I’ve been using a digital tool called Mentimeter in many of my facilitated workshops lately. One question format it offers is for participants to allocate 100 points across various possible priorities. Inevitably, people ask what currency those points represent. Are they money?
When we hear the word “currency” our first thought is money, right?
Continue reading “Currency Exchange”Have you ever “ridden the curve?”
If you’ve been in a tough university class, you’ll know what I mean. It’s an expression that refers to benefiting from a bell curve that pulls up your grade in order for the course to attain the average the professor is expecting.
In my daughter’s current law school experience, that same curve is used not only to bring some grades up, but to push some down. Pretty annoying if you are at the right-hand side of that bell.
Continue reading “Early Adopters Help Early Adapters”It’s widely known in sales that people make purchasing decisions primarily emotionally, then justify them rationally after the fact. Jonathan Haidt highlights this pattern using his metaphor of a [small, weak] rational rider atop a [large, strong] intuitive elephant. The rider might like to think she’s in charge, but really…
Continue reading “Hybrid Isn’t Tactical”One of the phrases I often hear during strategic planning sessions is the need for “evidence-based decision making.” This reference comes up across many sectors, along with the occasional musing about what is considered “evidence” at all.
As I’ve been working with various Boards of Directors at the environmental scanning stage of strategic planning recently, I’ve been thinking about what they need to be well-equipped to make the decisions facing them.
Continue reading “Well-Equipped Decision Makers”I’ve recently enjoyed Katy Milkman’s new book How to Change and her podcast, Choiceology. In the book, she talks about the motivating power of a fresh start. If you begin a new habit on a random Thursday, it has less sticking power than beginning on “the first day of Fall.” Although many New Year’s resolutions fizzle out, it’s a powerful reframe to remember that at least 20% of them stick — a far higher number than initiating and sustaining new behaviour mid-year.
Continue reading “Happy Not-New-Enough Year!”