Rory Sutherland is a larger than life marketeer, author and speaker. He shares unconventional and insightful perspectives on human behaviour, psychology and the economics of decision making. Never short of a story, Rory recounts the time when some quick thinking saved his reputation. Ten minutes before being due on stage to give a speech, he went to the toilet for a wee. While washing his hands, some water splashed onto his trousers around his groin. Desperate to avoid near certain embarrassment on stage, he considered his options. There was insufficient time to dry off using the hand dryer. Then the solution came to him. He headed outside for a few minutes in the rain to re-contextualise the splashes on his trousers. Problem solved.
Test counterintuitive ideas because nobody else will
The human mind does not run on logic any more than a horse runs on petrol. - Rory Sutherland
For employees, being unconventional is risky. If we take a slightly offbeat approach and it fails, our job is at stake. On the other hand, if we try something more conventional and it doesn't work out, we’re given another chance. This bias creates an opportunity. Organisations can gain a significant competitive advantage by creating a safe environment for employees to test unorthodox ideas. While most organisational activity should leverage what is already known, for long term health, it is important to allow some freedom to experiment beyond strictly rational approaches. Some bees venture off their usual routes to find new sources of pollen. Google allowed employees to experiment one day per week. Most competitors are too cautious to try this approach. Hence, advantages gained in this way are often sustainable.
The opposite of a good idea can be another good idea
If at first the idea is not absurd then there is no hope for it. - Albert Einstein
Conventional business logic drives us towards a single right answer. Once we’ve come up with that single right answer, however narrow the material used to derive it, no one can blame us. No subjectivity was involved in our decision and we’ve gone with what the model told us to do. This safe approach does not generate original ideas and, ultimately, sinks the business.
A jewellery shop was struggling to sell a range of items. Just before the owner went away on holiday, she left instructions in a hand written note for a colleague. In the hope of boosting sales, she asked for prices to be reduced by 50%. On her return from holiday, she was delighted to hear that sales had, indeed, gone up significantly. Not for the reason expected, however. Her colleague had misread the note. Instead of halving the price, the colleague had, in fact, doubled them.
The nature of our attention affects our experience
My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind. - William James
Whether a restaurant is good or bad doesn’t just depend on what it is objectively. It depends on what we expect the restaurant to be like. I went for a meal with work colleagues in a Northumberland castle. The seating was hard and we at a long rustic bench. We ate off roughly shaped wooden slabs with our hands and drank mead from tankards. It was one of the most enjoyable and memorable meals I’ve ever had. If I had expected a Michelin star meal then I would have been disappointed. Instead, it was unique and fun. Businesses can benefit by changing how customer’s feel, not the product or service itself.
Other resources
Perspective is Everything TED Talk by Rory Sutherland
How to Find Counterintuitive Solutions post by Phil Martin
Three Ways to Unlock Creativity post by Phil Martin
Rory Sutherland sums it up. When you demand logic, you pay a hidden price: you destroy magic.
Have fun.
Phil…