The Decision Corner

In this episode of the podcast, Brooke is joined by Roger Martin, an experienced strategy advisor, former Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and co-author of Creating Great Choices. Together, the two explore business models and how we can make great choices when faced with incongruity. Supported with real-world examples, the discussion addresses how we should move forward when we don’t get the outcomes we hoped for. Some specific topics include: Our disinclination toward compromise and how to get around making “either/or” decisions Bob Young and his company Red Hat, who took two unappealing choices and built a superior model amidst the free software movement The ladder of inference that leads us to focus on monoliths How the Toronto International Film Festival overcame the power of monoliths and became the most important film festival in the world The three steps for integrative thinking, an alternative to accepting polarized situations How Roger transformed the Rotman School of Management into one of the highest-ranked business schools in research How people can work toward integrative thinking through their everyday choices

In this episode of The Decision Corner, we discuss giving, incentives, and the ethics of behavioral science with Ari Kagan and Nick Fitz, the co-founders and executives at Momentum. Momentum is a charity that ties donations to everyday choices. For example, every time Donald Trump tweets, the app will have you automatically donate 10 cents to civil rights and racial justice groups. Nick and Ari have extensive research experience in behavioral science. They both held senior positions at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University before starting up their donation company. Topics mentioned in this episode include: How to make our daily activities contribute to making the world the kind of place we want it to be The consequences of evolutionary change on our cognitive system, especially with respect to social connection and meaning-making The feeling of power versus the real thing, and what that has to do with choice overload bias Utilitarianism and the role of fairness in donation decision-making Samantha, Baby Jessica, and the problems of personalized donations Stalin’s insight on donation psychology The twin problems of paternalism and finding the right decision-makers

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke sits down with Peter Brooks. Peter is a longtime employee at Barclays, the esteemed British banking organization. He joined over a decade ago, when the bank established the world’s first dedicated Behavioural Finance Team. Currently, he is the Chief Behavioural Scientist at Barclays. Peter asserts that his job is primarily finding true value for customers. He identifies ways to improve customers’ decisions and money habits, while exploring how we can all make changes for the better. The Decision Lab was interested in getting a little bit of his time to hear about how that mission is going. Some topics we discuss in this conversation include: How banking adopted the central premises of behavioral science Why it didn’t happen sooner How humility and ignorance can be markers of authentic experience The power of tradition in large organizations The competing priorities of customer satisfaction, core values, and the company’s bottom line How to stay linked in to a rapidly evolving field Tips for up and coming behavioral scientists, and others who are just starting to explore the discipline

In today’s episode of The Decision Corner, we are joined by Matt Wallaert, a pioneer in applied behavioral science and a serial entrepreneur. Matt has over a decade of experience applying behavioral science to practical problems, ranging from startups to Fortune 500s to an array of prosocial side projects. He has given hundreds of talks on the science of behavior change, including appearances at the United Nations and South by SouthWest. Recently, he brought behavioral science into healthcare management as Clover Health’s Chief Behavioral Officer. There, he directs one of the world’s largest behavioral science teams, combining qualitative researchers, quantitative researchers, and project managers. His book, Start at the End: How to Build Products that Create Change, proposes a science-based process to create behavior change that can be implemented in organizations of any size and industry. In this episode, we discuss: His experience bridging the divide between multiple spheres where behavioral science has begun to take root Several metaphors for the process of democratizing behavioral science Figuring out whether a company needs a consultant, an agency, or if behavioral science should be used internally. How to discern talent among newcomers to behavioral science Equalizing opportunities in a still developing field Helping people find unique and meaningful career paths

Zeina Afif is a Senior Social Scientist with the World Bank’s Mind, Behavior & Development Unit (eMBeD), within the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank. Zeina is currently working on applying behavioral insights to improve women’s access to finance and jobs, reduce youth unemployment, reduce gender-based violence, promote social cohesion, and improve access to public services and programs in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Latin America & Caribbean region. Prior to joining the team, Zeina provided operational communication and behavioral insights support to World Bank projects and has worked in countries such as Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, and Yemen in the areas of taxes, social protection, social accountability, and citizen engagement. Zeina holds a MBA from George Washington University, and a M.Sc. in Behavioral Science from London School of Economics. In this episode, we discuss: Zeina’s work at the eMBeD unit at the Bank. How the behavioral science approach of eMBed changed the way the Bank approaches problems Challenges of differentiating the value of behavioral science compared to other social sciences Evolution of behavioral science at The Bank Why an RCT is not always the most appropriate approach in a development project Why empathy is a key skill in working in applied behavioral science Zeina’s take on the private sector applying behavioral science

In today’s episode of The Decision Corner, we are joined by Sandi McCoy, associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and Aarthi Rao, director of the design and innovation lab at CVS Health. For reference, this episode was taped prior to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and accordingly reflects the understanding of the situation at the time. Sandi studies how social, economic, and cultural forces influence disease transmission and health outcomes. During the past several years, she’s explored these relationships through the lens of HIV infection and reproductive health. Using a diverse array of approaches, her goal is to identify innovative, cost-effective, and scalable interventions to overcome global health challenges. Aarthi leads an innovation team to apply tools such as design thinking and behavioral science to unlock new cross-functional innovation roadmaps and directly incubate new high-value business concepts to various stages of prototyping, piloting, and product development. Ms. Rao is passionate about applying interdisciplinary approaches to create, test, and scale innovative programs and services to improve lives, particularly for programs supporting hard to reach or vulnerable populations across the world. She’s an experienced innovation advisor and problem solver, who’s lived and worked abroad, to partner with mission-driven companies, non-profits, researchers, and social enterprises who may want to try applying design thinking in combination with behavioral science and experiments to improve outcomes. In this episode, we discuss: Sandi and Aarthi’s work in bringing tools like design thinking, behavioral science, and traditional product management frameworks into global health. The use of behavioral science and design thinking in the life cycle of a public health project. Sandi & Aarthi’s Tanzanian-based project that aims to determine the best way to help girls get access to contraception and HIV self-tests. How behavioral science and the field of public health can draw parallels from Netflix disrupting Blockbuster. How to form effective interdisciplinary teams when there is heterogeneity in the backgrounds and experiences of members. The lack of durability of certain nudges and how people can become desensitized to them. The best-case scenario for the future of combining design thinking with behavioral science.

In today’s episode, Brooke Struck, the research director at The Decision Lab, is joined by Gianluca Sgueo, associate researcher at the Center for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra (Portugal), and a New York University Global Professor (Florence). He holds administrative positions at the Sole24Ore Business School (Italy). In the governmental sphere, Professor Sgueo is a policy analyst in the European Parliamentary Research Service. He previously held high-level positions in the Italian government, including Head of Communications and Citizens’ Dialogue. His work examines the effects on democracy of topics such as gamification, civil society groups, and lobbying. Specifically, we discuss: The relationship between technology and democracy Is there a trade-off between privacy and efficiency in governance? Estonia’s surprisingly progressive digital governance system Is technology in government inversely correlated with privacy and security? How technology influences our choice environments and our social interactions within them The shift from the information age to the reputation age—if we trust the source, we share Intelligent government design: How do we design governments to tackle the most pressing societal issues, efficiently and effectively? Using behavioral science principles to make the participatory channels of our democracy more engaging and attractive to users.

In today’s episode, we are joined by Jesse Itzkowitz, Senior Vice President and Behavioral Scientist at Ipsos Behavioral Science Center, a leading global market research and consulting firm. Prior to joining IPSOS, Jesse held an extremely successful academic career as a Professor from Yeshiva University, where he was twice awarded Professor of the year. Holding a dual PhD degree in marketing and cognitive psychology from the University of Florida has equipped him with a valuable (and extremely unique) skillset that enables him to be both scientifically rigorous and responsive to the needs of the industry. His research has received extensive press coverage from the Wall Street Journal, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, and CNN. Last winter he gave an informal synopsis of his interests and body of work in a TEDx talk. In this episode, we discuss: Moving from a career in academia into applied behavioral science Navigating the new consumer world: Brand advocacy in the political sphere Using behavioral science to personalize, predict and direct brand strategy Nudges versus sludges: Guiding principles for behavioral scientists and why we need to keep the consumer’s best interest in mind Reconciling academic rigor with behavioral science applications in the real world: Challenges and solutions Why companies are reluctant to apply behavioral science: Is it the fear that our experiments might just prove us wrong? Behavioral Science at IPSOS How to distinguish good research versus bad research: Why the “So what?” question is the key to impacting meaningful change. How to frame our thinking around the ethics of nudging The value of having a PhD when working in applied behavioral science How we can apply behavioural science to improve sustainability, improve trust among consumers and understand the role that emotions play in decision making.

In today’s episode, we are joined by Ting Jiang, Principal at Center for Advanced Insight, a behavioral science lab at Duke University, researching and designing interventions and products for behavioral change. Ting is an experimental economist by training, a philosopher at heart and a psychologist in action. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, conducting research on diagnostic tools for social norms and interventions for norm change. For the past two years, a substantial portion of her time has been dedicated to conducting field studies and designing product solutions to help low-income Kenyans improve their financial and health decisions. In this episode, we discuss: How a dice game that Ting designed on cheating got her into behavioral science* The calendar that was redesigned to promote financial health More healthy living projects: The Hidden Gym project and Nappiness Evidence versus intuition in designing interventions: Why the biggest challenge is trusting the evidence, rather than our own intuitions How to foster a culture that embraces risk-taking and experimentation Understanding the mechanisms that drive effects is the key to “good” research Why businesses must start prioritizing consumer well-being From fin-tech to behavioral tech: optimizing automation and engagement for products/services How to become an applied behavioral scientist

Sarah has almost 10 years of experience developing chain strategies and digital patient engagement and adherence, lifestyle change, global and public health, and positive organizational psychology. She has worked and partnered with clients and organizations such as Ogilvy, Bupa, Oxitec, GlaxoSmithKline, the Bartlett School of Architecture, and the UK Department for International Development. In her areas of subject matter expertise are behavioral economics and cognitive and affective science. Sarah is especially interested in how our effective experiences, for example, moods, emotions, feelings of empowerment influence cognitive processes, biases, and behaviors. Sarah holds a Master of Science Degree in Marketing from University College Dublin and a Master of Science and Social Cognition from UCL. She currently works as the Lead Inventor for ?WhatIf! Innovation. For reference, this episode was recorded last year before Sarah began working at ?WhatIf! Innovation. In this episode, we discuss: Fundamental needs that drive everyday behaviors Sarah’s work on healthcare engagement and health behavior change Creating mental health products that promote resilience against mental health challenges and facilitate patient engagement and adherence. Turning challenges of applying behavioral science into opportunities. What does nudging mean in 2019? Where academic versus leaner approaches are necessary P values, effect sizes and sample sizes How we can ensure that we are delivering the greatest good to the greatest number Regulation and legislation in behavioral science Moving from isolation to integration: the evolution of behavioral science units