norms. [23:09] Cool is breaking free from the norm. Cool is finding a norm that people don't think is that great and resisting that norm to an audience that likes it. [24:08] We all want to feel as if we have this ability to autonomously break free from a negative norm in a positive way. As a brand, we want to create these cool things so we are seen as cool and we want other people to feel cool when they are using our brands. [26:37] Troy shares one of his favorite moments ever from a workshop. [28:57] When companies break the norm in a positive way, it is the psychological feeling of cool. [30:09] Metamodernism is this type of culture that we are in right now which is people really mixing things together in positive ways. [32:26] Putting the old and new together has been a useful tool. [34:07] What is too safe for one person is not too safe for another person. It is very difficult to be cool to everyone. (Know your niche!!) [35:29] Break a norm that is in line with something they need or ideology. In order to truly be cool, you need to go through really good design workshops. [37:14] Let people be different. We need to see the whole spectrum of talents in behavioral science and allow that to happen. [40:35] The brain is so complex. That melting pot of a field is so important for moving it forward. [41:33] There are some things about behavioral science that are not fascinating--but they are still incredibly important and take skill to master. What is really great about behavioral science is the nuances and sophistication we bring around that. [43:43] With behavioral science we can be incredibly valuable with quick responses and turnarounds for getting people unstuck. [45:23] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [47:29] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Busin

Today I am excited to introduce you to Dr. Michelle Niedziela, VP of Research and Innovation at HCD Research. She is also an editorial board member of the Neuromarketing Science and Business Association (or NMSBA) and part of the brains behind the upcoming NeuroU Conference which is taking place virtually this year, September 13-15, 2021 (and I am sure will happen in future years as well in case you are listening to this later). Michelle will talk about it in the conversation as well, but I am very excited to say that I am going to be a speaker at the conference this year, so it is definitely the time to register and come join us! In today's episode, Michelle shares her expertise in the senses – particularly smell and taste – and how important they are for brands. Ever thought about what moisture smells like? Or what scent will make people prefer one towel over the other? Listen to learn this and more in today's episode... Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Michelle Niedziela, VP of research and innovation at HCD Research. [03:13] Michelle shares about herself, her background, and how she got into behavioral science. [05:08] The majority of her education background is more around taste and smell. Most people don't think about taste and smell too much or realize how important it is in their lives. [06:37] She has worked in academia with rodents looking at genetics. She built her career for over ten years studying rat and mouse models of feeding behavior and genetic influences until she developed an allergy to rats and mice. [08:16] Then she ended up taking a job as a Senior Scientist at Johnson & Johnson leading their behavioral science and innovation program for taste and smell. [08:54] People don't really realize how important the senses are in product design and development. [10:29] Product and brand is so much more than advertising and logos. It really is the product experience as well. You can lead people with sensory clues. [13:18] In order to ensure consumer satisfaction and success of the product experience you really have to make sure all the senses align. Does it fit the brand? [15:24] Michelle shares how fragrances can have an effect on the product experience. [16:24] Sensory branding is a very interesting world. [17:40] Brand harmony can bring it all together to make sure it is creating an overall perception. [20:03] They have a lot of different questions that come to them. They are the problem solvers that come in to help their clients. [22:02] It is about finding the right combination of tools to uncover and meet the consumer needs. [24:18] Michelle and her team also look at packaging and people's perception of packaging. The words, color, and texture all drive perceptions and build a picture. [26:24] In marketing and brand strategy we feel like we need to do more and be everywhere, but then you're nothing to nobody. [28:27] You don't want to alienate your consumer. [29:34] Michelle shares about creating your sensory footprint. [30:18] The larger the sensory footprint the stronger you are to grab that nostalgia. Sensory is a form of communication. [32:44] There is a lot of interesting research out there with sensory and food science. The size, color, and weight of the plate can influence your enjoyment of it, how you rate it, and how much you eat overall. [34:48] As long as your brand is strong enough in their understanding of what your ultimate goal is, you can increase the goal and perception, but it does require a lot of research. [36:17] NeuroU is a FREE online event this year where they bring in experts to talk and educate about current topics. Come join us! [38:19] Melina is going to be a speaker at NeuroU this year - hooray! [40:51] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [43:18] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina's award-winning book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book D

Today's episode is all about hindsight bias. You have probably heard the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" and maybe even said it yourself on occasion. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but this simply isn't true. We humans have a hindsight bias that makes us believe we knew something "all along" when reflecting back on an incident, and this can cause all sorts of problems when making future decisions. I will cover this throughout today's episode as well as tips for how to combat hindsight bias so it has less of an impact on you. Show Notes: [00:07] Today's behavioral economics foundations episode is about hindsight bias. [02:21] When we think about our brains and all the amazing things they do, much of what we are accessing are memories. [02:47] Our memories are basically inaccurate renditions our brains tell us and every time we access them, we change them a little. So, the more you think about something, the less and less it is like the original version. [03:28] Memories get further and further from the truth as time goes on, especially for those memories which are recalled again and again. [04:20] Even reading about an event in history, which feels as though it must be fully accurate, is missing details and important pieces that people didn't even think to include or pay attention to. [06:01] In reflecting back on an event the brain will assume it has all the information on: what happened, why, and assume that it knows what to infer from that for the next time you encounter a situation like this. The problem, of course, is that you don't have all the information. [08:32] Once the results are in it is easy to say you knew it, and it makes your overconfident, optimistic brain feel good about itself. [09:20] Our brains don't like to have a misalignment in what we believe to be true. Your brain believes that you are smarter, better, faster, stronger than everyone else (including you 5 minutes ago). So, when something happens differently than you predicted, it looks for ways to resolve that discomfort (that dissonance) by reasoning that you "knew it all along" even when you didn't – or often couldn't have known. [10:12] One simple way I combat hindsight bias when doing presentations is by making people commit to an answer or instinct before sharing what the real answer is. [11:36] If I didn't make people say their answers out loud, commit to something in the moment in a semi-public way, even if they sort of thought of something in their head when I asked, they don't feel committed and when the reveal came, they would not be as surprised. They would think something like, "Yeah, that makes sense. I was tossing around some numbers close to that" or whatever. [12:03] Saying their own numbers aloud and watching how far off the entire group is as everyone commits in the moment when I reveal just a few seconds later – is very powerful in getting this concept to stick in the brain. [13:33] Tip #1: Be comfortable admitting you don't know or are surprised. [14:17] When you admit that you were surprised by something or that you didn't know the answer, it allows you to ask why. [14:40] Tip #2: Writing things down ahead of the result. [15:15] If you have a decision diary or evaluation notebook or whatever you feel like calling it (whether it is handwritten or virtual) you can keep track of those thoughts in advance and reflect upon them to keep your hindsight bias in check when the results are in. And remember of course that your insights are only as good as the notes you take. [17:03] It doesn't really matter what you choose, just get into the habit of writing those suspicions or ideas down upfront and how you came to the conclusion – so you can evaluate it properly in a post mortem and learn about your own decisions and flaws in your decision-making process that you can learn from in the future. [17:27] Tip #3: Review what happened, thinking through other outcomes that could have happened, and what would have made that be the case. Ask questions like, "How easily could things have been different?" or "What information might I be missing or overlooking?" [18:44] Bonus Tip #4: Don't put too much weight on finding the exact answer and using it as a general rule of thumb for all similar decisions moving forward. Context matters. [21:11] The Brainy Business was nominated for the best market research podcast of 2021. Vote for The Brainy Business here by August 31! Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: Melina@TheBrainyBu

Today I am very excited to talk about something I know is a common question for many these days. It is something that I get asked a lot and what I know many see as the future of behavioral economics and the overall behavioral sciences: AI. How can AI and machine learning work with behavioral economics to help with predictive models? Do they work together at all or are they at odds? Could the industry combine these things to be more effective? Sam Albert, Chief Digital Officer at Behaviorally is here to talk about these exact questions via their very cool tool called flash.ai. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode, I'm excited to introduce you to Sam Albert, Chief Digital Officer at Behaviorally. [02:50] Sam shares about himself, his background, and how he got into behavioral economics. [04:48] PRS changed its name to Behaviorally back in January 2021. They are really trying to understand consumer behavior and help their clients make good decisions based on that behavior. [06:45] Understanding how consumers are acting or reacting to certain stimuli in store and then what they tell you they actually would do or how they feel could be different. It is about lining those pieces up and telling one cohesive story that is going to essentially help clients to make good business decisions to move their businesses forward. [08:44] Behavioral science can pretty much be applied to every aspect of our lives and it is happening unbeknownst to us in every decision every day. [10:04] The industry is moving on this trajectory towards machine learning, more broadly leveraging AI. [10:44] They came up with a system called flash.ai. They are able to take their learnings and apply them so that the machine can learn how to mimic those behaviors. [11:30] Their system applies image recognition. The machine reacts to the visuals in a similar way to what a human would do. [12:39] This allows them to have a cohesive platform that takes into account all of the key pieces that really (from a behavioral standpoint) drive what consumers actually do in the market. [13:09] The change to AI was already happening and COVID accelerated that change. [15:00] The world is becoming increasingly more digital. [16:53] They use a dynamic system where the existing work they are doing is feeding the future models that are being built. The models are continuously being updated to reflect the real world. [18:32] They both validate the work to ensure it is accurate and the dynamic aspect of making sure the machine is keeping up with the pace of change in the world. [19:08] Sam shares some of the case studies for flash.ai. [20:14] If you don't take the context around it into account, you put yourself in a position where you can either get false positives or false negatives and essentially give the wrong direction to clients. He is most proud of the system's ability to take context into account. [21:36] Context and nuance makes a significant difference when you are talking about behavior in general. [23:27] They see flash.ai tool as an earlier stage tool. Flash.ai allows them to test without spending the time, money, or energy to get real consumer feedback. [25:46] Being different is important, but you don't want to differentiate in ways that don't help you stand out. [27:01] Flash.ai is the first step and hopefully it siphons down the different options that would go into a full test. Then you can fully validate those and do any fine tuning you need. [29:29] AI is not going away. It is just a matter of what it looks like in the future. The path to purchase is going to play a critical role in what we see in the future. [31:06] You can't run away from technology. You just have to build it into what you are doing and leverage it. AI is going to play a pretty big role in that. [33:15] There is a lot that is lost when you switch to a digital environment. However, looking at it as an opportunity, how could we make this an amazing experience for everybody in a really powerful way? [35:58] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [37:39] The Brainy Business was nominated for the best market research podcast of 2021. Vote for The Brainy Business here by August 31, 2021! Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free beh

Today I am very excited to have Matej Sucha with me on the show to talk about the importance of applied behavioral economics and the work he has done to help shape the field. As you will hear in our conversation today, there are two fairly distinct camps in the behavioral sciences: the academic research and the applied. While many of us work together, there are different goals for each and there can be disagreement from time to time. In general, I think most of us see the need for both sides and how they are necessary to help move the entire field forward. Matej is like me, an advocate for behavioral economics being used and shared in business as much as possible, which is why he recently founded and became the Editor in Chief of insideBE.com, which you will hear about on the show, in addition to his work as a managing partner at MINDWORX. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Matej Sucha, managing partner of MINDWORX and founder of insideBE. [02:56] Matej shares about himself, his work, and how he got into behavioral economics. [04:01] This year they launched insideBE which is an app dedicated to behavioral economics in business. [05:53] Behavioral economics doesn't have the place it deserves in business. It is still in the phase of early adoption. It is not at the center of attention for businesses. [07:03] We have to put more emphasis on business applications. [08:43] People want to see more practical business applications. [10:27] Matej's consultancy mainly focuses on the applications of consumer behavior. [11:16] They developed their own approach for a behavioral audit in order to know when we should create an intervention and move people in the direction we want them to move. [11:57] Matej shares one project he was fascinated by. [14:44] When they included social proof the probability that the person would send their CV went up by 130%. [15:14] Findings from research can inspire business solutions that are proven to work. [15:47] Matej shares about an insurance project he worked on that was offering their customers travel insurance one year for free. [16:56] One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is that they only focus on how they can motivate their customers. [19:01] They increase the conversions by understanding and removing the psychological behaviors that stood in the way. [21:02] The problem is twofold. Companies, salespeople, marketers, and product designers don't even think about understanding the problem and jump to creating the solutions. The second part is that they don't know how to understand the customer and the problem. [22:29] One tiny insight can help you create amazing solutions. [24:34] It is about asking the right questions. Why aren't customers doing what you want them to do? [26:08] Often the solution can be really simple. [29:08] Timing is more important than the message itself. Timing doesn't require a deep knowledge of behavioral science. [30:27] When you're a business person there is no better place to start than to learn from the amazing work of the greatest minds in the field. [32:01] There are a lot of great resources available. [34:16] The purpose of the content they are creating at insideBE is to first and foremost teach people how they can try themselves. The best way to get potential clients excited is to teach them as much as possible. [37:10] "The next big thing in marketing is not technology. It is psychology." -Rory Sutherland [37:50] If companies want to gain a competitive edge, it is psychology they should focus on. [39:59] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [41:40] The Brainy Business was nominated for the best market research podcast of 2021. Vote for The Brainy Business here by August 31! Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina's award-winning book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉 Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely Ripple: The big effects of small behaviour change

Today I am very excited to have Dr. Amy Bucher on the show to talk about how you can design for behavior change using insights from her fantastic career and wonderful book, Engaged. Amy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard when getting her A.B. in Psychology, after which she went on to get her Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan. She has been a consultant in addition to working at Johnson & Johnson, CVS, and was vice president of behavior change design at Mad*Pow before recently moving to her current role as vice president of behavioral design at Lirio. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Amy Bucher, author of Engaged: Designing for Behavior Change. [03:02] Amy shares about herself, her work, and how she got into behavioral design. She moved from a consulting role back to an in-house role. [04:43] She loves behavioral design and she really thinks it is a wonderful application of the skills you learn in academic training. [06:51] Amy considered actually becoming a physician. Her first job out of grad school was in healthcare. [09:11] Amy defines behavioral design as applying the scientific method to the process of design. It is extremely compatible with human-centered design. [10:08] Measurement is a constant in the behavioral design process. They want to be gathering data at every step; that lets them know if they are on the right track or not to adjust and optimize results. [11:17] Amy shares one of her favorite projects looking at cities in India with an increase in diabetes. [13:12] Amy explains why this project was so rewarding. [15:27] As a behavioral designer it is really critical to have respect for the people you are designing something for. [17:23] Amy shares about a project she did recently looking at behavioral health and healthcare. One of the primary barriers for people using that type of healthcare is the cost of it. [19:05] Even if we know we are not going to make the change with speaking up in that one moment, speaking up can be like a grain of sand that will ultimately add up to something more meaningful. [20:34] Finding that right problem is so critically important even when it seems so obvious what the issue is. [23:25] Amy first recommends reading books to better understand behavioral economics. [23:52] As a general process she recommends going through discovery, design, and testing. [24:37] Here are three steps that someone who is new to behavioral design can use to get started: doing a literature review, creating an outcomes logic map for yourself, and doing a lens brainstorm. [26:46] She also uses the self-determination theory of motivation a lot. One of the basic ideas is if you want to get someone really intrinsically interested in something and interested to the point where they are likely to pursue it, you should support their feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. [28:12] Amy shares an example of putting these into action. [29:39] Be comfortable with the gray area. You will go through a lot of the process not really knowing yet, but the process works. [31:00] Primary research is a really big part. Behavioral design work is very heavy upfront with all the research. [32:52] As a behavioral designer after the research her role becomes someone who is making sure that all of the intervention ingredients are being brought to life with fidelity. [34:13] There are certain types of behaviors that are compatible with certain types of intervention. [35:31] Sometimes what we think is the problem, doesn't turn out to be the problem when we do the research. [38:53] Every project is different. [39:38] Amy shares an example from her book of an Outcome Logics Map. [42:06] The visual reminder of what our brain is doing is very helpful. [42:58] Such small things can produce such big changes in the way we perform. [44:53] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [46:21] Being a curious questioner is so important to solving the big problems. [48:49] The Brainy Business was nominated for the best market research podcast of 2021. Vote for The Brainy Business here by August 31! Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversa

Today we are going to be talking about something that is sort of a fact of life whether we like it or not. If you want to live in the world amongst other people and put your personal or professional brand out there, you need to be prepared for negative reviews. This episode was inspired by a long-time listener who has become a friend and colleague – Jeff Pool from the Human Behavior Lab at Texas A&M University. Thankfully, it wasn't inspired by him giving a negative review to The Brainy Business or anything like that. Instead, it was something he suggested a while back could be an interesting episode. It felt like the right time with my book just coming out a couple of months ago now, and the recent behavioral economics analysis of Amazon episode where I talked about the power of social proof and how they popularized reviews. I also asked the BE Thoughtful Revolution for some insights on what they might like to know or what comes to mind when thinking about negative reviews while creating the content for today's episode. The consensus was based on how to respond to them: Should it be done right away or delayed? Publicly or privately? What tone to use? And more. Show Notes: [00:07] Today's episode is dedicated to negative reviews. [00:45] If you want to live in the world amongst other people and put your personal or professional brand out there, you need to be prepared for negative reviews. [03:42] Melina shares an email from her friend Kurt Nelson of the Behavioral Grooves podcast hoping I'd get 4.7 stars on my book. [05:11] It is important to accept that negative reviews are coming and just wrap your head around that. [07:54] Why do we feel these so much more and why do they stick with us differently? Why is their weight heavier than positive reviews? [08:23] The reason we even look at or have influence from reviews and testimonials and star ratings (also known as social proof) is because of our natural tendency to herd. [10:21] Negative reviews are triggering our herding instincts and make the subconscious get scared of what could happen if we get too many more of those in the future. [11:43] Reading or otherwise looking at negative reviews makes us focus on them more than the positive ones because of those herding instincts. [13:34] We have a perception about ourselves and the type of person we are: honest, ethical, good at what we do. When we are confronted with information that threatens that perspective our brains really don't like it, we want to resolve that cognitive dissonance. [15:12] Even though you don't like it, there is probably some kernel of truth in the negative thing someone had to say about you or your brand. What if you looked for the learning opportunity in a negative review? [17:00] Don't ostrich – It may be tempting to avoid reading the reviews because they can be painful, but not knowing what people are saying doesn't make it so they don't feel that way (and aren't sharing with others). [18:48] In general, yes, you should respond to all the comments you get, both good and bad. And, tempting as it may be, don't delete negative comments. (If they are profane or blatant lies it could be an exception, but in general, this is not a good practice.) [20:12] People aren't often expecting any response, let alone a kind and open-minded one. You will be surprised at how many people you can bring back around to your side. [23:12] It is best to respond to the person wherever they posted to begin with. [24:30] You want and need that public acknowledgment for all the future people who see the comment. [27:39] Treating this person as a human who deserves kindness triggered some reciprocity and encouraged them to act in kind and, as far as I know, keep listening and following me. [28:29] Not everyone is your customer and that is ok! There are so many people out there who you can or will resonate with; focus on them. [30:54] It is really important to know what you are about, who you are for, and why you do the things you do before you are confronted with a negative review that addresses one of those things. [33:39] The lesson is to know your customer and identify what matters to your brand when you are in a cold state, so you can know what to take to heart and change, and what can be heard and let go of without having to constantly address your strategy. [34:08] There are some times where it makes sense to say you are sorry, of course, but in general, you don't need to (and actually shouldn't). [35:29] You can absolutely acknowledge their feelings, but you don't have to say "sorry" to do that. [37:30] When you identify what matters to you and your company in that cold state, it is also important to know about your brand voice. [38:56] For most brands, it is best to be respectful and kind in your correspondence with customers and others in public and in private. [40:05] Do what you can to reframe your perception to see the opportunity in a negative review. [40:18] Hating negative reviews is natural bec

Today I am very excited to have Dr. Leidy Klotz on the show to talk about how we humans have an instinct for adding things. We want more and often don't even think about taking things away. But why is that? Why do we have adding instincts? Why are we so averse to less, and how could we see the value in it? That is a little of what we talk about today in this conversation which centers around Leidy's new book, Subtract. It's really fascinating and more than mere minimalism. As Leidy says in the conversation, he isn't advocating that less is always better, that you never should want more. Instead, this is more focused on thinking about it; considering the benefit of less before making a choice. Plus, you get to learn about his possibly surprising first career before getting into academia! Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Leidy Klotz, author of the new book, Subtract. [03:30] Leidy shares about himself, his background, and how he has gotten to behavioral science. [05:44] There is a way that people should go and then what they will actually do. [06:34] Engineering is the creative application of science. There is a huge overlap between engineering, architecture, and behavioral science. [08:05] People have been doing choice architecture for a long time, it has just been called marketing. [08:44] Leidy was a professional soccer player and he wrote a book about sustainability through soccer. Soccer is a very systems-oriented sport. [10:39] He learned a lot of things by playing soccer. [13:32] He shares what inspired him to write his book, Subtract. [15:04] When we encounter systems that we can improve in multiple ways, why is our first instinct to add? [16:52] When people try to improve something their first thought is to think about what can we add to this situation to make it better. [19:01] More often than not, we don't even think about getting rid of something. [20:52] Instead of a longer list of to-dos, we need a list of "stop doings." [23:07] As humans, we want to display our competence. [25:28] We can also show competence by subtracting, we just have to do more of it for it to be noticeable. [28:30] You can be a minimalist by not acquiring stuff, but that is not subtracting. [29:39] Left to our own devices, we are not going to think of taking away. [30:40] A good lesson is to subtract first. If you subtract first you are more likely to think about it in later situations. [32:53] Less is not a loss. Less is an improvement. [34:33] We tend to think of add and subtract as opposites. They are not opposites, they are complementary ways to make a change. [37:06] When you are arguing for subtraction or trying to get people to think of subtraction, help them think about the thing they added elsewhere. [37:52] When we add something, we are left with the original situation plus whatever we have added. When we take something away, we are left with an improved original situation plus that thing we took away which we can use somewhere else. [40:22] When you have written something, taking it out is a really hard thing. Leidy and Melina share some about their book writing processes. [42:22] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [45:15] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina's award-winning book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉 the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode: Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up:

Today I am very excited to have a fellow behavioral science podcaster, Dr. Nick Hobson on the show. His podcast is called, It's All Just a Bunch of BS. He also writes for The Behaviorist and is the chief scientist at Emotive Technologies. So, why did I say at the top of the show that this would likely show you a different side of Nick than you may have seen or heard before? It is because we really focus on philosophy, which is different than anything I've had on the show before and was a lot of fun to chat about. I must admit, in my undergrad I really hated philosophy. I'm not sure if I had a bad teacher or if I just wasn't ready for it yet, but it was one of my least favorite classes. As time has passed, I've come to realize that the types of questions I love to ask and my personal approach to applying behavioral economics are built on a foundation of philosophy. So even if you've not been a fan of the field in the past, I recommend you stick around. I think you're going to like the conversation. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Nick Hobson for a fascinating conversation that even if you know Nick, I'm guessing you haven't heard him talk about on a show before. [01:13] In this episode, we really focus on philosophy, which I found to be so interesting and I hope you will too. [03:51] Nick shares a funny story about being a doctor and using it for a dinner reservation with his wife. [05:49] Nick has a doctorate degree in social psychology and social neuroscience. His dissertation was about the psychology of neuroscience and rituals. [08:03] He was very interested in rituals and that determined the next five years of his life. [09:45] Now he is an applied behavioral scientist. [12:31] There is a great deal of value that comes with philosophy, the arts, and philosophical thinking. [13:57] Good scientists are always trying to push the boundaries, explore the outer edges, and breakthrough with scientific intervention. [16:52] We answer questions with tools of measurement. Tools of measurement are the foundation of any science. [18:20] Nick shares about the "trolley problem." [20:20] Nick shares how he transitioned from the space of rituals and about the work he does today. [21:43] Behavioral scientists and all business owners are interested in the point of action that a person engages (and re-engages) in over and over. What is that decision process? [23:45] There are a lot of rituals on the external, customer-facing side, and the internal employee side as well. [25:12] We are ritual creatures. [26:16] Nick talks about the types of consumer projects they are working on. [27:36] He shares a specific client scenario he worked through. [29:16] The problem is never the price. It is about all the stuff that happens before. If you can showcase the value you are providing people will buy. [30:25] Two areas of opportunity for improvement for his client were joy and respect. Once the areas of opportunity are discovered you can create strategic interventions. [34:02] For all the behavior that we are looking at and observing, let's not forget about what is actually happening inside the mind, which are the precursors to those behaviors. [35:06] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [36:54] Melina's award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina's award-winning book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉 Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode: Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn & Dr. Michael Norton Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life by Francesca Gino How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman & Angela Duckworth Connect with Nick: Nick on LinkedIn Nick on Twitter Emotive Technologies It's All Just a Bunch of BS Podcast The Behaviorist Apex Scoring Systems Past Episodes &

Today I am very excited to have Dr. Matt Johnson on the show to talk about the application of neuroscience and psychology to the business world. A professor, researcher, and writer, Matt received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology/Neuroscience from Princeton University in 2013. His focus now is ultimately about bridging the gap between science and business, and to this end, he works across several fields including behavioral economics, consumer neuroscience, and experiential marketing. A contributor to major news outlets including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and VICE and writer for Psychology Today, Matt regularly provides expert opinion and thought leadership on a range of topics related to the human side of business. He advises both start-ups and large brands in his native San Francisco and has served as an expert-in-residence to Nike's Innovation Team in Portland, Oregon. Among other things today, we are going to talk about the book he co-wrote, called Blindsight: The (Mostly) Hidden Ways Marketing Reshapes our Brains. It's fascinating stuff you definitely want to listen to today! Show Notes: [00:07] In today's episode, I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Matt Johnson, co-author of Blindsight. [01:38] Among other things today, we are going to talk about the book he co-wrote, called Blindsight: The (Mostly) Hidden Ways Marketing Reshapes our Brains. [03:30] Matt shares more about who he is and how he got into behavioral science. He has always been driven by a curiosity about why we do what we do. [05:33] For the past five years he has been working to explore the deep connection between neuroscience and marketing. [08:16] They started working together as neuroscientists and marketers because of the shared realization of the similarities just separated by vocabulary. [09:06] The mind and brain are fundamentally the same entity. They really just differ in terms of the language which is used to describe it. [10:35] It is clear that the mind and the brain have a relationship. It is not immediately obvious what this relationship is. [11:46] It is understood at this point that the brain produces the mind. [14:06] "If you are led to deeply believe that your chosen shoe brand makes you a better basketball player, who's to say that it doesn't?" -Matt Johnson [14:35] He is very interested in the ways the consumer world shapes our belief systems and our associations that we have given brands and products. These shifts can actually change our experiences and our perceptions of reality. [16:04] Each new advertisement you see of Coca-Cola has changed the brain in such a way where it changes your fundamental concept of what you are consuming and this fundamentally shifts your experience. There is this gap between objectivity and physical reality. [17:27] Brands and consumer experiences are such a fascinating thing to study. [19:43] Even if you have maximum exposure to the brand, they still invest in additional advertisements because of the exposure effect. The exposure effect moves the need more to preferences. [21:29] Red Bull has continued to expand their target market to the point that now they are speaking to each of us. They started with a narrow association strategy and expanded strategically as they went. [23:45] It is crucial to maintain brand perception by having a consistent execution with all your brand identifiers. [24:33] Adding in a little newness can actually increase preferences even more instead of just repeat exposure. [25:50] Matt shares about the Cadbury Gorilla and the value of doing something unexpected. [27:11] When your consumers come to expect a certain type of brand personality or service, giving them something totally and completely different is a fantastic way to drive attention. [27:59] The key to grabbing attention is going against the grain. [29:57] You have to understand what the current goals of the brand are to choose the correct strategy. [31:28] Brands have much less control over their brand image than they ever have before so brands really need to rethink how they're constructing brand perception to begin with. [33:23] Brands really need to adapt to this new media landscape through co-creation of the brand personality and also leaning into user-generated content. [35:13] Matt shares his favorite tidbit from the book: psychology essentialism. [37:13] A little story can actually go a long way. The story enhances the value of the product. [39:31] Just like brands compete in terms of their positioning and products, they also compete in terms of their story. One of the goals of storytelling is empathy. [40:46] We can't empathize with groups, but we empathize with individuals very easily. Ideally oriented your story to an individual will enhance the empathic response. [42:48] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [43:55] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thank

I know these behavioral economics analysis episodes are very popular. The ones on Starbucks and Peloton have quickly risen through the ranks to become the third and fourth most downloaded episodes ever on the show (and as we are on the precipice of our 3 year anniversary that is a pretty big feat!). There are also analysis episodes on Apple Card, Costco, and Disney and as you know today we will be talking about Amazon. I am so honored to announce that What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is now an award-winning book! The International Book Awards were just announced and my book was a finalist in two categories. According to their website and press release, books published from January 2019 to May 2021 were eligible and there were over 2000 entries amongst the various categories. Show Notes: [00:08] Today's episode is a behavioral economics analysis of Amazon. [01:50] I am so honored to announce that What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is now an award-winning book! [03:27] In case this is your first behavioral economics analysis episode with The Brainy Business, what you can expect is a fairly rapid-fire list of things I see from Amazon where they are using tactics that tie back to concepts from behavioral economics. [06:05] And this gets to the first and possibly most important piece of behavioral science built into the entire company of Amazon, which comes back to the biggest mistake I have said time and again most businesses make when trying to implement behavioral science into their work or just working on most projects: understanding the REAL problem you are trying to solve. [06:43] Taking the time upfront to understand the behavior that needs to be changed and what might be motivating it (and on the flip side, how to make it easy for people to change) is so important to the success of Amazon. [08:28] Truly understanding the problem before jumping into a solution is incredibly important for every business. [09:01] This brings me to another cool way that Amazon thinks differently by reframing its approach to projects. Matthew Confer and I talked about this on his recent episode on The Brainy Business, and it is called the "press release method" or the "working backward" method. [10:10] This simple mental shift, framing the project differently, can help people get out of their myopic approach to what is in front of them and ask some great questions. [11:11] Reframing with the press release method can help you to ask the right questions early enough and avoid potential cataclysmic failures. [11:29] Amazon really took herding and social proof to a new level. [12:17] Star ratings, reviews, and recommendations for what other people "like us" have done before are hugely influential in getting someone to buy. [14:02] With books, they also let you overcome that additional uncertainty by reading a few pages and taking a peek inside. [14:45] The more people who use Amazon, the better it gets. There are more options to buy from, sellers are heavily influenced to keep honest and sell good stuff or they will get bad ratings. [16:04] To help overcome the loss aversion and fear of regret, Amazon makes most returns incredibly easy. [17:17] Another way Amazon makes it easy to buy is with their 1 click purchase set up. [18:54] Simplicity and reduced friction while working with the brain makes a huge difference. [19:23] It is so important to talk about the Prime membership at Amazon. Paid on an annual basis, there are lots of perks and benefits from being a Prime member, the biggest arguably being free 2-day shipping on a huge number of items. [22:27] If you create a huge amount of value that drives loyalty and other purchases and engagement and revenue, the subscription is more of a mechanism to build the habit. And, as we are seeing from Amazon, can be far more valuable than the cost of the membership. [23:26] Look for the value you can create to make it an amazing deal that people will love and want to talk about and you're likely on the right track. [24:44] If you are selling items, it may feel like you are being pushy to have the default be a subscription and let someone self-select to change to a single-time purchase, but that is all in your logical conscious brain. As long as you are creating value and helping someone get something they want and need, there is likely a great value to them in offering a subscription or membership or whatever the somewhat scary suggestion might be. [26:28] The main concepts with Prime Day are loss aversion and scarcity. Time pressure from short-term offers with limited quantities makes people overcome their risk aversion and become very loss averse. Scarcity with herding makes us feel something is a great value and want to jump on offers. [28:07] With how easily our brains get overwhelmed, it is amazing that the 200 million Prime subscribers are able to find what they need and buy it so quickly (across Amazon, half of purchases are made in 15 minutes or less). [31:17] T

Today I am delighted to have Matthew Confer on the show to be share insights from (and beyond) his popular Ted Talk: Before you Decide: 3 Steps to Better Decision Making. This talk came out before the pandemic, and Matthew also shares with us about how he and the team at Abilitie helped clients to shift through these changing times to make better decisions when there were so many unexpected shifts and choices to be made (and with a lot on the line). As the VP of Strategy and Business Development, he definitely knows a lot on these topics and he has fascinating insights I can't wait to share with you. Show Notes: [00:07] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Matthew Confer to share the three things you need to do before you decide. [02:49] Matthew shares more about who he is and what he does. He works for a company called Abilitie and does leadership training simulations. [04:06] They focus on three core competencies of effective leaders: people management skills, financial acumen, and strategic thinking and decision making. [05:53] Melina shares how she did a similar simulation in college. [08:00] Adaptability is one of the things that we want rising leaders and executives to have. [09:16] There is a very big difference between doing and thinking about doing. [12:22] The biggest part of the simulation is that each of the participants have three time tokens of where they want to invest their time. It looks at how you piece together all the things we struggle with as leaders and make the best decision of how to use your limited time. [15:11] From his experiences, Matthew found that there are specific traits that top teams do. [16:18] After years of observation, he created a decision-making framework with the 3 steps for better decision-making (as showcased in his Ted Talk). Step 1) Challenge the Constraints. [17:41] When you are looking to apply behavioral science, the spot where most people go wrong is understanding the problem that you are trying to solve. [18:42] Time pressure is a form of stress and it changes the way we make a decision. [20:24] Just because you challenge the constraints doesn't mean you have to go and make a crazy decision. It just helps to see what is holding you back from making this huge breakthrough. [21:01] Step 2) Embrace a Premortem. A premortem is so powerful because you are conditioned to not think you are going to fail. [23:44] Planning fallacy is closely tied to optimism bias where we think we are going to be faster, quicker, and better. [25:59] 80% of us think that we are above-average drivers. He noticed this in the simulation with leaders also. [27:10] Step 3) Check the Basics. When decisions get more complex, small details tend to get missed. [29:39] Taking the time to make sure you have really identified your basics is super important. [30:01] Matthew shares an example of step one: challenging the constraints. The clients he saw that were most successful during the pandemic were the ones that threw the rule book out the window. [32:03] It is important to reframe a problem when it comes to you. If your status quo has been shifted you should not feel like you have to do what you said you are going to do before. [32:57] Next he shares an example for step two. [34:12] If you're not having a conversation about what could go wrong, you are really missing an opportunity to plan effectively. You need to put plans B and C in place to get in front of some of the problems. [35:27] You need to be assured when you are making a drastic change or big decision, make sure those small details aren't missed along the way. [38:23] One of Matthew's favorite decision-making techniques is the "press release method". [40:31] Writing what someone might say about you in the worst-case scenario is an interesting practice to help keep you on track so you don't mess up because you know how bad it can be at the end. [42:45] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [44:37] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More fr

Today I am beyond excited to have Bob Cialdini here to talk about the newly expanded version of his book Influence. There are 220 additional pages and a 7th principle of persuasion that has been added, which he explains in the conversation. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while or have a background in behavioral economics, behavioral science, or psychology, you have likely heard the name "Cialdini." His work paved the way for so many careers and I'm pleased to report that he is just an incredibly nice person who is a delight to talk to. During our conversation, you will notice that I ask questions from listeners just like you – how exciting is that? These questions were posed from within my free global community of behavioral economics and behavioral science enthusiasts, the BE Thoughtful Revolution, which you can join today, and maybe you'll hear a future guest answer one of your questions during the show! Show Notes: [00:08] In today's episode I am so excited to be speaking with Dr. Robert Cialdini about the newly expanded version of his globally acclaimed book, Influence. [01:17] Cialdini's work paved the way for so many careers [03:07] Bob shares more about who he is and what he does. He is a behavioral scientist with an emphasis on persuasion and social influence. [05:52] He found a small footprint of principles that seemed to be employed in all the professions he studies and he decided to write a book on the topic. [08:18] Bob shares the first six principles that he talks about in the book. The first is reciprocity—that people will give back to people that have given to them first. [09:27] The second principle is liking—we like to say yes to those we know and like. We can identify genuine similarities that exist between us and then raise them to consciousness. We can also give genuine compliments. [10:22] The third principle is social proof. When people are uncertain they don't look inside themselves for answers so they look outside. One key place they look is to their peers. [12:55] The fourth principle is authority. Besides looking at peers the other principal source they look to for information is the voices of experts or authorities of the topic. [13:41] The fifth principle is commitment and consistency. We all have a preference to be consistent with what we have already said and done especially in public. [15:00] The sixth principle is scarcity. We want more of those things we have less of. We find those things that are scarce, rare, and dwindling in availability more attractive. [15:47] After writing the first six principles, he started to recognize that there was one principle he had missed. The seventh principle is unity. [18:55] Bob shares his story and lesson about the Cuban Missile Crisis. [20:37] It turned out that Kennedy had an act of reciprocation in place and had not drawn a hard line as many thought. [21:54] It was a reciprocal concession that helped end the Cuban Missile Crisis. [23:48] It turns out if you look at loyalty and advocacy of your product and service it is not a problem-free experience they are looking for. Instead, it is a problem freed experience. Bob shares a problem that was resolved in favor of the customer. [25:04] There are going to be mistakes and bobbles. If those people can then resolve the problems quickly that is what is perceived as a special kind of gift to the customer who then feels obligated to give something special in return. [26:08] When there are mistakes, there should be budgets available to allow you to fix that mistake. [28:07] If there is a problem, it is an opportunity to have this reciprocity benefit. [29:13] Melina asks a listener question from Adnan: "How do your strategies of influence adapt to a digital world, for example, social media?" [31:05] The platforms and delivery systems on which those principles are presented can change but the principles don't change. [32:18] One principle has gained greater traction than all the others with the advent of the internet and that is social proof. People now have access to the views of others all around them. 98% of people check product reviews before making a purchase. [34:01] Another listener question from Brant: "As people are becoming more familiar with the principles of persuasion and know they are there, are they less effective now?" We should not resist those principles being employed on us if they are being employed honestly. [36:44] Where it is true, we want people to use these principles on us. They inform us. We have to guard against the manipulation and counterfeit of these principles. [38:18] We have to be in a position to reward those who use these principles to inform us properly, but we have to sting those people who undercut their validity. [40:11] When he wrote the first edition of the book there were no prior readers so he sent out an invitation for the readers to send him an account of when they witnessed the principles working on or for them successfully. He included

Today I am so excited to have Scott Miller back on the podcast to talk about marketing and branding, some of my favorite things! I really love the way Scott puts his books together, broken into 30 chapters with great, brain-friendly tips that you can begin implementing one day at a time. Essentially, the thought is that you can take a month and learn one lesson each day to uplevel in that particular area. As you'll hear more in the conversation, this is the second book in a planned series of 10; the first of which Scott discussed Management Mess to Leadership Success last time he was on the show. Today is about going from Marketing Mess to Brand Success, plus a funny story about a popular product that was originally called the "I-Suck" – can you guess what it is? Hear the answer and learn more about Scott and his work in the show. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode, I'm delighted to bring back Scott Miller of Franklin Covey. [01:17] Today is about going from a marketing mess to brand success. [04:15] Scott shares more about who he is and what he does. He is a 25 year associate of the Franklin Covey Company. [05:00] Today, we focus on Marketing Mess to Brand Success – the second of a ten-book series. [05:56] If you have something to say, write a book. Your book has not been written until you have written your book. [07:44] Scott's books are very practical and they all follow the same format with 30 challenges. The chapters are very intentionally breezy and short. [09:14] There is enormous power in teaching through your messes. [10:38] Scott shares his favorite marketing messes from the book. [12:51] A lesson he learned is that you can't control all the outcomes of a marketing campaign. He shares some of the lessons he has learned in his book. [14:49] Melina shares her own funny story from a marketing campaign she was part of. [17:25] It's The Customer, Stupid is the first challenge in his book. As a marketer, you have to be the voice of the customer. [18:55] The best salesperson isn't the person who has committed their third-quarter goal to memory, they've committed their client's third-quarter goal to memory. [20:07] We tend to market the way we like to be marketed to. Don't always do what you like and know best. It may not always be the right vehicle. [22:34] Marketers need to be close to the cash. [23:27] A marketer's number one job is to generate revenue-paying clients. [26:38] There is a massive difference between facts and your feelings, emotions, and opinions. [27:48] As marketers have you done your research? Do you know what circumstance your client is in or are you guessing? [29:38] What you say are the facts might just be your own biases creeping in because you are so passionate about your idea. [30:22] 93% of organizations achieve success with an emergent strategy, not their deliberate strategy. They often have to pivot and search for new opportunities. [32:02] It is important to speak your customers' language. [33:15] The biggest messaging mistake people make is that they tell their story. They don't tell a story that their client can find themselves in. [36:01] Never forget you have two buyers. You have an internal and external buyer. [37:58] Marketing is very reactive. Branding is this touchstone and is proactive. [39:35] You have to build a brand and earn a brand with some of the outcomes of your marketing efforts. You need to have a strong marketing strategy that helps you build revenue and a brand. [40:07] Your brand is a result of this: did you make and keep a promise? Brands are hard to build. [41:19] Scott shares his story about a brand being a memory with Ralph Lauren. [44:51] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [45:47] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina's new book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉 Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode: Marketing Mess to

Today I am excited to share a favorite analogy I came up with while writing my book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You. It has also been awesome to see how well this is resonating with readers, at speaking engagements, and in the interviews I've done so far. It is one of those great comparisons that people just get. Which I love! I know a lot of people have been asking questions like "How do I start applying behavioral economics in my business?" or "What is the best approach?" or "Where do I start?" This idea of behavioral baking is my answer. Because it has resonated so well, I felt it needed its own dedicated episode, so here we are. Show Notes: [00:06] Today's episode is all about behavioral baking. [02:21] Once you have an understanding of some key concepts in behavioral economics, it is time to start combining them for application. [03:18] Understanding the ingredients is important as you get started. A very basic knowledge can get you ready for some easy recipes. You will probably start out with something simple like a boxed mix as you establish a comfort zone. [04:56] Each new step presents another opportunity to learn, but you will grow as you rise to each challenge. [05:19] Lesson: even when you are trying to copy something, it is harder than it looks and will take a little practice to master that new technique. [05:52] The ingredients you learn about individually at first are the concepts. They are your butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. [07:28] You don't need every single ingredient every single time, and you don't need to be too heavy-handed with any ingredient. What you DO need to know before you jump in is…what are you making!? [08:04] This is the part where most businesses go wrong, not spending enough time really understanding the problem before jumping into solution mode. [10:23] An example where I used this in my corporate work. [11:53] Choices are relative and heavily context-dependent. [12:25] Working with the brain will make it easier to understand and solve problems in your business. But if you don't take the time up front to understand what you are trying to accomplish, you will still be throwing noodles at the wall. [13:49] With the consequences so distant, it is easy to ignore and not change behavior. And still, your logical brain's approach would likely be to go with logical arguments for why this matters. [15:50] Your brain is programmed to wonder what could be (optimism bias) and fear for what might happen if you choose to leave it there and it was a winner (loss aversion). [17:12] Change doesn't have to be hard. Changing the natural rules of the subconscious brain that have been developing for generations is hard. Understanding them and working with those habits can make seemingly insurmountable changes become easy. [18:38] The result is often more important than the path to get there. [19:56] Understanding the result you want to help your customer, member, or client experience is so important. [20:29] Remember that your brain will want to educate and feel like throwing in some extra logic "couldn't hurt," but it absolutely can. [22:02] Trying to force education can actually backfire and cause people to make worse decisions in multiple areas of life. Once their brain is calmer they may have the bandwidth to learn more and build on the foundation. [24:03] Behavioral baking is a way of thinking that can help you use behavioral economics to get to that outcome. [26:25] I've been a big baker my whole life. Listeners have suggested it might be fun to have me share recipes from The Brainy Business and what I'm baking (to keep the behavioral baking concept going)...what do you think? Good idea or weird? Let me know using the links below. [27:21] The result is often more important than the path to get there. [30:19] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina's new book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depos

Today I am honored to be joined by Madeline (Maddie) Quinlan, co-founder of Salient. Just like last week's guest, Nuala Walsh, you've heard Maddie's voice when she was part of the contingent who came on to discuss the Global Association of Applied Behavioral Scientists, or GAABS, when it first launched in the fall of 2020. In addition to being head of membership and a co-founder of GAABS, in her role as a director of Salient, Maddie works as a behavioral scientist and has expertise spanning private, public, and not-for-profit organizations. She focuses primarily on the areas of finance, energy, and risk management. I also love that her bio states that she believes in "relentless betterment and radical authenticity" – great word choice! Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode, I'm very delighted to introduce you to Maddie Quinlan, co-founder of Salient. [01:01] In addition to being head of membership and a co-founder of GAABS, in her role as a director of Salient, Maddie works as a behavioral scientist and has expertise spanning private, public, and not-for-profit organizations. [03:11] Maddie shares more about who she is and what she does. She has been working exclusively as a behavioral scientist for the last three years and prior to that, she worked a lot in finance. [04:26] She shares more about her leap from finance to behavioral science. [06:07] She ended up leaving her job in finance to go from Canada to England to obtain her master's degree in behavioral science from the London School of Economics. [06:46] Melina shares her (very similar!) story about the moment she knew her destiny was in behavioral economics. [08:52] Maddie met her business partner through the program in London and they started Salient in the middle of doing their dissertations. [11:38] If you are really pursuing something that rings true to you or something that you are incredibly passionate about...something that really embodies who you are...it becomes so much more. When you live and work that way, you end up attracting others with the same perspective and interests. Then, you can all work together to elevate that common passion over time. You find your tribe. [12:24] Any individual behavioral scientist can still move things, but if we all band together then that is where really fundamental and impactful change can happen. [13:59] Salient was created to bridge the gap from the academic side and practical application side and be able to take them to different sectors. [15:32] In the world of behavioral science and behavior change, we know that some things work and we know that a lot of things don't. [16:59] She shares one of her favorite projects in the pension space. [17:33] If you want somebody to do something you must make it easy. [18:57] What people think and say they want is very different from how they actually behave and show up. [21:12] Context definitely matters when deciding if you start with questions or just jump into testing. In an ideal world you can do some qualitative testing to inform your more large and widespread quantitative work. [22:12] They suggest piloting a lot. It is beneficial for clients, project owners, and behavioral scientists. [25:10] Just because something didn't happen the way you wanted it to, doesn't mean that it is bad. It can be a good opportunity to dig in a little bit further. [25:27] The biggest mistake businesses make when they go to apply behavioral science or behavioral economics is they start working on the wrong problem and jump straight into "solving" mode. [27:10] The insights on what doesn't work are just as valuable as what does. [28:39] In her dissertation study, they found that the meditation group had a measurably higher rate of temporal (time) discounting than the control and the jazz condition. People were actually more likely to consume in the present and choose that smaller "sooner" reward over a larger "later" reward. [29:50] We as a field need to embrace the results instead of feeling like there is a failure in a null or negative result. [32:01] We would never have more questions if we didn't run into roadblocks with intended results. [33:42] You really want to shape your experiments for everything you want to find out and how you can minimize your confounding variables as much as possible. [35:28] If we were to publish all of the behavioral insights that companies are actually using, we would all be able to do a lot better. There is a way for us to come together and share working techniques to help everyone. [37:31] When we are changing human behavior, the risk of doing it properly is really high in some cases. Attention to the quality and rigor with which we are conducting ourselves in this field is going to be even more important. [39:22] Maddie shares what else she is looking forward to in the next five years. [41:06] She thinks the next phase of behavioral science will have a bigger focus on personalization. The next frontier will be tailoring individualization in be

Today I am very honored to have Nuala Walsh join me on the show. You have heard her voice before as she was part of the contingent that came on to discuss The Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists or GAABS when it first launched in the fall of 2020. In addition to her work to get that started, she is the founder of a consultancy called MindEquity, which specializes in reputation communications, conduct, culture and behaviour change. She is the former chief marketing officer at Standard Life Aberdeen and also previously worked at Blackrock, Merrill Lynch, and PA Consulting. In addition to her consulting work and research (some of which we discuss today), she is also the vice-chair for UN Women (UK), a member of the Inclusion Advisory Board at The Football Association, on the Gender Taskforce at World Athletics, and more. Nuala is a smart person doing amazing things to be sure and also just a wonderful human. She was kind enough to be a guest lecturer in my Internal Communications and Change Management course at Texas A&M talking about how to apply behavioral economics into mergers and acquisitions. It was truly a fascinating discussion the students loved. Today we are talking about some research Nuala conducted that ended up as an article in the Harvard Business Review. This research is about blowing the whistle at work and she has made some really important — somewhat surprising — discoveries and recommendations. Show Notes: [00:07] I'm very excited to introduce you to Nuala Walsh, to share about the behavioral science of standing up and blowing the whistle at work. [01:02] In addition to Nuala's work to get GAABS started, she is a founder of a consultancy called MindEquity which specialized in reputation communications, conduct, culture, and behavior change. [03:45] Nuala is a repeat guest on The Brainy Business podcast. She made her first appearance on the GAABS episode. [04:22] Nuala shares about her background and who she is. [05:46] She does a huge amount of work for sports in the discrimination space. The purpose is to level the playing field for athletics. [08:01] Nuala shares how she got into the diversity, equity and inclusion space. [09:47] Nuala shares her experiences working with the UN women's Association, World Athletics, and Football Association. [12:38] Melina reflects on a point from Jon Levy's interview: in business, most hire for competence first, then honesty, and benevolence at some point. Benevolence is actually most important. [14:13] Diversity starts with actually hiring diversity (not just have them included in the slate of candidates). [15:09] One thing that companies can do is to listen to the recruitment agencies. The change really starts at the top. [16:54] Companies should take the outside view and listen to the other groups that have independent objectivity more than themselves. [19:02] Nuala shares her research about speaking up at work when seeing wrongdoings. Too many people witness the wrongdoing and stay silent. [19:56] Her work really focused on how to get bystanders to act. [21:17] 82% of whistleblowers suffer harassment. 60% of those lost their jobs and 17% lost their homes. 10% of those people attempted suicide. That is a high price to pay for speaking up. [23:47] In her study, only 10% of people even took the first step of figuring out how to report the problem. [26:14] It is only estimated that 1.4% of employees blow the whistle and actually do something. [28:24] With a zero-tolerance policy people are not going to be very keen to speak up. [31:34] The thing that struck Nuala most in her studies was the number of people that found whistleblowing as an act of courage. [33:41] If somebody prevents some kind of disaster you can make a hero out of that story and celebrate them. It recognizes their work without putting anyone else at risk. [34:51] When the environment changes, like working from home, people are more likely to report something (or at least say they will) [35:21] Using the courage stories as evidence-based tracking is key. [38:38] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [40:11] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on

Today there is a very special interview taking place on the show, in that the person being interviewed is…me! And, no, it isn't me asking myself questions. I guess that is kind of like every solo episode I've done or much weirder where I would speak about myself in the third person. The interviewer today is Michael Bartlett. He is the Director of Experience Innovation at JMARK and also trains people to pass the Certified Customer Experience Exam (CCXP). We got connected because he is hooked on books. As an avid book junkie, he reviews many of them on his YouTube channel, called the "CCXP Exam Simulator." As he was prepping to do a review of my new book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You, for his YouTube channel, he asked if I had considered having someone turn the tables a bit to interview me here on The Brainy Business. I said why not! As I've always found it much easier to answer questions about myself and an experience, than to just talk about it. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:38] Today there is a very special interview taking place on the show, in that the person being interviewed is…me! [01:03] The interviewer is Michael Bartlett. He is the Director of Experience Innovation at JMARK and also trains people to pass the Certified Customer Experience Exam (CCXP). [04:24] If you want to understand customers you have to understand how their minds work. [04:52] Melina shares her journey and interest in behavioral economics. [07:28] Fun fact: She is a classically trained opera singer and enjoys singing – this led to a big realization about a tendency toward perfectionism in life and business. [09:58] It can really be one piece that is throwing everything else off just a little bit. [11:47] Our brains will limit us and feel like you pushed too far. Your body can keep going but your mind feels like you should stop. [12:34] How our brain can hold us back psychologically in sports also translates into business. [12:46] Michael shares about his journey. [14:13] Melina shares how and why The Brainy Business came about. She was writing blogs for entrepreneurs and editing books as a side hustle. [16:32] When they moved, she had a unique opportunity to really just focus on school for her master's degree and building a new type of business around behavioral economics. [19:04] On May 19, 2018, after encouragement from a mastermind, Melina started to rebrand her company and launched the podcast with its first three episodes on July 6, 2018. [20:13] Melina always knew she would have a book. [21:53] She ended up finalizing her publisher in late May 2020 and the full manuscript was due at the end of August – a summer of writing! [23:30] When reading the book, you can focus on the areas that really interest you or learn more about a particular subject. She also includes corresponding podcast episodes. [25:03] She had an idea of some topics that needed to be in the book. She created it similar to a "choose your own adventure" book in the way that you can follow the parts that interest you most. Interconnectivity is so critical to how the brain works and that was important to reflect in the book's format. [26:06] She gives her readers the opportunity to make connections to jump around in a controlled environment. She is creating a course that will be available to purchase and go along with the book and go even deeper. [28:24] At the end of the book, Melina gives a really good example of how you can chain these techniques altogether. [30:01] Melina really wants her readers to use, apply, and do what they set out to do with the book. [30:50] The most important thing for when you are going to get started is spending more time thinking about the problem. Taking the time to know what you are doing, why you are doing it, and why it matters is paramount. [31:42] You can go and use behavioral economics and have a good impact within your business if you take the time to understand the concepts and how they can work together. Everything is a learning opportunity to grow. [32:21] There are times when you should reach out and find a partner, especially if it is a really big and critical project. [33:32] Test small and test often. [35:18] Melina shares the books that have inspired and impacted her. [38:02] Melina shares her two recommendations of books to really dig into behavioral economics. [39:23] First nugget Michael really liked from Melina's new book was when she reminded everybody about the importance of first impressions and the mode people are in when they first encounter your business. [39:46] Michael shares two quotes that we

Today I am very excited to have Dr. Katy Milkman joining me on the show. She has done so much amazing work over the years, some of which you have heard me share in episodes already, including the fresh start effect and temptation bundling, which as mentioned in last week's episode with Jon Levy, is the most downloaded episode of the year to date. I love her research and the insights she has been able to share with the world so far. As you'll hear in today's episode, Katy is an amazingly smart person who has a knack for finding links others may not have seen yet. She leads amazing teams of students at Wharton and works with Angela Duckworth on the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, she is also the host of the Choiceology podcast, and her brand new book, How To Change, just came out this week. Show Notes: [00:07] In today's episode I'm very excited to introduce you to Dr. Katy Milkman, author of the new book How To Change. [01:18] She leads amazing teams of students at Wharton and works with Angela Duckworth on the Behavior Change for Good Initiative. She is also the host of the Choiceology podcast, and her brand new book, How To Change, just came out this week. [03:34] Katy shares about her background and who she is. [05:35] Melina and Katy discuss the foreword of Katy's new book written by Angela Duckworth (you won't believe what she said!). [07:53] Katy shares about her fresh start research and how it all started. [09:11] There are moments throughout our lives that feel like new beginnings. New Years' feels like a new beginning, but you can also have other new beginnings. [10:34] Their research on fresh starts and the power of those moments to change our motivation and therefore our ability to make an impact for the better on our lives is the biggest ah-ha for Katy from her research. [12:44] The fresh start research took about two years from the first conversation to the publication. It was quick because the findings weren't subtle. (Katy and Melina discuss the differing timelines in academia and business.) [14:33] They had some results and it was clear what they had learned within a few months, but the insights and documenting of the results usually takes the longest. [15:45] Katy shares another favorite research project she was part of about making people grittier. [17:38] Instead of giving poorly performing students advice, they flipped the script and put them in the position to be the advice-givers to underclassmen. [19:01] When people are asked for advice, it improves their motivation to achieve in that domain. [20:56] There is this huge power in recognizing that when you coach others you are helping yourself. [23:21] Too often we don't take the time to figure out what is the actual barrier to change. [24:10] It is important to make sure you are not solving the wrong problem before you deploy your solution. [25:53] 9% of premature deaths in the world are due to inadequate physical activity. If we can figure these behavior change problems, we can really save lives. [26:48] 40% of premature deaths due to decisions that could be changed. This is a really big opportunity for impact, but it all starts with recognizing one of the challenges any individual is having. [28:41] If I have this problem. I know a lot of people struggle with this as well. I am going to figure out the why for all of us and how we might change it and make it better. It can help you change everything by looking at it in a positive way. [30:26] Katy shares one of the most frustrating findings of her career. A ton of things did work, but it didn't create lifelong change. [33:23] It is important to have a reasonable goal with behavior change. [34:52] If you want to create durable change, it has to be a durable commitment and durable solutions instead of something temporary. [36:42] It can be really disruptive to have a fresh start if things are going really well. It is really hard to hold on and keep making progress. [38:46] If we want to change we have to remain vigilant. [39:27] Katy and Melina share their love for Harry Potter. [42:30] Check out the Harry Potter audiobooks. They are SO amazing! [44:09] Mindset has a huge impact on what we can achieve. [47:05] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [48:31] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Buy today and be one of the first to receive a copy when it officially launches May 11, 2021. (NEXT WEEK!!!) Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or

Today I am very excited to have Jon Levy and I am also very excited for our big milestone. This is the 150th episode of The Brainy Business podcast. Can you believe it? We now have well over 350,000 downloads in more than 170 countries (thank you, everyone, for tuning in and sharing with your friends!). You are going to learn so much interesting stuff from this conversation, I absolutely loved chatting with Jon. It's no wonder with all the practice he has had amazing interactions with some of the most accomplished and diverse people on the planet: Grammy award winners, Nobel laureates, editors in chief, Olympic gold medalists, actors. You name it and they have probably accepted an invitation to dinner at Jon's place. You can learn all about how he has done this and the true genius behind these fantastic interactions and getting to really know and trust people in our conversation today. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm very excited to introduce you to Jon Levy, author of the new book You're Invited. [02:07] The most downloaded episode of the year so far was episode number 136 on temptation bundling (fitting, since Dr. Katy Milkman will be here next week to discuss her new book! Link below). [04:39] Jon and Melina's books are coming out on the same day, May 11th. Funny bundling ideas. :) [06:40] Jon shares about his background and some of his favorite studies. [08:41] He spends most of his life on the application of research. There is so much we have learned about human behavior, but we very rarely use it. [09:46] Jon shares his experiences with inviting accomplished strangers to his house for dinner. [12:01] His objective was to bring people together and bond them in hopes that it will improve their lives and hopefully they could have a larger impact on society. [14:16] The more novel something is, the more we are enticed to explore and understand it. [15:33] Because of the IKEA effect, they knew if they could get people to assemble, build, or work together on something, they will bond more with each other and care about the company. [17:23] Applied behavioral science and academic behavioral science both have their places and they are both really important. [20:07] You don't want to be a sponsor. You want to be a partner. [21:20] Be a partner on two things that people will really remember instead of 10 random sponsorships. It is going to be so much more valuable and impactful over time. [24:07] In the beginning Jon started by inviting the people he knew that were very impressive and then he kept asking for recommendations. After some time, he did hire a research team to find people to invite. [25:37] The key is understanding what are the behaviors or interests of the general group you want to invite. [28:26] If you can curate an environment with other high-profile people they will go far out of their way to attend. [29:18] It is this opportunity to meet interesting people, a novel experience, and something that is generous so they don't have to be worried that you are after anything. [31:34] As a general rule, they have one person per industry, a maximum of two. [32:37] At the dinners, they can't talk about their work so they end up having the kind of conversations that you have with your best friends. These conversations are a bit more vulnerable or intimate in your life. [34:14] Researchers in general view trust as being made up of three things: competence, honesty, and benevolence. Though they are not equally weighted. We value benevolence more than honesty, and honesty more than competence. (Unfortunately, businesses hire people the exact opposite way - shift this practice to stand out and have a better team.) [36:27] By leveraging the IKEA effect these vulnerability loops happen quickly. We need to be on the lookout for people sending out vulnerability loop signals. [37:07] Trust does not precede vulnerability. We have to be willing to put ourselves out there if we want to have profound trust. [38:45] Because of loss aversion we feel twice as much pain for when something doesn't work out as the pleasure of when it does. [41:09] Networking evokes feelings of being dirty because it is not a natural way for people to connect. Instead, we want to look at how we make friends. [41:57] Usually, shared interests or connections cause people to be friends. Participate in joint activities you actually enjoy. [44:27] Melina share's about quarantine activities with her family. Fun quips about Mjolnir. (Bonus points if you know what that means without looking it up! Hint: Marvel.) [45:38] Relationships will really define the quality of your life. Be willing to be a little bit vulnerable. [47:33] When you have an activity as the social catalyst, it feels significantly less awkward. [50:44] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [52:16] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Buy t

Today we will be talking all about familiarity bias. Sometimes on the show, I share concepts with you that are a bit foreign. Like one of my all-time favorites in hyperbolic time discounting or even something like "choice architecture" which can sound a little intimidating. Others are like the topic of today's show. Familiarity bias is less scary because...it's familiar! It's a term that is a bit like a warm hug, but that doesn't mean there aren't things for you to learn. This is a bias that can serve you well in life and business but it also often steers people wrong. So it is important to know how it works, and what to be on the lookout for on both the positive and negative sides. Show Notes: [00:07] Today's behavioral economics foundations episode is about familiarity bias. [02:30] The subconscious brain makes decisions using rules of thumb based on predictability. It likes to know what is coming next so it can keep the reins which means it has a strong bias toward things it is familiar with. [04:03] What matters is knowing that the more people become familiar with things, the more likely they are to prefer them; to have a bias toward them. [04:22] Studies have shown that our bias toward the familiar can make it so we make worse bets, that we invest in the wrong things, that we will be more likely to hold out in jobs that we have outgrown or keep pouring money into projects we should have let go of. [05:49] That new job opportunity or relationship or project or apartment or whatever else is presenting itself will probably be scary at first, but that doesn't mean it is bad or wrong. Embrace the feeling and jump in knowing that soon it will be like that song you hated the first time you heard it. [07:54] Eventually, and much faster than you think, this will become familiar—the new normal. You will adjust. Look at how so many people adjusted to working from home or wearing masks during the pandemic. [09:07] Is there a "way you've always done things" that feels like you can't change it but might just be familiarity bias? [09:48] Awareness of familiarity bias can help you ask that question when you feel hesitant to take a step in a new direction. [11:59] Don't be afraid to reuse an ad a few times, people might like it more as they continue to see it. [13:47] You don't have to constantly feel the pressure to reinvent the wheel. If something worked, keep doing it! Maybe you want to do a slight tweak to see if you can improve on a good thing, but if it ain't broke, don't throw it out and start on something new. [15:43] It's ok to prioritize an important project now and let something else that is doing fine sit on the shelf a little longer. It may be becoming familiar and making your customers like it (and you) even more with time. [16:58] Some things are not going to benefit you if you change them up. They could actually be a detriment. [17:40] When you are feeling like you've done something a few times so people must be getting bored with it and they'll leave if you don't do something new and fresh, remind your conscious brain that people like familiarity! [18:09] If you have anyone, customers or team members (or family members!) who hate the idea of a change and fight or resist at first, give it a little time to let familiarity bias set in. [19:21] What do you have in your business that is best to keep familiar for your customers? [19:48] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Buy today and be one of the first to receive a copy when it officially launches May 11, 2021. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: 🎉🎉🎉 Preorder Melina's new book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉 Apply now to join the book launch team (and read it before anyone else!) Past Episodes and Other Resources: Episode 51: Time Discounting: The I'll Start Monday Effect – My Favorite Concept!: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode Episode 35: NUDGES & Choice Architecture: Introducing Nobel-Winning Concepts: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode Episode 142: Status Quo Bias:

Today I am very excited to have Stephen M. R. Covey with us on the show today. In case his name sounds familiar, it's because his father Dr. Stephen Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—one of the best known and most highly acclaimed business books of all time. And his son (our guest) has done some very amazing things in his career as well, living on that family legacy of greatness. As president and CEO of Covey Leadership Center, Stephen nearly doubled revenues while increasing profits by 12 times. During that period, the company expanded throughout the world into over 40 countries, greatly increasing the value of the brand and enterprise. The company was valued at $2.4 million when Stephen was named CEO, and, within three years, he had grown shareholder value to $160 million in a merger he orchestrated with Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey. His book The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, has sold more than 2 million copies and is a fantastic read. While it isn't specifically naming concepts of behavioral economics, as you'll hear in the episode it is very well rooted in that space. Today Stephen will share his "economics of trust" equation plus a bonus qualitative measure of trust that didn't make it into the book. (Stick around until the end to hear that.) He also touches on some of the 13 behaviors that lead to great trust, so it is all about the behavior and economics of trust. Show Notes: [00:08] In today's episode I'm very excited to introduce you to Stephen M.R. Covey to discuss his book, The Speed of Trust. [02:35] Stephen will share with you his "economics of trust" equation plus a bonus qualitative measure of trust that didn't make it into the book [04:47] Stephen shares about himself and his father. [06:25] He has a feeling of stewardship and responsibility to try to carry on his father's legacy and the great work he has done. He is very proud of his heritage. [08:41] In his case there was somewhat a transference of trust from his father to him, but not completely. He had to earn it as well. [10:20] Stephen shares his experience with a large group of naysayers in the merger and how trust made it work. [11:49] There is a risk to get real and be transparent, but there is a greater risk of not doing it. [12:31] The power of going first—of being transparent and vulnerable—invites reciprocity back. The vast majority reciprocate and that is powerful. [15:40] The key to influence is to first be influenced. In the words of his father, "Seek first to understand and then to be understood." [16:27] Understanding is not necessarily agreement. If people feel understood they feel much more open to your influence. [17:29] Trust affects everything. Trust is also learnable as a skill. [18:50] Trust always affects two measurable outcomes: speed and cost. When the trust goes down in any relationship in an environment you will always find that the speed goes down with it and the cost goes up. That is a low-trust tax. [19:56] When the trust goes up in a relationship, the speed goes up and the cost comes down. That is a high-trust dividend. [22:34] Stephen shares a few illustrations of the speed of trust from his book. [23:24] Client referrals offer a transference of trust. [26:31] Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust. Nothing is as profitable as the economics of trust. [28:21] The cost of distrust is very real. The speed goes down and the cost comes up. [31:19] Smart trust is having your propensity to trust and balancing that with your analysis. Start with the heart and you will see possibilities you would never see otherwise. Then balance that with your head. [33:46] The vast majority of people respond well to being trusted and they rise to the occasion. They perform better, develop capabilities, and reciprocate by giving the trust back to you. [36:02] Most leaders can be far more trusting than they are being. Our big challenge is that we are not trusting enough. [37:47] There is actually more control in a high trust culture than there is in a rules-based culture. [39:02] Two great practices are to declare your intent and assume positive intent as a starting point. Be trusting as well as trustworthy. [41:19] It can help you build trust enormously well and fast to have a process for accountability upfront. [43:01] Energy and joy are the two keys on the qualitative side. When the trust goes up in a relationship, the energy and joy in all forms go up with it. [45:01] In high trust cultures people are more energized, more engaged, less stressed, and less burned out. [47:13] Inspiration is the new engagement. Inspired employees are far more productive than engaged employees. [47:49] To be trusted is the most inspiring form of human motivation. It brings us the very best in all of us. [49:44] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [51:01] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book

I can hardly believe the topic of this episode! It has been such a long time in the making and I'm so honored and overjoyed to be able to share this with you. My first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You, is coming out and will be available in the world starting May 11, 2021 in the US and shortly thereafter around the world. This book has been a labor of love and I am so unbelievably ready for it to be out in your hands! In this episode, I will let you know what to expect when you get your copy of the book, why I wrote it, and some behind-the-scenes details from the process. Show Notes: [00:08] Today's episode is a sneak peek at my brand new book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You. [02:29] I've known for a long time that I want to write a book (many books if I'm honest...so expect more in the future!). I would say that I have been pretty actively pursuing the process of getting an agent and a publisher since late 2018 when the podcast was really gaining some good traction. [04:04] A behind the scenes look of how I found my publisher. [04:47] The next step was to finalize the best approach to my first book, and it was determined that going with a format that is very much in line with what you have come to know and love here on the podcast: what behavioral economics is, why it matters, and how to start applying it in business. [06:29] Smart brands work with the subconscious mind of the customer, and can uncover things people didn't even know how to articulate for themselves. These are our favorite brands, the ones that change the world because they are so perfect people can't help but fall in love with them. [07:30] Now with the power of behavioral economics we can understand the science of why people buy. There are business case studies and academic research among many fields and two Nobel prizes paving the way for businesses to use a recipe of sorts to begin applying this themselves. [09:08] Existing books from the field were either too mainstream or too focused for people in business to use for application. I saw this space in the middle (and knew it existed from the thousands of you around the world who love The Brainy Business podcast). [10:04] There was a gap, and so I have filled it with this book. That's why I wrote What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You. To give a practical how-to guide that you can actually use to start applying behavioral economics in business and uplevel your career. It is backed by tons of research, interviews, and my own experience over the years as an applied behavioral economist. [11:31] It is conversational and fun to read so you will retain what you learn and keep going through the material while giving you the insights you need to start using the information. [11:50] This book is not meant to sit on a shelf collecting dust. It isn't a one and done. It is created to make it really easy for you to use again and again, project after project. [12:03] There is a free PDF workbook that goes along with the book you can download off my website (which will come out when the book does in May) with all sorts of tactics and ways to use the insights beyond what could fit in the book. [13:05] It matters to me that everyone around the world has access to the awesomeness that is behavioral economics AND that they can start using it in a way that will get them results. [13:54] This book was carefully curated into four parts, which are intentionally presented in a specific order. [14:01] Part one helps you see your brain differently, to know how it really works, and be open to learning. [14:33] Part two is dedicated to the concepts that are most applicable in business. [15:34] At the end of each of these chapters you will find some tips and a prompt to start applying the information yourself. There is also information on the corresponding episodes of the podcast so you can go learn more about each concept, AND there is a section letting you know where you will see that particular concept come up again in part three of the book. [16:14] The concepts you will find in part two of the book are framing, priming, anchoring & adjustment, relativity, loss aversion, scarcity, herding, social proof, nudges and choice architecture, the paradox of choice, partitioning, the pain of paying, surprise and delight, the peak-end rule, habits, and reciprocity. [17:38] Part three builds upon the foundations (concepts) from the previous section and shows how they can be combined in various ways to get incredible results for businesses. [19:00] Similar to the experience in part two, each chapter ends with a list of the concepts that were included within the stories or information in that chapter, so you can easily reference back to them as you begin the application process using the prompts provided. [20:30] Part four is what helps this book be more than an interesting read. It shares some of your brain's biases and tricks that are there to keep you feeling safe but keep you stuck whe

Today I am so excited to have Kwame Christian back on the show. Kwame was first on the show back in July of 2020 in episode 107. There aren't a lot of repeat guests on the show because there are so many people out there I want to talk to and share with you; I am constantly trying to find new voices to bring on. That being said, I had to have Kwame back for a few reasons. For one thing, we have become friends over this past year and I know how much fun he is to talk to and such a wealth of information. When he came on the show we talked about having difficult conversations around race and inequality, which was influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, the death of George Floyd, and other horrible events that started coming to a greater light in spring 2020. While Kwame quickly became a prominent voice in that space, it isn't his main focus or real area of genius. While prepping to have Kwame guest lecture for a class I recently taught on internal communication and change management at Texas A&M, I saw that he had a guide about using anchoring as a tool in negotiation and it was a clear opportunity to have him back to talk about his truest expertise – negotiation techniques. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm so excited to have Kwame Christian back on the show, a rare repeat guest, to talk about using anchoring in negotiations. [03:02] Kwame is the director of the American Negotiation Institute and host of the #1 negotiation podcast in the world, Negotiate Anything, which has over 2 million downloads in more than 180 countries. [05:27] At the American Negotiation Institute they do negotiation trainings and business consulting. [08:30] Kwame has a background in psychology. [08:47] Kwame's philosophy for life is that the best things in life are on the other side of difficult conversations. His goal is to make these difficult conversations easier so you can live the best version of your life. [09:04] Negotiation is a life philosophy that we filter every life conversation through. He thinks of every conversation in terms of a negotiation. [11:39] There is a bias where we think that negotiation has to be adversarial. It doesn't need to be that way. [12:00] Negotiation is any time you are in a conversation and somebody in the conversation wants something. The people that you negotiate with the most are the people closest to you. [14:24] In every situation somebody wants something even if it is just to be heard or understood. [15:14] If you think of a conversation as a negotiation then you are going to be more explicit with your desires and invite the other person to share what it is they want out of the interaction. [17:31] Any interaction (even when money doesn't exchange hands), you are still trying to sell someone an idea that you need them to buy in on. [18:06] Anchoring is the most powerful negotiation technique. You should always try to use it in some capacity. [18:31] Anchoring with the most aggressive request that you can reasonably justify. [21:02] If you have as much information or more information then you make the first offer because then you are in a position to create a competent anchor. If you have less information then you let them make the first offer and then you counter them. [22:56] There are some glaring mistakes you can make if you anchor without having enough information. [25:08] We need to be able to distinguish between rejection and resistance. [27:58] The things you say have an impact. You want to calibrate that impact for maximum impact. [29:57] Negotiation Genius talks about how to play defense when someone else anchors you. [31:20] Anchoring plays a huge role in our psychology and if we don't recognize it we are going to do things that have a subtle impact on the subconscious of the person on the other side. [33:37] Negotiating the agenda is one of the most important negotiations that does not occur. [36:23] You have to be more mindful about what you are trying to accomplish. [37:42] It is helpful to know what the person you are negotiating with cares about most. [40:01] We have to ask questions and learn as much as we can so that we can try to solve the right problems. [40:44] Assertiveness is taken differently depending on who you are. The way you frame something may be different depending on your gender. [42:37] We have to play in the world we live in, but we can be doing things on the side to try and change them in the future. [43:19] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [45:05] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Buy today and be one of the first to receive a copy when it officially launches May 11, 2021. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy B

Today I am very excited to introduce you to Dr. Michelle Auerbach. She and I met a few weeks back by an introduction from another podcast where we had both recently been guests, and it was clear we had a lot in common. When we had our "getting to know you" conversation I learned that Michelle's work was all about the power of story (while I happened to be working on the curriculum for my upcoming class on Creating BEtter Presentations using behavioral economics and story for Texas A&M University. (Register here) During the conversation, we touch on several concepts that have their own past episodes, including those on the novelty and stories, nudges, framing, status quo bias, DOSE brain chemicals, and many more. Show Notes: [00:06] In today's episode I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Michelle Auerbach, author of Resilience: The Life-Saving Skill of Story. [01:59] Emotion is needed to make decisions, and stories evoke emotions. [03:48] Two days ago Dr. Auerbach defended her dissertation. (Congratulations!) [05:08] Story has always been an enormous part of Michelle's life. [07:14] She wanted to do change management in an organization because it is a place where all of the wisdom we've handed down shows up and helps people in their real everyday lives. [09:09] Story does four really important change tasks. [10:07] Story moves stuff from your short-term memory across to your long-term memory and allows you to hold on to information. It also allows you to see possibilities that you wouldn't see otherwise. [11:40] Story is a biologically based mechanism for getting things done well. [13:35] If you really focus on one great story, it has so much power behind it. [15:16] Dopamine and Oxytocin create prosocial behavior. [17:11] Hero's Journey is so complicated and has so many steps. If you do it right, you end up with the good stuff (but if you don't have the time or devotion it could be a jumbled mess). [18:36] Michelle shares her three-part story structure: set the stage for what is going on, describe the trouble, what you did about it, and the benefits. [20:54] Tell us what is going on, take us on a little journey where we explore the things that we need to know, and then tell us what you came to. [22:53] Story matters no matter where you are and you can tell stories in different ways. [24:19] Allowing diversity in the ways stories are told is fabulous. [26:03] If you are on a team with people from more than one culture have everyone tell one of their favorite stories from childhood. [27:44] Helping the audience participate in shaping the experience will make it so they are more invested and more likely to want to move forward (IKEA Effect). [28:38] If you have a very strong why and you can bring that into the room in a very tactile way people will spend the rest of the day leading from that place. [29:17] Melina shares about story cubes (get your own with the link below!) [31:02] It is the details that evoke feelings that make the story work. Anything you can do to add visuals to storytelling is a really good idea because it helps to evoke feelings in another way. [33:47] To be able to use a biological-based system for talking about it allows people to have better conversations, be more open, and feel more grounded while they are doing it. [35:11] Story listening is important too. You can evoke good stories from people in a way that is healing to the people telling the stories. [36:54] Decision making is impossible without feeling and stories evoke feeling. If you need people to make a decision in the room, you need to be telling stories along with the data you are giving. [38:07] Storytelling definitely gets people over the hump of overvaluing their current state and undervaluing the change. [39:03] Start by listening to other people's stories and hear what you like and what doesn't work for you. What is really possible for you? [40:18] Ask the three story questions: What was going on? What did you do about it? What happened? [42:23] If you say this is what was going on, this is what I did about it, and this is what happened to me, people wonder what would have happened for them and start to take it in more deeply instead of saying you're supposed to feel this way about this thing. [44:53] Simple and positive nudges can have a huge impact on behavior. [47:05] Everybody can be a great storyteller. [50:01] Melina shares her closing thoughts. [51:32] Melina's first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia. Buy today and be one of the first to receive a copy when it officially launches May 11, 2021. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Meli

It has been over a year since there was a company analysis episode on the show and they are coming back by popular demand! In addition to this episode about the happiest place (and perhaps the most magical company) on earth, there are behavioral economics analysis episodes on Apple Card, Costco, Peloton, and Starbucks (which quickly rose through the ranks to become the third most downloaded episode of all time) here on The Brainy Business. Links to all those (and so much more) below. Disney is such a massive company this episode could have gone in a lot of different ways (and I would guess it won't be the last time you hear me talk about Disney on the show). Today is mostly focused on traditional Disney: amusement parks, movies, and a bit about Disney+. I'll go through a whole bunch of concepts from behavioral economics that I see them using/leveraging in their work, and explain what you can learn from Disney in your business. Show Notes: [02:10] It is important to acknowledge that Disney is a massive organization with many, many facets and paths I could have taken this episode down. I would be willing to bet that there could be an entire podcast that is exclusively dedicated to the behavioral science of Disney and it would not run out of content. [03:12] Knowing coronavirus has impacted their numbers, before the pandemic, they were reported as having 210,000 employees and revenue of about $60 billion. [03:23] That is before launching Disney+, which has been the most successful launch of a streaming service to date. In a little over a year, Disney+ is over halfway to being the largest streaming company in the world. [05:38] Their focus on innovation and always working to be better makes them stand out. Among the 210,000 employees I mentioned earlier, there are over 20 behavioral scientists, along with hundreds of imagineers creating the amazing features and attractions around the parks and experiences throughout the world. [06:14] They have an incredible talent for balancing expectations with surprise and delight in this beautiful dance that works with the brain's bias for the status quo. [07:11] If any of the things you expected of Disney were to change it would be a letdown and a negative experience. You would have negative dopamine because your expectations weren't met and it can tarnish the brand. [07:57] These constant little tweaks and adaptations keep it fresh at Disney without being so different you lose the nostalgia factor and trigger ambiguity or uncertainty aversion. Enough remains the same to find that perfect balance of new and nostalgic. Because we have a bias for the familiar and love to share particularly great experiences with others, especially the next generation, it is important to keep some things static even over decades. [08:51] This embracing of nostalgia goes beyond the parks. Their movies and merchandise build on this concept as well. [11:12] Our brains love a little novelty and Disney incorporates theirs along with the IKEA effect. [11:36] Disney has little surprises throughout their parks. For example, the hidden Mickeys around Disneyland and Disney World–reportedly about 1000 per park. [12:19] Disney also does a great job of putting little "easter eggs" in their movies, particularly in its subsidiary brands. [13:36] Those little wins that help you feel smart also help you shape your experience with the brand. You look for little hidden gems and get to be part of the magic. [14:45] Being part of the fun and shaping the experience makes people like it more, and in Disney's case, it is also a great way to sell lots of other merchandise. [15:57] Scarcity creates buzz and excitement, we herding humans love to follow the crowd and if we see some social proof that an item is popular AND in short supply we can't help but get excited. [16:40] Having others spread the word about you and create their own fan version of your creations is another great reflection of how much people love Disney. [18:27] Really thinking through those experiences, caring that much, is a gift (reciprocity), and one that people repay Disney with by being loyal fans of the entire organization. [20:08] When there is something to DO it is easier to forget about how long you are waiting (combating idleness aversion). [21:19] Turning that line into a dopamine generating anticipation-building experience is a great way to make it so we end up loving the thing we probably would have thought we would hate! That anticipation is made possible by making the experience fun and getting people excited about what is to come. [22:35] Our brains love that little tease and waiting to see if something is going to live up to our expectations, we will hype it up in our brains while waiting to see what happens. [23:25] Some of the guiding principles at Disney include Mickey's 10 Commandments. Think of these as a handbook or a set of value statements. [24:58] When you expect error (a key concept of nudging) and think about all the ways

Do you think that hyping up yourself or your business is a good thing, or does it feel a little shady to you? Join me in this episode of The Brainy Business as I interview Michael F. Schein, author of the book The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets from the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers, who, among many other topics, discusses his take on that and how he personally believes hype to be a good thing. After Michael featured The Brainy Business in Psychology Today as the #1 psychology podcast that every businessperson should listen to, he was also kind enough to send me an advanced copy of The Hype Handbook, which is full of great stories across history and different disciplines. I read the book and loved it and couldn't wait to talk with him on this podcast about the 12 ways businesses can use hype to find their audiences and create a dedicated following. In today's episode, Michael offers invaluable tips and advice such as positioning yourself against ideas with which you disagree, packaging and branding yourself effectively, being confident in your own unique way, embracing theater and drama, using facts and figures in a way that is not boring, and so much more. We also touch upon topics that have been discussed in past episodes of The Brainy Business, such as herding, biases, framing, and many others. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Time Stamps [0:00] – Introduction to this episode's guest, Michael F. Schein. [3:15] – Michael shares his background, explaining how he got into the business he's involved in now and why he wrote The Hype Handbook. [5:51] – Melina praises The Hype Handbook, pointing out that she loves the connections that it makes throughout history. [8:29] – Melina and Michael comment on the problem with trying to copy what others have done in that it's not going to be innovative when you do it. [10:48] – Michael explains why he used the word hype in his book title and what the word means to him, giving hip hop music as an example of something that has had to use hype to succeed. [13:18] – Melina mentions her favorite TED talk and talks about the importance of appreciating your first follower. [14:02] – Michael offers abstract art as an example of something that was generally hated when it first came out but is now so popular it's almost mundane. [15:48] – Michael discusses the first strategy from the book – make war, not love – emphasizing that it's the foundation on which the other 11 strategies are built. [19:04] – Michael suggests positioning yourself against an idea that a lot of people seem to share in your industry, which you fundamentally disagree with (there are followers waiting for whomever is first to speak up). [20:10] – Michael shares Basecamp as an example of how positioning yourself against ideas works and is powerful. [22:56] – Melina points out that even though Basecamp is user friendly, some people do still prefer more complex systems. [24:15] – Michael expounds upon another one of his strategies – packaging and branding. [26:18] – We learn that we should focus on our weaknesses rather than our strengths and see if there is a way to turn the weaknesses into strengths. [28:47] – Melina and Michael agree that confidence in things such as pricing is crucial. [30:55] – Michael mentions his Psychology Today article in which he named The Brainy Business as the #1 psychology podcast businesspeople should listen to. [33:44] – Michael provides his insight on survivorship bias and the importance of hyping yourself up. [36:24] – Michael offers Tony Robbins as an example of someone who fits his strategy of embracing theater and drama. [38:14] – Michael explains his strategy of making things scientific and using facts and figures in an interesting way. [40:16] – Michael provides an example of branding yourself as an expert by using scientific lingo. [42:58] – Michael comments on behavioral economics and how Melina has made use of it using his first strategy: make war, not love. [45:01] – We learn about how Simon Sinek has used a simple slogan to sell his ideas. [47:27] – Michael further discusses Sinek and his video about millennials. [50:00] – We discover how we can connect with Michael online by joining HypeReads (and many more links in the list below) [51:28] – Melina encourages everyone to reflect on whether or not Michael's take on hype has changed how you think of it. [55:16] – Melina shares an interesting story about Michael's serendipitous timing in reaching out as she completed her new book, What Your Customer Wants (And Can't Tell You). Now on presale – will you help spr

Today is all about status quo bias. This is perhaps one of the most foundational foundations there is. It truly is at the center of so many biases and heuristics the brain uses to make decisions, which is why you have heard me talk about it a lot on the show. Most recently, I talked about this on episode 139 on the endowment effect, and that is because these two are commonly combined with loss aversion to come up with a "trifecta" that keeps us stuck. In today's episode, I'll go beyond explaining what status quo bias and why it is such a foundational foundation...and give you tips for how to be more effective personally, with colleagues, and the two ways to use it with customers (if you get it wrong it can mean a huge loss in conversions!) Show Notes: [00:41] Today we will be talking all about status quo bias which is perhaps one of the most foundational foundations there is. [02:34] First: a reminder of how the brain works. All our brains have a conscious and subconscious processing working concurrently all the time. [03:07] The subconscious is in charge 99% of the time. [03:52] The average person makes 35,000 decisions every single day. [04:52] The subconscious decides what is considered "normal" by using biases and heuristics (or rules of thumb). Things that have worked in the past that it believes apply to that specific situation by a millisecond choice. [05:29] Your brain wants to have as much as possible processed by your subconscious because it is more efficient. It uses less energy. It is faster and it thinks it knows best. Because the subconscious is a creature of habit and predictability, it isn't surprising that it has a very strong bias for the status quo. [06:27] The status quo can change based on whatever we've become accustomed to and that can change greatly over time. [07:56] Now that the change is upon you, the stuff you know and are used to looks pretty darn good. [08:25] This feeling that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't is inherent in choices we make every day to maintain that status quo. [08:55] Melina shares an interesting article in Psychology Today which talks about a thought experiment from two different angles. [11:49] What would you choose in each case? [13:13] Wanting to keep things the same or feeling immense stress or fear about the idea of starting something new doesn't mean the old thing is better or that the new thing is worse or a bad decision. It just means that it is new, and you know that already! That is probably what drew you to the opportunity in the first place. [13:59] If you were looking to do something new and have done the due diligence, embrace that feeling as a good sign and move forward with confidence. It will become a habit before you know it and be a new status quo you can't imagine living without. [15:36] The pandemic was a massive, forced shift in circumstance caused (essentially) everyone on earth to have their status quo bias shaken up in a way that we had to try new stuff to find a new normal. Solutions that were once unfathomable are now easy. [17:05] There are ways to work with the biases of the brain so they will be less impactful when presenting change. If you do that well, people will generally adjust to the new norm and establish a new bias toward that status quo. [19:12] It is very important to consider the context of your relationship with the customer when determining how to present information for them and which way to use status quo bias. [20:26] The way you frame your message is really critical and a subtle shift in the way you talk about the status quo can be a huge swing in retention rates. [21:42] Don't include too many choices or too much extra stuff, because, as I already said, when people get overwhelmed they are more likely to go with the status quo. [22:34] Recap: The first most important thing to remember is that status quo bias is a foundation for a reason. It is firmly rooted in the way our brains work and it will always be present. [22:58] When you are looking or planning for a change, know that the feeling of fear as you get close to pulling the trigger on it doesn't mean you are on the wrong track. [24:27] I'm the closing keynote for the Y conference from the Insights Association taking place virtually on March 9 and 10. The tickets are very affordable and free to their members and corporate researchers, so go check it out with the link in the show notes. [24:45] It was also just announced that I will be the MC for the You Better Behave! Virtual masterclass taking place from 12:00-6:00 Eastern on March 31. This is also virtual and has keynotes from Nir Eyal and Tim and Kurt from Behavioral Grooves, as well as confirmed speakers from Bayer, Reebok, Nestle, and more. [25:37] My first book, What Your Customer Wants (And Can't Tell You) is officially on presale and available on Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes & Noble so you can buy today and be one of the first to receive a copy when it officially launches May 11

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Jennifer Clinehens. She is currently CX Strategy Director at Havas CX Helia, London, where she uses behavioral science and psychology to improve the customer experience for brands like Lloyds Banking Group and Compare the Market. Jennifer has helped mold experiences with behavioral science for brands like McDonald's, AT&T, O2, and Adidas across the globe. She is also the author of four books including the one we will be discussing today, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings, AND she has two different podcasts, Choice Hacking and Everybody Hates Your Brand. Wow, talk about a busy and productive person, amirite? I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:40] Today I am so excited to introduce you to Jennifer Clinehens. She is currently CX Strategy Director at Havas CX Helia, London. [03:05] Jennifer shares her background and how she got involved in behavioral science. She has been lucky to work for many companies across many countries. [04:35] A lot of the work she has been doing lately has been about the intersection between behavioral science and psychology. She takes those principles and applies them to experience design. [06:48] One of the big things Jennifer does is framing touchpoints. [09:39] Crossing over from one medium to another is a difficult point where we often lose some potential customers. There are a lot of steps that happen in the customer journey process. [10:28] Generally, when you design a customer journey you use a customer journey map: a visual representation of what the customer journey is. [10:45] On a map the customer journey is linear, but in real life it is messy. Yes, we have a beautiful picture of what the customer journey should be, but in the back of your mind, you have to be pragmatic. [11:49] The closer we can get to design touchpoints and customer communications with a scientific approach or foundation to apply it to the real world the better it is. [13:08] The number one thing brands seem to get wrong (or miss completely) is peak-end and applying it across the customer journey. The emotional journey is the secret sauce. [14:17] A lot of brands get their ending wrong. They don't know where the real ending is. [15:41] Brands, in general, don't realize that the last mile (the true ending) is so critical in so many ways. [16:17] Jennifer shares an example of Disney realizing the customer journey didn't end when you left their park. [17:19] Making the very end of your experience even better and more exciting means your memory of the time you spent in Disneyland is even better. It is how you are constructing the memory, it is not about every single moment you had. It is that emotional peak and true ending that matter. [17:57] "A brand is a memory." Peter Steidl (from one of Melina's "go-to" brainy books, Neurobranding, linked below) [20:33] There are a few different ways you can look for that true end in your business. [21:44] Part of the issue of finding that true ending also has to do with silos. [23:56] The brands that measure on a journey-level versus a touchpoint level have much more value at the end of the day. [25:32] Melina shares how an online mattress company handles its customer journey. [27:16] It is important to think through all the moments in the experience: where there could be problems and frustrations and turning it into a really great shareable moment/story. Then you have different associations with that brand. [28:30] Going that little bit extra and saying "Is that really the end of the customer experience?" is so important. [29:14] Jennifer shares some of her favorite concepts. Peak-end is her favorite, but the most overlooked is visual salience. [31:27] Melina shares her experience when she toured the Human Behavior Lab at Texas A&M. [33:46] Jennifer encourages brands to have someone who is responsible for making sure effectiveness and emotion are being delivered on in the journey level. [36:20] When you know what you are looking for then you can see if you are on track and put in those nudges. If you don't know the end game, it is not as effective as it could be. The quality of the work is in the quality of the brief. [38:06] Making choices easy is so much of what they do. Getting brands to understand where to get people ready to buy is the first step. [39:15] The first thing they do is think: "Where are the points we need to be nudging to action?" and "Where are the points we need to be inspiring people?" They are usually not the same place. [39:23] The book Choice Hacking is a good first start for people to think about a fram

Today I get the honor of introducing you to Dr. Benny Cheung, a director of DecTech. You may remember that company's name as Dr. Henry Stott, a cofounder, joined me on the show in episode 130 to discuss some of their other work. This conversation digs deeper on a specific project that Benny worked on to reduce opportunistic insurance fraud. You'll get to learn all about it during the episode and I promise it is fascinating to learn how some simple nudges can help reduce a problem of, essentially, little white lies that were costing the UK insurance industry a billion pounds each year. We also get to learn a little about Benny and the research he did studying creatures that may seem very different from humans, but whose behavior we can still learn quite a bit from. He completed a Ph.D. and a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in the field of behavioural science at the University of Cambridge before joining Dectech. During his academic career, he was involved in commercial projects in the clinical research and biotechnology industries. His areas of expertise include retail, eCommerce, financial services, utilities, telecommunication, and advertising. Show Notes: [00:40] Today I get the honor of introducing you to Dr. Benny Cheung, a director of Dectech. [03:11] Benny shares his background and how he got involved in behavioral science. He started in behavioral genomics. [03:44] Benny joined Dectech in 2005 to apply techniques and technology in behavioral science in a commercial backdrop supporting clients to understand their consumers better. Now the mission at DecTech is to provide the tools that will allow their clients to make more accurate and cost-effective predictions about their consumer's behavior. [05:08] A lot of behavior we can trace back to genetics, so you inherit a lot of behavioral traits. [05:35] Nowadays his focus is more on the commercial backdrop and consumer purchasing commercial decision making. [06:32] Benny shares about a study he did with worms in 1999 about genetics and how intricately genetics is related to the behavioral outcome. [07:55] In that study, feeding behavior came down to a single gene. While not all behaviors are that simple, genetics plays a very important role in behavior. Your environment also has a very important role to play. [09:48] Benny shares about his opportunistic insurance fraud project. They focused on everyday consumers that were giving into temptations of being less than honest at a specific point during their customer life cycle. [11:29] The project was for the Insurance Fraud Bureau in the UK. [12:42] Opportunistic fraud is different from high-profile organized fraud because it is often undetected. That is a challenge for the industry. [12:54] The IFB came to them and asked them to come up with a solution to fight this kind of opportunistic fraud. [15:27] This type of fraud is typically not planned, instead it is something people choose to do at the moment. [16:14] Nudges only work well in certain situations. You really can only nudge someone if they are sitting on the fence. [18:47] Coming up with the intervention messages was the first task. The second task was to come up with a testing paradigm where they could test their effectiveness. [20:41] The five principles they picked to focus their intervention methods were: norming(herding), consistency, priming, framing, and reciprocity. [23:10] They prompted in a covert way as customers verified they were not a robot. [26:04] When you have to focus on the words like in the captcha it has a different impact on the brain. [26:24] For these interventions to be usable they can't leave a negative perception or imprint. [27:11] They tested using a randomized controlled trial. Recreating the realism of applying for motor insurance online was a very important aspect. [29:24] By comparing peoples' responses collectively to those contentious questions in the different conditions they could see how effective the interventions were in swaying dishonesty. [30:13] On average the interventions were able to sway 36% of the dishonesty. An intervention in the norming category was proven most effective and had a 55% impact of dishonesty swaying. [31:21] Of the 18 interventions they tested only one of them didn't really work. All of them have shown some positive impact in swaying dishonesty. [33:47] In behavioral science it is paramount to test. The Holy Grail of testing is doing a real-life trial, but they can be costly and risky to do, and hard to scale. [36:01] It is beneficial to get out of your way and test things when it is a safe space so you can see what amazing things can come out of it. [38:53] None of the interventions left a negative impact on the outcome of perceptions. [40:58] Melina's closing reflections. [41:39] In the case of opportunistic fraud, it was important to know that this is often a decision made in the moment instead of premeditated or otherwise planned. This is why the nudges were effective: t

Today we will be digging in on the endowment effect. This concept is similar to a few you have heard on the show before, including loss aversion, the IKEA effect and even a little bit of reciprocity mixed in there. While they are similar, they are not the same. The endowment effect is super impactful for all kinds of businesses. Everything from physical products to services, online versus brick and mortar shops; all can use the endowment effect to improve sales. And, yes, this even comes up when discussing change with members on your team (which I won't really get into today, see the Change Management episode link below for more on that). Listen to this episode and download your freebie worksheet to get tips for how you can use the endowment effect in your business. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:41] In this episode, you'll learn what the endowment effect is, how it works, and tips on how you can use it. [02:15] EXCITING NEWS! This week, an article came out in Psychology Today called 21 Psychology Podcasts Every Businessperson Should Listen To. I'm so honored to say that The Brainy Business made the list! [03:04] In its simplest form, the endowment effect teaches us that we value things more when we own them (or have perceived ownership over them). To put it another way, we like our stuff more than other peoples' stuff. [03:21] It is incredibly easy to trigger the endowment effect. Even a slight change in words can make a huge impact. [04:00] By saying, "You will notice when you go to check out the article…" I am triggering the endowment effect. Making it personalized by using the word "you" makes a difference, but also saying, "when you do this thing" is really powerful for triggering perceived ownership in the brain (versus "if" you do this thing). [05:07] One very simple language shift that makes a huge difference when applying the endowment effect is the swap from "if" to "when." [06:08] The endowment effect is very closely linked to loss aversion, but as I said at the top of the episode, they are not the same thing. It makes the possibility of loss more apparent or clear in your mind. It makes it so you are more aware of losing something. [06:47] When you are given something or interact with it, your brain takes some ownership over it. It can become a part of your identity as the endowment effect takes place. You don't need to have physically purchased it or technically own it for this to happen. [08:07] The first thing you are given will act like the anchor that you are more likely to take ownership over and we aren't the only animals impacted by the endowment effect. Do monkeys prefer peanut butter or juice? It depends! [09:34] Being given the item first and told it was yours made it so it was worth more to you and you didn't want to get rid of it. [09:57] If you keep giving people things, there is no potential loss of the items they have so the endowment effect doesn't have much of an outward impact. It is only when that trade is presented and they need to give something up that we really see it in action. [10:24] Many businesses are set up so you earn things like credits. They may keep accruing and if you ever stop paying you will lose them all. That little twinge will keep you paying often for things you don't really use. [13:36] Building the endowment effect into your programs can keep people motivated to stay. Ideally, you are also providing great value for them when they use it, but the endowment effect can help carry them through the valleys where they might be less active because they don't want to lose out on the progress they have made so far. [14:06] Physical touch has a big impact on the endowment effect. [14:40] Great high-quality pictures and videos can trigger mirror neurons of someone else engaging with the product, which can help your business get the benefit of the endowment effect. [14:52] Another way to really trigger the endowment effect, both for product and service businesses, is to use the word "imagine" or "picture this." I also use really strong questions to help someone see the experience and live it a little bit. [16:24] Getting someone excited about the prospect of owning something can actually help them to enjoy it more when they do own it, which is a good thing. [17:39] Help the right people to find the best products and services for them and make it an irresistible offer. Using the endowment effect can help you do just that, andl help them truly love you, your business, and that item after they've bought. [18:01] Say you hear often from potential customers that your they're concerned about the price of your offer. If you know

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Patrick Fagan, author of the book Hooked: Why Cute Sells and Other Marketing Magic That We Just Can't Resist. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer at Capuchin Behavioural Science. As you'll hear on the show today, Patrick has done all sorts of interesting research over the years, including a study for eBay and some for social media. He has such a great knowledge of the mind and how it applies to marketing and behavior. You can definitely say we are cut from the same cloth so I truly enjoyed chatting with him and I know you'll love this episode as well. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:41] Today I am so excited to introduce you to Patrick Fagan, author of the book Hooked: Why Cute Sells and Other Marketing Magic That We Just Can't Resist. [03:16] Patrick shares how he developed his love for behavioral science and got into the field. [04:55] Now Patrick is the Chief Scientific Officer at Capuchin Behavioural Science. They do behavioral science consulting and research. [07:07] Patrick shares about the priming study he did for eBay. He looked at the effects of background noises on online shopping. [07:54] He found that classical music makes people more likely to buy. He shares his findings on different types of music. [10:32] Patrick shares about the papers he co-authored on Facebook psychology and facial expressions. His studies showed that Facebook can raise or lower your self-esteem depending on how you're using it. [11:56] Technology is not completely a force for good. It is harming our attention spans and our abilities to think and be conscientious. [13:39] Patrick shares more about their study on facial expressions. On average, they found that people tend to lean back if they are bored. [14:42] He gets excited to work on projects where he can understand people, why people behave a certain way, and how behavior can be influenced. He loves doing segmentations. [17:42] Generally speaking when working with millions of people you have to segment them into groups. [19:33] Heretics are important for society; they are generally quite influential. [20:03] Melina shares some of Wendy Wood's work with habits on running. [22:35] Fitness seekers are influenced by commitment and consistency. Doing in the future what you have done in the past. [24:10] Patrick shares about a study in Poland about traditionalism. He had a hunch there was a third group and this was completely validated with the data. [26:01] He shares how you can send different messages based on the group of people. This approach helps you to be able to speak your customers' language better. [28:20] You can be marketing exactly the same product and if you're talking to one audience you would use different imagery than if you were trying to appeal to another group. [28:56] He wrote the book Hooked because he thought it would be good for the world. He also thought he saw a gap in the market for how to use psychology for messaging. [29:33] His book shares how to make messages work by grabbing attention, how to engage people, and how to nudge behavior. [29:53] There are three steps that a message needs to take. First, it needs to grab attention. [31:46] The second part is that a message needs to engage people emotionally. [33:17] If you present people with puzzles, riddles, or anything where they have to think about it they will be more likely to engage with it or remember. [34:16] The third thing is how to nudge behavior. You have to motivate people. [35:04] Passion or emotion is the steam in the engine which drives behavior. If you want people to act you have to fire them up and get that energy going to drive them to act. [38:10] Grab your copy of Patrick's book Hooked (and all the other books mentioned on the show today) in the links below.. [40:17] Melina's closing reflections. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Mini-Course BE Thoughtful Revolution - use code BRAINY to save 10% Get Your FREE ebook Melina's John Mayer Pandora Station! Listen to what she listens to while working. Get the B

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Dr. Felicity Heathcote-Marcz. I know you'll learn a lot from this conversation with Felicity because…I did too! As you'll hear throughout the episode, I'm not worried about asking the "dumb" questions like "what does that mean" or "what's that term you just used?" I'm here for you dear listener! And, I figure if I haven't heard of something, there's a good chance there is at least one other person out there who would benefit from a definition as well. I hope you enjoy learning with me in today's fascinating discussion with Felicity. You will get some ideas for tests and observational research you can do in your business to get an edge into the minds of your staff and customers. I hope you enjoy learning with me in today's discussion with Felicity. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:07] I'm excited to introduce you to Felicity Heathcote-Marcz an ethnographer at Atkins Global. [02:54] Felicity shares about being the point of contact in her organization for ethnographic research. She leads many ethnographic projects all to do with the transport industry. [03:57] She shares about some of the traditional ethnography projects she has led. [05:44] Ethnography is a methodology that originates from anthropology. The method began by studying cultures and trying to understand them from the ground up. [07:33] Now ethnography is at a place where the practice has matured and there are many networks for sharing knowledge and evolving. [09:46] It is up to the organization's ethnographer to study the spaces and to understand the concerns and realities of different organizational stakeholders and then provide a narrative back to the organization. [12:39] The Hawthorne Effect is when people know they are being observed and consequently they change their behavior (often without realizing it). [14:56] In long term projects the Hawthorne Effect quickly melts away because it is not possible to keep up a pretend display of performance. You become part of the culture the longer you are there studying a group. [15:31] One of the key challenges of ethnography in business is time. You always want as much time as you can have in the field. [16:59] If you don't have a long period of time for a project, try to spend as much continuous time with the group as possible. [18:38] She reassures the people she works with that her studies are completely anonymous and none of it will come back on them as an individual. It is really an opportunity to tell their story. [20:14] Ethnography is more about understanding in generalities that you can only obtain on an individual level. [21:10] Felicity shares about the behavioral science piece of some of the work she has done. Nudges have become very popular as a policy tool. [23:35] Historically traveling in private vehicles was the most dangerous because of accidents but since COVID it has shifted completely. [25:27] Three-quarters of respondents want to accept the nudge to walk, but didn't (based on the weather that day). [26:15] Active travel nudges might be more effective in the summer when people are more likely thinking about walking anyway. In the winter months, nudges are not enough to move people out of their private cars. [27:58] Melina shares about Colu and Littery and their use of nudges for social good. [29:33] It is easy to incentivize people when they have the possibility to win something. [31:45] It is interesting how some countries might need to set up schemes to incentivize adherence to things like mask wearing in the pandemic, and in other social contexts people do it as an automatic and penalize anyone that breaks that code. [33:58] As ethnographers we have to take our ethnography seriously. It is not about us or what we think. It is about being present in a space for a long enough period of time to be able to understand the people you are researching. [35:11] It is important that research is not done in a way that is biased or coming in with our own assumptions of why people are behaving a certain way. [37:50] All ethnographic work is completely unique. [39:07] Melina's closing reflections. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Mini-Course BE Thoughtful Revolution - use code BRAINY to save 10% Ge

Today we are going to be talking about a really cool trick called temptation bundling. You may have noticed this is a shorter episode than we usually have on the podcast and that is because while temptation bundling can make a huge impact on your life and business, it doesn't have to be all that complicated. (Hooray!) In this episode, you'll learn what temptation bundling is, how it works, some ways I have done this myself in my own work, and tips on how you can jump in and start bundling yourself! I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [01:03] In this episode, you'll learn what temptation bundling is, how it works, some ways I have done this myself in my own work, and tips on how you can use it too. [02:15] One of my favorite things about this concept is how simple it is. This is actually something I've done naturally most of my life before it had a name. [03:17] When I required some extra motivation, I created little milestone moments and rewards to keep myself motivated. [03:57] The essence of temptation bundling is taking something you should do but may have a long term reward and not be super appealing at the moment, and bundle it with something you really want to do right now. [05:01] In the foundational research study led by professor Katy Milkman, participants agreed to have their iPods locked up at the gym so they could only access them when they went to work out. They exercised more and were happier about it. [06:10] A slight change in routine can upend newly forming habits and make them hard to start up again if you aren't careful, so it is important to keep that all in mind as you set up your own temptation bundling techniques and timelines. [07:26] Here's another great thing about temptation bundling: pretty much anything can be a candidate for the bundle, and what you set up doesn't necessarily need to be what someone else would want or need. [09:04] Temptation bundling uses a "now" activity to help achieve a longer-term goal and overcome time discounting. [09:37] Most multitasking doesn't work well. As you are likely going to be looking for ways to implement this for your work goals (at least some of the time), I don't want you to feel limited by needing to only use this while doing two things at once. [10:19] To help to find your candidates for temptation bundling start by looking for something you love to do in your spare time. [11:55] The two items that you want to bundle don't have to be related. Choose any reward and tie to the action ahead of time (download your freebie worksheet here to get started). [12:56] Temptation bundling is everywhere. You just need to find the cheese to your own personal life broccoli and you'll be achieving goals left and right. [13:08] Melina's closing reflections. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Mini-Course BE Thoughtful Revolution - use code BRAINY to save 10% Get Your FREE ebook Melina's John Mayer Pandora Station! Listen to what she listens to while working. Past Episodes and Other Important Links: Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling Time Discounting Framing Interview With Nir Eyal Indistractable by Nir Eyal How to Organize Your Brain with Behavioral Economics Check out (and preorder!) my upcoming book on Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes & Noble If you are outside the US, please complete this form to be first to know when the book is available near you AND to help show there is a presence in your country to speed along international agreements and get it to you faster!

In today's episode, I am so excited to introduce you to Aline Holzwarth. Talk about an amazing person doing fantastic and exciting things! Aline is both a principal at the Center for Advanced Hindsight, where she works directly with Dan Ariely and the whole awesome team there. She is ALSO the head of behavioral science at Pattern Health. Today you will get to learn about both of her roles, a little of what it's like to work with Dan, and about so many great things that she is doing to apply behavioral science in business. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:08] I'm excited to introduce you to Aline Holzwarth, principal at the Center for Advanced Hindsight and head of behavioral science at Pattern Health. [03:05] Aline shares about all the exciting things she is doing and how she got into behavioral science. She enjoys being exposed to new and different business applications and she was drawn in by the real-world impact. [05:32] She loves both of her roles so much that she just can't give either of them up. [07:21] She shares about some of her favorite projects she has worked on. [10:23] At the Center for Advanced Hindsight many of their projects come from Dan and some are chosen by the team. [12:48] The more you are exposed to, the more connections you are going to make. [13:28] Pattern Health is a digital health platform that works with researchers and clinicians to help them do their research and translate that research into clinical use cases. [15:03] Aline's job is to bake behavioral science into the Pattern Health platform to make behaviors that are not fun at all a little easier to do. [17:24] There is going to be attrition no matter how good your app is, but ideally they try to limit it. [20:21] Creating a Care Circle to offer constant support has been very impactful especially in long-term situations. [23:31] They share ways to put people together for more successful support. [24:10] There is a lot of benefit in support groups, but getting people to find one and show up is very difficult. [26:44] You can nudge people in the direction that will be most helpful to them but also allow them to have the freedom of choice. [28:15] Virgil is their mascot and virtual pet at Pattern Health. Virgil is one way to track daily progress. People get very attached to Virgil. [30:48] Melina shares about the app, Forest, that holds you accountable. [31:41] Virgil is based on the ideas of rewards substitution. They are substituting the long term reward for a short term reward. The long term things usually don't motivate us. [34:09] Behavioral interventions like Virgil help you overcome tiny hurdles until it becomes habitual. We often have to combine behavior interventions to make each one more effective. [36:01] Aline shares what the future holds for her. She is really interested in getting more into the idea of personality matching. [37:23] One area she is really excited to start developing is personalizing to peoples' personalities. [40:01] They are using the Big 5 personality model. [42:10] In behavioral economics we are looking at things that all people do on a more general scale. Using personality, we may be able to drill down and know which behavioral interventions work best based on personality type. [43:19] Aline is doing an interview series for Pattern Health looking at innovators, health, and research. [43:54] Melina's closing reflections. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Mini-Course BE Thoughtful Revolution - use code BRAINY to save 10% Get Your FREE ebook Melina's John Mayer Pandora Station! Listen to what she listens to while working. Past Episodes and Other Important Links: Center for Advanced Hindsight Center for Advanced Hindsight on Twitter Aline on Twitter Aline on LinkedIn 2020 In Review: Behavioral Science Edition Aline's Work A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior (Coursera) Pattern Health Dan Ariely Interview Julie O'Brien Interview Bec Weeks Interview Planning Fallacy Precommitment Time Discounting NUDGES & Choice Architecture Expect Error Loss Aversion Social Proof Relativity Interview with Richard Chataway Check out (and preorder!) my upcoming book on Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes & Noble If you are outside the US, please complete this form t

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Richard Chataway. Richard is such an awesome and fun guy to chat with. He has worked on so many amazing projects, and let me just tell you right now you are going to love this episode. While Richard works with all sorts of businesses and organizations when applying behavioral economics as CEO of BVA Nudge Unit UK, our conversation ended up talking a lot about addiction, and how he worked on some campaigns that helped people quit smoking. When you think about changing behavior and how you can apply the insights from behavioral science, it may feel like an addiction would be untouchable...like it is out of the realm of possibility. As you will hear today, the same concepts that are applied in businesses to help people to choose the best product for them can also be used to understand behavior and help people make healthier choices; Things they may desperately want to do and have struggled for years on their own, but with a well-structured program including the right insights from behavioral economics, it becomes possible. You can learn more from Richard and projects he has worked on in his book and accompanying podcast, both called The Behaviour Business. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:41] I am so excited to introduce you to Richard Chataway. Richard is such an awesome and fun guy to chat with. [01:46] You can learn more from Richard and projects he has worked on in his book and accompanying podcast, both called The Behaviour Business. [03:50] Richard shares how he got into behavioral science about 15 years ago when he worked at the Department of Health in the UK. [04:50] Smoking as a behavior is very interesting because it is a quintessential irrational behavior. We are at a point now that everyone knows it is bad for them and that it has short-term and long-term consequences for their health but still people continue smoking. [06:01] They have changed their approach from telling smokers about the risks to helping them quit and providing them with tools. It was more effective than the traditional approach. [06:41] Our behavior is not as rational as we think it is and by recognizing some of those irrationalities we can be very successful in changing behavior. [08:11] Now Richard works for the BVA Nudge Unit. They are a specialist behavioral practice within BVA. [09:47] Behavioral science can be applied across a huge range of challenges and contexts. [12:02] Behavioral science is helping to show that if you talk about it differently changes can happen. [12:56] How you say something is as important as what you're saying. You can frame things in a way that resonates with people and is more motivating. [15:30] In their research they found that family-based motivations were very important to the group of smokers they were targeting. Smoking was seen as their reward. [17:11] The fundamental message that smoking is bad hasn't changed. Reframing that it doesn't just impact you but it also impacts your family made the campaign much more effective. [19:14] If you can shake up your routine and change it a little bit, it can have a huge impact. Habits are very powerful drivers of behavior. [20:18] It is very easy to think of smoking as being a habitual behavior automatically, but there is a reward element to it. [22:38] Emotions are very powerful drivers of our behavior. In their campaign, they were trying to find the right emotional triggers to get that response. [24:03] Richard shares about a tv ad campaign they created showcasing how children copy the behavior of their parents. [26:01] It is a good campaign when you get goosebumps when you hear about it. [27:38] The smoking campaign was really an ah-ha moment for Richard for how behavioral science can help with addressing all kinds of problems. The focus of his book is how you can use behavioral science to deliver better outcomes for your business. [28:05] Any business's challenges are typically around behavior. [29:01] We have learned more about human behavior in the last fifty years than we have in the last 50,000. Any business that isn't using that knowledge is going to be missing out. [29:14] Richard shares his favorite stories from his book including where the understanding and knowledge of behavioral science unlocked a new way of thinking about and addressing a problem. [30:49] We know from behavioral science that the more friction we put into places, the less likely people are to use it. [32:04] People like things that are easy and streamlined. [34:58] Understanding behavioral science is one thing, but when it comes to applying it you have to be comfortable with testing everyth

Hello and Happy New Year everyone! While 2020 was nowhere near the year any of us were expecting it to be, I'm always looking for silver linings, so it seemed worth taking the time to celebrate the top content and accomplishments here at The Brainy Business over the past year. I finished my book, which comes out in the first half of 2021 and I'm so excited to be able to talk more about it soon! I was also a guest two separate times on New Day Northwest, a Seattle area afternoon talk show on the NBC affiliate here. The Brainy Business won Best YouTube Channel in behavioral science from reader votes via Habit Weekly, which was such a huge honor, and I also started teaching applied behavioral economics through Texas A&M University for the Certificate in Applied Behavioral Economics! We've had one cohort start already in the fall and if you're interested there is still time to join us for January classes, which begin on January 18. I want to thank you all for listening, subscribing, sharing, connecting on social media, and for reaching out to let me know your wins and the behavioral economics concepts you have applied in your own businesses. Those are some of my favorite messages to get – I truly love hearing from you, so please continue to reach out (and use the links below to connect on social media). I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:49] Today we are going to celebrate the top content and accomplishments here at The Brainy Business over the past year. [03:30] First, I want to thank you all for listening, subscribing, sharing, connecting on social media, and for reaching out to let me know your wins and the behavioral economics concepts you have applied in your own businesses. [04:37] The top countries and states with downloads in 2020. [06:11] I'm going to tell you about the top 10 downloads of the year, which will be followed by the top 10 downloads of all time. [07:31] The tenth most downloaded episode of 2020 was number 99 on bikeshedding. Bikeshedding is constantly keeping people spinning their wheels and not making progress on goals. [09:01] The ninth most downloaded episode of 2020 was number 84: How to stack and bundle products and services so they are most appealing to potential customers. [09:57] Coming in at number 8 is episode 87 on social proof and how to use herding to boost engagement and sales. [11:01] Number 7 was the very first of 2020, episode 81: How to Finally Change Your Behavior So it Sticks. [12:10] Number 6 is the first interview to make an appearance with author Brian Ahearn, which was episode 104. [13:50] The 5th most downloaded episode of the year was also an interview, episode 101 with Dan Ariely, where we discussed Shapa, the numberless scale. [15:07] The 4th most downloaded episode of 2020 was episode 91 on the coronavirus and how the human brain responds to pandemics. [17:15] The third most downloaded episode was on Confirmation Bias, episode 102. [18:23] The second most downloaded of the year was number 83: How to Organize Your Brain with Behavioral Economics [19:08] And the most downloaded episode of all of 2020 was number 86, A Behavioral Economics Analysis of Peloton! [21:57] Next we are going to talk about the top ten most downloaded episodes of all time since the podcast launched in June 2018. [22:18] The number 10 most downloaded episode of all time was episode 102 on Confirmation Bias. [22:26] The ninth most downloaded episode of all time was on Selective Attention Biases which was episode 50. [24:04] Number 8 was the episode on Game Theory which was episode 62. In this episode, I got to talk about how life and business are a game and figuring out if you know the rules. [25:19] Coming in at Number 7 was episode 5, our first throwback to 2018, The Truth About Pricing. [26:07] Number 6 is How to Organize Your Brain with Behavioral Economics which was number 83. [26:17] Number 5 was episode 61 on color theory. When it comes to color, this one thing matters more than anything else. [28:05] The fourth most downloaded episode of all time was number 86 on Peloton. [28:10] Number 3 was another behavioral economics analysis episode. It was the analysis of Starbucks which was episode 73. [29:04] The first two episodes of the show continue to be number 1 and number two on the list. Number 2 was episode 2 which was The Top 5 Wording Mistakes Businesses Make. [29:13] The number one most downloaded episode of all time was episode 1, Unlocking the Secrets of the Brain. [31:33] In 2021, I am definitely planning to do some of those company analysis episodes. I am also going to continue to do interviews. We have some VERY exciting ones coming up! [

This is the last episode of 2020! Like most everyone, I am very excited to be putting this year in the rear-view mirror. So many people felt bogged down by all the extra stress and decisions of 2020. We had our habits upended and were forced to think about things we were used to letting our subconscious brains handle for us. Because of that, it was pretty easy to choose decision fatigue as the topic for this last episode of the year. In this episode, you'll learn what decision fatigue is, the most common study cited to show how it works, the most common tips you'll find from others, AND of course my Brainy tips for mindset and business you won't find anywhere else (plus, your free worksheet! Click the image to get yours.) I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:06] Today's behavioral economics foundations episode is about decision fatigue. [02:32] We humans make an incredible number of decisions each day. Even choosing to listen to this podcast right now was likely a slew of micro-decisions. [03:41] It is easy to think "going for a walk" is a single decision, but all those little decisions during the day add up and can cause our brains to get tired. [04:11] Some of those are big choices evaluated by your conscious brain, but many of them, well over 90%, are made by your subconscious. [05:04] As you begin to get fatigued, you are more likely to rely on your subconscious rules of thumb to make decisions and get more risk averse. [06:32] Most Common Tips From Other Articles on Decision Fatigue: limit the number of decisions you make, make your big decisions in the morning, and don't make big decisions late; put them off for tomorrow when you can. [07:01] If you don't have to bog down your brain with mundane choices, you can free it up so it doesn't get fatigued as quickly. [07:39] Wendy Wood mentioned when creating a running habit that you want to make the thing you are trying to have become a habit as easy as possible. [08:45] Doing something today is the best way to make tomorrow easier. [09:33] Over-stretched brains are rampant at the holidays and decision fatigue is a big culprit that can lead to extra stress and tension and possibly arguments with family. [10:26] Decision fatigue is similar to overwhelm, but they are not the same thing. Your brain can get overwhelmed by more than just decisions, and not every decision in and of itself is necessarily overwhelming. [12:11] So, when something has you in a tizzy and is using up more mental energy than needed just "Elsa it" – let it go and move on. [13:20] Be thoughtful about the things you will be thoughtful about. There are lots of things that seem important at the moment that simply aren't. [15:16] I want you to think about all the stuff you are asking current and potential customers to do in order to do business with you. Are there lots of extra and unnecessary questions you are asking on an initial form or application? [16:10] It is so important to put extra thought into your customer experience journeys. You want to reduce that friction and make it as easy as possible to do business with you. [18:10] It may feel pushy or like you are being too forceful by narrowing time options, but in reality, you are making it easier for someone to make the choice which they will be happier about. [19:58] Look for ways to reduce decisions and make it easier to work with you, and help others to do the same. [20:23] Decision fatigue is another reason batching content and tasks is so important. When you set aside some time to plan out content in advance, you condense all those decisions into one. [21:52] Handing off the right tasks can remove so much stress and unnecessary decision making from your plate, it's so important. [23:10] The last tip of the episode for overcoming and fighting decision fatigue: take breaks. [25:25] Taking care of your brain is important, and using the tips from this episode to reduce decision fatigue will really help you be more productive, less stressed, and produce better work. [26:53] Make sure to check out the link to Nudge It North, a conference being put on by our great friends Tim and Kurt of Behavioral Grooves. Get 15% off your ticket with the code: brainy Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Min

Today I am very pleased to introduce you to Jez Groom and April Vellacott, coauthors of the book Ripple: The big effects of small behaviour changes in business. Jez and April work together at Cowry Consulting in the UK, which he founded in 2015. Cowry incorporates behavioral science into recommendations for all sorts of clients, including one fascinating study you'll hear about today where they made workplaces safer by painting the walls pink! During the conversation, we talk about all sorts of concepts, like nudges, anchoring, framing, loss aversion, priming, and more. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:41] I am very pleased to introduce you to Jez Groom and April Vellacott, coauthors of the book Ripple: The big effects of small behaviour changes in business. [03:07] April studied psychology for her undergrad. She has always been very interested in the way people around her behaved. [04:23] April discusses her thesis on using behavioral science in cybersecurity. [06:56] Jez has done some amazing things in his second career of behavioral science. [08:01] Jez has always been an entrepreneur and he can't wait to see the next wave of behavioral science. [09:59] Jez is excited for more behavioral science applications and studies, as well as diversity in behavioral science. [11:11] Behavioral science shouldn't be exclusive. They are going to be campaigning in small territories to start their own programs and studies. [14:01] April shares about the Preventing Falls with Pink Walls study. [15:55] The team went to the construction site to help nudge them to be safer. One tactic was painting the walls pink. [18:07] There was a huge shift in behavior after they implemented their changes including a reward system. [18:57] If you are a hard-core behavioral scientist, it is crazy to do three interventions all at once, but they only had one shot to change the behavior so they had to take the risk. [20:50] It is worth the risk when making affordable changes that can have a huge increase in health and safety. [23:32] The interventions don't always work across the board, but it is the ideas behind the interventions that matter for future projects. [24:25] Ripple walks anyone who is working in business or interested in applying behavioral science through the steps to get started. The first step is convincing other people in your organization that behavioral science is an amazing tool that applies to them and your business. [25:54] No matter where you are in your journey or the size of your business, Ripple is full of practical tips for getting started. [26:15] There are some interventions that capture your attention because they are counterintuitive. [27:21] The objective of behavioral science should be to change behavior for the better. [28:13] Jez shares about his favorite intervention they discuss in the book from their research in South Africa. [31:11] In South Africa they were working with a store and trying to get people to buy their first sim card from them. [33:04] We should celebrate the simple more. Many instances can be conveyed in simple terms and that doesn't mean they are any less genius. [36:01] Simplicity is very important. [38:34] "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein [39:29] April shares the process they used for writing the book. [41:22] Some people are really good at saying what they want to say, but others are really good at writing their thoughts down. [43:20] We are moving on to the next era in behavioral science. We are trying to figure out a better system of codification of what behavioral science looks like. [44:57] Complexity and too much information is a huge problem for financial services. [48:30]Melina's closing reflections. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Mini-Course BE Thoughtful Revolution - use code BRAINY to save 10% Get Your FREE ebook Melina's John Mayer Pandora Station! Listen to what she listens to while working. Special Year-End Sale 👈🏻🥳 Past Episodes and Other Important Links: Ripple book Cowry Consulting

Today I am very pleased to introduce you to Dr. Henry Stott, cofounder of Dectech, a behavioral science consultancy in the UK. As you'll hear on the show today, Dectech works with all sorts of companies and industries, from banks to insurance and food delivery. They use randomized controlled trials and other techniques to help companies understand behavior and properly apply it within their businesses. Dectech is not new to the space. It was founded nearly two decades ago in 2002, so they have lots of background and foundations they build upon. During our conversation, Henry and I talk about all sorts of concepts, like nudges, anchoring, relativity, framing, habits, and more—and all those past episodes are linked for you in the show notes, as well as the book The Mind is Flat written by Henry's cofounder of Dectech, Dr. Nick Chater. I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [00:40] I am very pleased to introduce you to Dr. Henry Stott, cofounder of Dectech, a behavioral science consultancy in the UK. [02:43] Dr. Stott started Dectech about 20 years ago with his cofounder, Dr. Nick Chater. They have spent the last 20 years refining their view on how you harness those methods to more accurately predict how consumers and other people will behave in novel situations. [03:54] There are two classes of problems. The first class of problems is a precedent problem when you are trying to forecast the future. [04:46] The second class of problems is harder (and often more valuable) where there has never been anything like it before. These are the types of problems they have set out to understand. [06:06] Dr. Stott shares about the Deliveroo project. The question was whether they were going to launch a subscription product or not. [09:04] Pricing is not about price. The way you present everything before you get to the price matters more than the number. [10:34] Designing the proposition so it fits snuggly into what people want is the first objective. A lot of people fail to do that. They often have to drop the price because they haven't added value. [12:06] A lot of the designs of features and propositions are driven by an excessive fixation with competitors and an excessive self-confidence of the management. [14:36] Looking to competitors when determining your pricing is a mistake. [16:58] At least half of the judgment is made up of the movement of prices within a store as opposed to contrasting across stores. [17:40] People are much more sensitive to the order of things than the size of the differences. [19:54] When you are able to feel like you are part of the process waiting can feel less painful. [22:51] Sometimes a time delay can be a good thing. [23:36] Dr. Stott shares about the Lloyd's Bank case study and the customer journey optimization process. [24:31] They were looking to design a home insurance renewal process that worked best for the customers and the bank. [25:37] They also tested a "name your price" condition, but it ended up not being very popular (which is good to know because it would have been very expensive to set up and would have been a waste of time and money). [28:28] In experiments, Dectech runs as many as 20 variances. Sometimes they are all run together and other times they build on each other. [29:33] The best approach is to immerse customers in a decision-making environment that is as close as possible to the environment they would naturally encounter. [32:01] You can get quite close to replicating the kind of mindset people will be in using an online decision environment. These trials have to be run entirely virtually just because of the number of participants. [33:20] More and more commerce is taking place online, so virtual testing and formats like this will be increasingly relevant. The pandemic has accelerated this trend. [35:05] Small changes can have profound effects on the economics of your business. [36:29] Before you start testing, think of the best ideas and try to innovate. [38:34] Something novel or fun is often one of the best outcomes in the experiment. [40:43] I love all the work Dectech is doing, it's really fascinating stuff, and you will be hearing about them again in an upcoming episode featuring Dr. Benny Cheung. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Mas

Reading and research are some of my favorite things. (I'm guessing that doesn't surprise you too much...especially if you've ever dug into the show notes for the podcast.) For this reason, I frequently get asked for my top book recommendations. While completing the citation list for my own book (which has over 210 citations by the way!) a few sources popped up often enough that it felt like a great time to do this episode. Plus, if you want to buy a brainy book this holiday season for a friend or loved one any of these could be a great choice! There are, of course, links to all the books I will be talking about in today's episode within the show notes. AAAAND...while it doesn't officially come out until May 2021, there are also links for my book, Unlocked, in the show notes as well, which I'll update as we get closer to the launch (and beyond). SO…that is exciting to check out as well. Happy reading! I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Show Notes: [02:36] If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, it likely won't surprise you to learn that when people ask me for my book recommendations I always ask more questions. For example, "what are you looking to do with the information?" or "how do you want to apply that?" or "what's the goal?" [03:15] I could recommend books all day long, but this episode only includes the seven books I reference most often and most commonly recommend. I intend this to be the first in a series on the podcast where I will recommend books for various topics [03:54] First on the list, is Daniel Kahneman's, Thinking, Fast and Slow. Kahneman is a pillar in the field, the first to win a Nobel prize, and he (along with the late, Amos Tversky) conducted so much of the research that the field is based upon, it is amazing how many concepts are rooted in Kahneman's work. [04:44] If you are really wanting to understand behavioral economics and behavioral science including what it is built upon and get a peek inside the inner workings of the brain of one of the field's founding members Thinking, Fast and Slow is definitely worth it. [05:58] Kahneman is the source of the dual system theory of how our brains work. What I call the subconscious and conscious here on the show, he calls System 1 and System 2. If you want more about how he sees those working and how it all comes together in peoples' behavior, Thinking, Fast and Slow is a great book for you. [06:42] Next, we have our other Nobel laureate, Richard Thaler, and the book he co-authored with Cass Sunstein, Nudge. [07:52] If you are looking to influence behavior through nudging, to "improve decisions about health, wealth, and happiness," and just want a great foundation in the entire concept of nudges and choice architecture, I highly recommend Nudge. [08:14] The last of the foundational "most common books you have likely seen on any behavioral economics list," is Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely. [09:04] If you have not yet read Predictably Irrational and are interested in "the hidden forces that shape our decisions" I highly, highly recommend this book. If you are looking for a first foray into behavioral economics books to start reading, I would likely start with Predictably Irrational because it is so relatable. [10:04] The first book in our next category (of marketing/branding/communications) is called The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind by AK Pradeep. He gives great insights into the brain: how it has developed (with details on the senses), as well as the processes going on in the brain AND how it relates to today's buying behavior. [11:46] The next book is another one you may not have heard of or seen on lists before, it is called Neurobranding, by Peter Steidl. It gives a baseline of neuroscience and how the field applies to marketing, it came out a few years after The Buying Brain in 2014. - (NOTE: That link is to the edition I have, which at the time of posting this is a bit expensive, so it may be out of print. There is an updated version here, but the content appears to be a little different. I'm sure it is still great, but can't personally vouch content and it might differ a bit from what I said was included during the episode.) [13:22] This next book is kind of a bridge between the marketing space and productivity – it's Friction, by Roger Dooley. Friction is such an eye-opening book. It has so many practical examples that apply to business like expense reports with unnecessary friction and forms on a website that had small changes that increased (or decreased) usage and adoption rates. [14:43] Reducing friction is important, but you need to know the behavior you are

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Matt Wallaert, author of Start at the End: How to Build Products that Create Change. One of my favorite quotes from Matt is one that shows how we are kindred spirits. He says, "If behavior is your outcome and science your process, you're a behavioral scientist. No Ph.D. required." Matt was one of the first behavioral scientists to leave academia to work in industry, which he has done for over 15 years now. He was head of behavioral science at Microsoft, the first chief behavioral officer in the healthcare industry while at Clover Health, and has done tons of awesome projects along the way (some of which you will learn about in today's episode). During our conversation, we discuss lots of concepts that have past episodes on the show, including those on anchoring, relativity, how to finally change your behavior, how to experiment, and many more Show Notes: [00:43] Today I am so excited to introduce you to Matt Wallaert, author of Start at the End: How to Build Products that Create Change. [03:28] Matt shares his story and how he got interested in behavioral science. [05:06] After taking a second psychology class in college, he became addicted to science and started doing a lot of applied work. [07:56] He left Clover Health in March and ended up moving to California for a year of adventure. [09:41] He has decided in his next role that he wants to spend most of his time pivoting an organization to behavioral science. [11:01] Advances in data science and user research have prepared younger project managers to fully embrace behavioral science. [13:12] People often don't think of the implications of the things that they say. [13:30] Every industry has its own beliefs about what can't be changed (listen to episode 126 for Melina's tips on fixing this in your organization). [14:51] Behavioral science can be used in good ways and in bad ways (ethics matter!). [16:49] It is really hard to write a complete behavioral statement from the beginning. [17:17] Matt shares about the GetRaised project he worked on. [19:04] Bias creeps in when we start to do ratings of performance. [20:28] The difference between junior behavioral scientists and more senior behavioral scientists is just experience. Anyone can learn the framework. [22:08] A lot of communication is just quick analogy making. It is the ability to find out what someone is interested in and relate that to the thing you are teaching. [24:37] Our brain is using the same rules and concepts whether we are deciding to litter or choosing a brand of toothpaste. [25:37] When you try to replicate a lab study in real life sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The key is that you tried it small before you shared it with everybody. (Get Melina's tips for creating your own experiments in episode 63.) [26:47] Science is the testing of all assumptions. Diversity can help identify an assumption. [28:08] Behavioral science is a lifestyle. [28:59] Academic behavioral science is about the why of the way things are. Applied behavioral science is the changing of the way things are. [30:20] Almost all misunderstandings across cultural and other kinds of borders are due to a misunderstanding of the pressures that affect that other persons' life. It almost always makes sense if you understand the context. [32:06] Melina shares Steve Wendel's story about a fish in the sand (hear more from Steve in episode 116). [34:33] It is easier to have a discussion with the people that we can relate to than to have a more difficult conversation. [35:36] Matt says, "If behavior is your outcome and science your process, you're a behavioral scientist. No Ph.D. required." [36:27] Behavioral science thrives when lots of people are doing it and doing it a little better every day. If it does not put behavior as an outcome, it is not behavioral science. [37:05] Behavioral science is about creating a specific outcome in advance and then using science as a process. [39:46] Get your own copy of Matt's book, Start at the End: How to Build Products that Create Change. [42:32] Don't forget to take advantage of the year-end sale going on now. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube More from The Brainy Business: Master Your Mindset Mini-Course BE Thoughtful Revolution - use code BRAINY to save 10% Get Your FREE ebook Melina's John Mayer Pandora Station! Listen to what she listens to while working. Special Year-End Sale 👈🏻🥳 Past Episodes and Other Important Links: Matt's Website Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change Getraised Matt on Twitter Interview with Dan Ariely Interview with Kwame Chris

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Dr. Wendy Wood. Her fantastic new book Good Habits Bad Habits (which I mentioned last week was voted book of the year in the Habit Weekly Awards) is just one of the many amazing things she has contributed to the field of habits. Much of what we know about habits is thanks to Wendy's research. The things we now know about how habits work and what they're doing in the brain is in large part because of her. Wendy is a social psychologist whose research looks into the ways habits guide behavior and why they are so difficult to break. She is provost professor of psychology and business at the University of Southern California and has been Associate Editor of Psychological Review, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Review, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, and a founding member of the Society for Research Synthesis. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, and Rockefeller Foundation. Prior to joining USC, Professor Wood was James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Professor of Marketing at Duke University, and she is just a lovely person whom I really enjoyed talking to. Show Notes: [00:42] Today I am so excited to introduce you to Dr. Wendy Wood. Her fantastic new book Good Habits Bad Habits is just one of the many amazing things she has contributed to the field of habits. [02:47] Wendy is a social psychologist whose research looks into the ways habits guide behavior and why they are so difficult to break. [04:52] Habits are part of our unconscious. They are a way our brain learns by connecting what we've done in a given context that got us a reward. [05:20] All mammals have a habit learning system. [07:05] With a habit you are repeating what you have done before while your mind is off solving other problems. [08:41] A habit frees our mind to do other things. When the habit is disrupted, we are stuck back having to make decisions. (Brain doesn't like that!) [09:45] COVID has disrupted all of our habits and we had to start making decisions about things we don't usually have to think about. [10:36] Wendy recommends not expecting as much from yourself during the uncertainty of the pandemic. [11:05] Once we are removed from our habits, sometimes we end up finding things that work better. (Be open to that possibility!) [14:25] Research found that for habitual runners the place where they typically ran activated thoughts of running. Those thoughts perpetuate their behavior. [16:08] The context in which you typically perform the behavior can trigger thoughts of that behavior. (Reinforcing it.) [17:30] Context activates habits and we usually act on those habits in mind. Goals are what drive the more occasional behaviors that we have to make a decision to do. [19:01] If you do an activity in the same way every time, you are more likely to form a habit. You also want to be able to repeat it regularly. Also, look for what makes it rewarding to you, as we are more likely to repeat behaviors that we find rewarding. [20:42] Research has shown that it is important to find ways to perform the habit easily. You will do something more if it is easier. We can often set up our environment in a way that would make it more likely that we will perform the habit. [23:15] There is a lot of science behind the importance of making good habits easy for us. [24:15] Along with making the desired behavior easier, you want to make the things that are more problematic (those you want to avoid or stop doing), more difficult. [26:04] Wendy recommends reverse engineering what your environment is pushing you to do. [27:38] If you can incorporate the desired behavior into your daily routine it is so much easier to get yourself to do them. Anything that adds to the hassle makes it more likely you will not do it. [30:01] Wendy shares her favorite study (which also happens to be the one she is currently working on). [32:01] They found that social media revenue is closely tied to habitual use. [33:26] Thoughts and tips for marketers on using habits for good. [35:52] Product manufactures have to take habits seriously. [36:47] The trick is keeping up with current development while also taking advantage of the cues that already keep your habitual customers coming back. [39:01] Weight loss programs, in general, don't benefit from you losing weight and keeping it off. Their model revolves around repeat customers. [41:09] If you want to change your behavior, the way you typically go about it is not the most effective. We focus on our conscious decision-making self while our habits run in the background. [43:31] If you can make it easier in your life to do the right thing and harder to do the thing that is being a problem. You will make it eas

While researching for my book (which will be coming out in May 2021!) I had the joy of speaking with several dozen amazing people working in applied behavioral science and behavioral economics. People from around the world doing such cool things, wonderful research projects, and so much I'm excited to share with you. You have already been hearing from a lot of them throughout the most recent interviews on the show, and they continue into 2021. One thing that I found from interviewing so many people about their work is that even when there are different frameworks/names for the approach/unique models for applying behavioral science, most everyone agrees on one thing: where most businesses or entities go wrong is at the very beginning. When you are trying to solve a problem (or want to apply behavioral economics to nudge behavior or help people make better decisions), many of the projects fail or don't get off the ground because there isn't enough time spent identifying the real problem. This first crucial step is what we are going to be talking about today, to help you as you think about applying behavioral economics in your own business, and I'll share some of the same tips I give to my own clients and students in this process (and, also, this is a sneak peek into some of what you'll find in my book…which I am absolutely bursting to be able to give you all the details about…but I have to wait a little longer…soon!) Alright...let's talk about that most important step in applying behavioral economics: Identifying the problem. Show Notes: [01:51] Today I am going to discuss the importance of understanding the problem–the first crucial step when applying behavioral economics in your own business. [02:21] Thank you to all the listeners who voted in the first-ever Habit Weekly Awards, which were announced last week. The Brainy Business won for the best YouTube Channel in behavioral science! [04:23] It is really easy to find the right answer to the wrong question. When you don't invest enough in finding the right question, you end up putting a lot of effort, time, money, and other resources into fixing something that isn't going to actually get at the root of the behavior. [05:47] I've talked about questionstorming several times on the show before (you all know how much I love questions!) Great questions are AMAZINGLY powerful, and in general, people don't spend enough time asking questions. [07:44] The people who change the world think longer about the problem before they start fixing them. If you want to make change happen and do amazing things, one of the best ways to do that is to spend more time thinking about problems instead of just accepting the first or second thing you think is wrong. [10:07] Revisiting how The Littery proved that their incorporation of behavioral economics and working with the brain got people to willingly throw away and properly sort their garbage. [11:59] Change doesn't have to be hard. Changing the natural rules of the subconscious brain that have been developing for generations is hard. Understanding them and working with those habits can make it so seemingly insurmountable changes become easy. [13:04] When you use your conscious brain to try to explain to people how they should change their habitual behavior within the subconscious, logic isn't gonna do it. You need to understand what DOES motivate people, like a lottery, and incorporate it into the behavior so it is easy for them to change. [14:34] By taking a step back and really thinking about the way the brain works and how to align with it you are able to make it so change is much easier than it seems on the surface. [16:36] Being curious and asking good questions allows me to appeal to the subconscious brain. I can learn about the situation while helping them feel valued and involved in the process. Taking those few extra moments to understand the problem makes all the difference. [17:21] Even when someone asks you explicitly for something, or you are sure you know the root of a problem, it can usually benefit from a little more thoughtfulness. [18:42] When you consider the problem in a vacuum or assume the problem you see is the only true problem, you will often end up finding that right answer to the wrong question. [20:13] Simple changes can make a huge difference in adoption and satisfaction when you take the time to fully evaluate and understand the problem. [22:51] Give yourself permission to spend longer thinking about problems. Reflect on them, ask questions, and poke holes in them. [24:15] For now, just focus on finding one thing a day where you can challenge an existing belief or problem. [24:46] Don't forget to take advantage of the year-end sale going on now. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. Let's connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The

In today's episode, I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Michael Hallsworth, managing director at Behavioral Insights Team North America and co-author of the new book, Behavioral Insights. Before that, he led their global work on health and tax for five years. Michael was previously a Senior Policy Advisor in the Cabinet Office of the UK government and has in-depth experience in both policy development and service delivery for national governments and international organizations. He has also been a leading figure in developing the field of applying behavioral science to government, having authored several influential frameworks such as EAST, Behavioral Government, and the MINDSPACE report (which has been cited more than 800 times to date). His work has been published in The Lancet, the Journal of Public Economics, Nature Human Behaviour, and more. His new book, Behavioral Insights, which was co-authored with Elspeth Kirkman and published by the MIT Press, was released in September. When you get yours, if you opt for the physical version, you'll see it's this adorable little pocket-sized version of a book. A little smaller than most these days and it has really great full-bleed callout pages. Michael has worked on so many amazing projects over the years, I'm honored he is sharing some of them with us today--and some great tips for approaching your own research and testing, based on their book Behavioral Insights. Show Notes: [00:46] Today I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Michael Hallsworth, managing director at Behavioral Insights Team North America. [03:48] About ten years ago Michael started working in an organization that was all about how you apply evidence to improve the way government works. [05:43] The Behavioral Insights Team includes 200 people across the world including Sydney, Paris, New York, and Toronto. They take behavioral science and try to improve the way policies and services are designed and the way government works. [07:51] Michael shares a project he is really proud of that relates to antibiotics prescribing in the UK. [09:35] They found a 1% decline in antibiotic prescribing at the end just by sending a letter from England's Chief Medical Officer and giving information based on social norms. [10:29] In Australia, they built on the antibiotic project. Bec Weeks shared about this in her interview on the show (episode 119). It has also been done in Italy and other countries as well. [12:21] On Generalizability: They have seen studies with surprisingly similar results, but that isn't always the case. [13:36] The key is trying to have that productive tension between retaining the active ingredient that worked, but adapting it so it continues to work elsewhere. [14:36] Testing is very important. We may see something that works across the board, but we still should be questioning it and looking at what is different in other scenarios. [16:01] Most of the frameworks they share in the book have some aspects in common around identifying the goals and behavior upfront and then going deeper to understand what is happening. [16:59] Then they try to come up with interventions that attempt to address the factors you have seen. Then you should do the implementation and testing of those solutions or interventions. [17:19] Rather than just stopping at the result phase, ask "How might we take this result and help it be used elsewhere?" [18:37] The ten-stage framework in the book takes you through all these different steps from start to solution. [20:01] Michael shares a story about a policy project where they implemented a higher-level strategy around the sugar drink tax in the UK. [22:01] It is very important to understand the problem and ask the right questions before you start implementing things. [23:25] They discuss the "macaroni and cheese study" by Barbara Rolls about portion size. [25:48] Micheal shares about their rapid trials with cities for communicating urgent messages to their residents during the pandemic. [27:47] They looked at the best way of communicating proper face masks. [29:30] The Behavioral Insights Team has worked on a lot of different projects. He recalls a carpooling project he worked on which had no effect. [29:54] They publish an annual report and they are very open about projects that didn't get a result because it may point towards the fact that a bigger intervention is needed. [31:04] If all we ever see is what goes really well or what was successful and don't look at anything that wasn't, it just creates a completely different perspective on the field and sets things up differently. [32:23] At the end of the book they talk about bigger policy issues and their criticisms of the approaches. They try to explain these issues and give ways forward. [34:01] At the beginning of the book they talk about the 3 Pillars of Behavioral Insights. [36:39] It was awesome to learn about the way the Behavioral Insights Team may approach problems so those looking to apply behavioral economi