The Lantern Group recently had the pleasure of attending one of Nancy Duarte’s workshops in Santa Clara, CA – led by facilitator Mike Pacchione. The workshop was a one-day event called “A Visual Story” and focused on how to design and deliver persuasive presentations.
Author: Ben Granlund Page 4 of 5
For those of you who don’t know, The Behavioral Grooves is both a meetup and a podcast – sort of like a breakfast cereal and an energy drink at the same time.
Kurt Nelson, PhD and Tim Houlihan, Behavioral Alchemist founded the Behavioral Grooves as a non-profit organization to share their enthusiasm for the application of behavioral sciences with a wider audience.
Read along for a brief overview by Tim as he takes us on a ride through the experience:
In today’s hyperconnected technology-driven world, it can be easy to overlook the simple time-tested solutions of the past. This holds true for communicating with and motivating your sales force.
With the consistent advent of new communications, new sciences, and new methodologies – shaking things up with a new (old) method can be a refreshing way to tap into your teams’ motivators.
Let’s take a little step back in time and talk about direct mail. Simple, well designed, customized mailers that tap into key behavioral insights can be just as effective as the newest technologies or communication tools when utilized correctly.
Think about it, we are flooded with messaging all day every day – both personal and business. With each organizational department trying to get their message out on top of that, it can be hard to manage all of the information. Technology can get lost in the fray, but unexpected personalized direct mail can disrupt the norm and grab back that attention. Combine this with behavioral science and you have a simple yet powerful tool.
Let’s take a look at an example, a postcard series we designed to help top achievers keep achieving and to nudge bottom achievers to end the plan period on a high note.
One customized to a high performer:
And one customized to a moderate performer:
While these may seem simple, there are some key behavioral insights that are being strategically targeted to drive performance.
In both versions we utilize:
- Idiosyncratic Fit: We have higher motivation if we think that a program is customized to us. By adding the employee’s name, stats, and a customized message to help them improve we tap into this drive. Each message is framed for the greatest impact based on their performance and adding the physical component of the postcard further personalizes it.
- Social Proof: We look to others to see how we should behave. There are two elements at play here. One: the messaging addresses the performance of their peers, pushing them to stay with or ahead of the pack. Two: this can be shared with a spouse, partner, or family member who can provide an additional level of support – for example, the reminder of a chance to partake in an awards trip with a partner can be very impactful.
Now, note that in the high performer card we tap into:
- Loss Aversion: The pain of loss is greater than the pleasure of a similar gain. For high performers, the idea of having something valuable and then losing it is far more motivating than a “carrot” on a string.
And in the average performer card we use:
- Gain Messaging: Framing the statement to focus on what can be gained from increased performance. With the moderate performers, where the perception is that there is more to be gained than lost, the gain messaging can drive a higher participation rate.
Try this with your sales force or reach out with the form below for help customizing and implementing this simple, effective technique within your team!
As an IC Director, a lot of responsibility falls on your shoulders to drive performance, build motivation, and clearly communicate this year’s IC plan.
Humans are interesting, they are quirky, they are irrational.
We think we know what is best for us. Often, we even assume that we KNOW what is best for us. e funny thing is – our behaviors do not always align with what’s best.
Dan Ariely introduced us to the fascinating world of irrational thought in his flagship book Predictably Irrational (one of our all time favorites) and I recently observed an interesting example of it at Denver International Airport.
In the article “Behavioral Science & Graphic Design” we talked about the value of internal branding.
This focused on the power of branding as a tool to make your communications immediately identifiable and reduce the mental load required to process them. An equally powerful tool is embedding powerful insights into your brand design to drive the behaviors of your audience.
This can be through imagery, color, and carefully thought out themes, copy and reinforcement components. For a great resource on designing with human behavior in mind check out “100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People” by Susan Weinschenk.
Keep reading for some specific insights we use often when working with clients.
Here at the Lantern Group, we specialize in applying behavioral science insights to drive organizational performance and change employee behavior.
For this article, however, I am going to take you on a journey deep into the mountains of northern Pakistan. Right now, you are probably wondering: “what could the Hindu Kush possibly have to do with behavioral science!?
Well, as we have been telling you, it’s everywhere!
So, bear with me and let’s have some fun while we talk about behavioral insights in action; observed from a recent adventure in northern Pakistan.
We live in an ever-shifting world. The corporate environment is not immune to this evolution, nor should it be. As such; the processes and strategies that impact the human element of all organizations, it’s employees, must ebb and flow with this shifting tide.
Progress and improvement come from change and adaptation to change. There are speed bumps, there are steps backward: these are all part of the process.
Embedded throughout these organizational processes are employee communications. Employee communications must stay current and ahead of the curve.
At the IPMI Institute HR conference in Miami we sat down with 10 HR executives from various industries and exchanged insights. We discussed what was going on in their world and how behavioral science can help the HR community.
We noticed three overarching themes:
- Organizations are finding cultural change hard
- Organizations have not had significant success at engaging their employees
- Organizations don’t have the bandwidth to prioritize employee communications—although they know doing so is important
By reading this blog post, you’ll find valuable information that will benefit you.
If you don’t read this blog post you’re missing out on valuable information that would benefit you.
Two sentences, both saying essentially the same thing. So, what makes them different?
