Mike's notes.
“The tricky part of incentive design is that there are noisy signals about what could work and what may not work. For example, when given a hypothetical choice between cash and non-cash incentives, people overwhelming choose the cash incentives but studies consistently show that giving additional compensation in the form of non-cash rewards can be… Continue reading Alchemy in the office then at the pump
One fertile area for creativity (and anything new is creativity says John Cleese) is in the area between zero and some. It’s in these places where something moves from free to costing that behaviors change. Oh, and it doesn’t have to be an actual cost. Mental accounting works too. There’s a concept in charitable giving… Continue reading Donation Alchemy
Our simple business model is a product, distribution, and marketing. Why is this so cheap? One thing low-cost airlines got right, says Rory Sutherland, is they “magnify the things you didn’t get like a meal, pre-allocated seating, free checked luggage, and so on. And they had to do that to explain where the savings were… Continue reading Why is this so cheap?
Q: How do you get people to pay more? A: Don’t make them pay. People and rivers both follow the path of least resistance. What is easy? That’s what people do. But not junk food, binge-watching, and immediate gratification easy. It’s easy subject to our last choice. Switching jobs isn’t easy, but it is easy… Continue reading Easy money
CBS News presents a survey suggesting people want younger politicians. Okay, sounds great! But not so fast. We’ve got questions. Why am I seeing this? Courtesy of Sir David Spiegelhalter, this question wants us to consider why this is on a screen eighteen inches from our nose. Is it because it’s essential information for the… Continue reading Are older people worse politicians? (& 4 good questions)
When Labor Day Sales are bad. All actions are homeotelic or heterotelic. Good business strategy is homeotelic, single actions work toward multiple goals. Aldi has a good strategy. Dominos has a good strategy. Trinny of London has a good strategy. Good strategy balances what’s made, how it’s delivered, and how it’s communicated: product, placement, promotion.… Continue reading Bad sales
Robot vacuum innovation using JTBD Too fast? Slow down. Too hot? Cool down. Too little? Add more. Too long to wait? Make it shorter. Maybe. Waits are complainable for a couple of reasons. Fairness, if someone enters a line later but finishes sooner. Ambiguity, if the wait duration is unknown. Comfort, if there’s somewhere to… Continue reading Robot vacuum innovation using JTBD
I thought the genesis of this idea was Rory Sutherland, but he probably got it from Nassim Taleb who writes that fifty, one foot falls is different from one, fifty foot fall. It also came up on Acquisitions Anonymous where Mills Snell noted thirty years of experience could be two people or ten and the… Continue reading Time management and commutes
Snickers and Milky Way Reframing our perspective is a powerful thinking tool. ‘Sleeping on it’ is reframing. Reading books is reframing. Comparing novel things is reframing. For a business owner, thinking of time of day, place in life, and what happened prior is reframing. Bob Moesta notes “context creates value”. Time and place create more… Continue reading Snickers and Milky Way
Businesses have to do many things to succeed. But three areas encompass those many things: placement, promotion, and product. Where is this sold? The placement includes distribution, retail (shelf space), shipping, etc. How is it promoted? Also known as ‘marketing’ but includes how the customers understand the value. What is sold? The ‘thing’. What are… Continue reading Placement, Promotion, Product (Genesis)
The Waiter's Pad 