Are you making things easy? No, really easy? People who know a lot about design spend a lot of time talking about door handles. Why? Well, a good door not only allows you to open it. It also signals to you – without you needing to think about it – whether you need to push […]

Are you utilising your current buyer base? Which is more effective at getting people to turn out to vote? Telling them that turnout is expected to be low or that turnout is expected to be high? You would probably think telling people that turnout is going to be low would make them more likely to […]

Are you maximising existing assets? Today the new Ed Sheeran album came out.  Who do you think is most likely to buy it? Well, most likely the people who bought his last album.  Unless the little ginger fella has radically changed his sound, you can be pretty sure that if you liked his previous stuff, […]

Do your activities have ‘optimal newness’? When Airbnb was first looking for funding, do you know how it was pitched to potential investors?  ‘eBay for homes’. Then a few years later, when Uber was pitching to investors it was described as…’Airbnb for cars’. And pretty much anything that has been pitched since has been ‘Uber […]

Are you familiar enough? Which do you prefer? Your face that you see in the mirror each day or your face that you see in a photo? If the science is correct, then most of you will prefer the version that you see in the mirror. Why is that? Well, it’s because we see ourselves […]

Are you using the right words to frame choices? “I can’t” versus “I don’t”. Two four letter words, which share two of the same four letters.  But when used in response to the same question can lead to very different outcomes. Many studies have found that when participants framed a refusal as “I don’t” – […]

Are you using simple rules to direct your activities? What constitutes a healthy diet? Is salt bad? Or is too much salt bad? Is Pasta OK when it is whole wheat but bad when it is white? What about bread? It’s not easy figuring it out. And if we analysed everything that we eat, we’d […]

Are you investing resources where you have the best chance of winning? About 2 months ago the Liberal Democrats won the Richmond by-election.  They overturned a 23,015 majority to beat the current MP Zac Goldsmith. Goldsmith wanted the by-election to be about the proposed third runway at Heathrow.  Instead, the Lib Dems turned it into […]

Do your activities have enough impact? What is the strongest animal on the planet? Blue Whale?  Elephant?  Gorilla? Yes, these are all very strong animals.  For instance, a gorilla can lift 2000kg – equivalent to lifting about 30 humans. However, we’re not talking about brute strength, we are talking about strength relative to body weight.  […]

Do your activities have a clearly defined role? Rowing is a pretty easy sport isn’t it?  Put a few big, posh lads in a boat.  Tell them to row as quickly as possible.  A few years later you win a medal at the Olympics, right? Well, unsurprisingly, it’s a bit more complicated than that. For […]