Welcome to the Mixed Emotions Podcast with Mihir Oka
Guest – Matt Wallaert – Founder of Besci.io
Episode: From Insight to Action: How Behavioral Science Shapes Business Decisions!
Is There a Science Behind Good Business Decisions?
In this episode of the Mixed Emotions Podcast with Mihir Oka, we discuss decisions, how behavioral science applies to businesses, and how understanding human behavior can lead to better outcomes.
We cover topics like applied versus academic behavioral science, the role of context, and the ethics of nudging behavior. We explore how good management balances accountability and autonomy.
Matt also shares how startups can grow by focusing on behavioral outcomes.
This conversation is for anyone curious about human behavior, business & startup strategies, and behavioral science in general.
Timestamps
00:39 Meet Matt Wallaert: Behavioral Scientist Extraordinaire
02:03 What is Behavioral Science?
04:41 Behavioral Science in Business
07:35 Behavioral Science cannot make products from experience?
10:23 User Behavior vs User Potential vs Market Research
16:42 Behavioral Science in Startups
22:17 Is Everyone a Behavioral Scientist?
29:08 What do we get from Academia in Behavioral Science?
33:57 Generalist vs Specialist
36:55 T Shaped People
41:06 S.I.D.E
42:23 Spotify Podcast Experiment
45:10 Academic vs. Applied Behavioral Science
47:07 JUGAAAD
49:51 Ethical Considerations in Behavioral Science
50:34 Facebook’s Pivot on User Engagement
53:41 How do You design Interventions?
58:23 Flu Shot Experiment Insights
01:00:39 Managing Teams and Performance
01:10:54 Intrinsic Motivation vs. Extrinsic Motivation
01:18:49 The Purpose of Life and Entropy
For those seeking to go deeper into the application of behavioral science, this episode serves as a guide to understanding its practical utility with a good philosophical depth.
Listen to the full episode for a deeper exploration of how understanding the magic behind human behavior at its core can:
1) Address real-world challenges.
2) Unlock solutions to complex problems.
3) Improve decisions.
4) Create lasting impact in business & Relationships.
5) Drive meaningful changes in life.
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Research Links
If you want to go deeper into this research on Behavioral Science yourself, here are a few reference links.
- Behavioral Science. – Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour. While the term can technically be applied to the study of behaviour amongst all living organisms, it is nearly always used with reference to humans as the primary target of investigation (though animals may be studied in some instances, e.g. invasive techniques).Â
- About Matt Wallaert. – Matt Wallaert has been applying behavioral science to practical problems. After leaving academia, his career as an executive lead from startups to the Fortune 500 and back again, before founding BeSci.io (Behavioral Science in organizations), where he and the world’s most experienced behavioral science leaders help companies grow applied behavioral science capabilities within their organizations.
- S.I.D.E. – Nudge meets Hooked in a practical approach to designing products and services that change behavior, from what we buy to how we work. Deciding what to create at modern companies often looks like an episode of Mad Men: people throw ideas around until one sounds sexy enough to execute and then they scale it to everyone. The result? Companies overspend on marketing to drive engagement with products and services that people don’t want and won’t help them be happier and healthier.
- BESCI.IO. – There are a variety of consultancies that use behavioral science to solve problems for you; we are the only consultancy that specializes in helping embed applied behavioral science in your organization so that you can solve problems for yourself. By combining teaching, training, coaching, and ventures/accelerator programs with organizational change management (OCM), org design, recruiting, and applied methods, we transform the way companies work.
- RANGE. – David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one.Â
- Nudge Theory. – Nudge theory is a concept in behavioral economics, decision making, behavioral policy, social psychology, consumer behavior, and related behavioral sciences that proposes adaptive designs of the decision environment (choice architecture) as ways to influence the behavior and decision-making of groups or individuals. Nudging contrasts with other ways to achieve compliance, such as education, legislation or enforcement.