A Risk-Averse Business Climate “We’re afraid to take a chance,” replied the treasurer at a large, U.S.-based manufacturing firm. He was responding to my question about the biggest challenges he faced at work. Executives complain about a lack of fresh ideas from the front lines while employees lament the absence of bold leadership. “Where is […]
Mangled Mental Models: How Poor UX Methodology Hurts Your Bottom Line
By Eric Olive on April 16, 2015 in Market Research, Marketing Mistakes, Marketing Profiles, Personas
“What do you mean, we don’t have what we need? We have marketing profiles. That’s enough!” blurted the project manager at a large financial services company. The discussion had begun amicably but had quickly spiraled into a tense debate about the company’s most important B2B customers. As always, I felt it necessary to advocate for […]
Study of Human Behavior
“This is stupid!” she exclaimed in a thick, New Jersey accent. The object of this invective? A web site. The setting? A usability test in the lab. The result? Priceless. As the moderator, nothing I could ever say or do would convey the power of those three, simple words. It doesn’t get any better (or […]
Why Biology and Decision Making Don’t Mix
On a cool January evening in Florida, NASA leaders held a teleconference to discuss a space shuttle launch scheduled for the next day. Engineer Roger Boisjoly argued that the low temperatures would likely erode the O-Rings, an essential part of the solid rocket boosters. If damaged, the O-Rings would fail, almost certainly leading to disaster. […]
Dicey Decisions—Why Good People Make Bad Choices
The Bitter Scent of a Floral Fiasco Cards and flowers, a match made in heaven, right? Hallmark executives certainly thought so when they lighted upon the idea of selling flowers in their card shops. What could be better? Hallmark already had a distribution channel with stores throughout the U.S. Customers loved Hallmark cards, and who […]
How to Improve Communication Skills—3 Steps to Better Communication
As discussed in a previous post about mangled communication, conversations often go wrong because the speaker omits key facts or unknowingly provides biased information. The reason is the signal amplification bias; we often communicate less information than we think we have. These “sender” problems are exacerbated when the listener makes assumptions about the meanings of […]
Messy Minds and Mangled Communication
Mangled Communication: How and Why It Occurs “You know, that guy in that movie we saw last month! I can’t think of the actor’s name. I know you know it. Please tell me,” pleads her husband. “What are you talking about?” replies his spouse. “You know, that guy, in that movie…” “Honey, I have absolutely […]
Perilous Predictions: Why You Might Be Happier in Topeka than Hawaii
“Lottery Loser!” A term so common we’ve heard it on the formerly popular TV show “House.” A lottery loser is someone who wins a great deal of money only to end up miserable and financially worse off than before winning the money. But, wait, this can’t be! While we know that money doesn’t buy happiness, […]
Decision Drivers: What Really Influences Your Decisions And Why You Should Care
Decision Drivers We are often unaware of significant and unconscious decision drivers. The five posts summarized below offer insight into the mysterious workings of the human brain and what truly drives our decisions. Are Human Decisions Eminently Rational, Hopelessly Irrational, or Neither? In this intriguing post, influence guru Robert Cialdini outlines the traditional poles in […]
Cognitive Biases—The Confirmation Bias
The confirmation bias refers to the tendency to favor information that reinforces our existing beliefs. As Andrew McVagh cleverly puts it in his post about the confirmation bias, “Did you know your brain is a yes-man, telling you only what you want to hear? He’s right, and we witness this bias in the current, highly […]