Blog & Resources

We all have been situations in which we wanted a behavioural change. It could be you want your children to behave politely. It could be you wanted your client to approve a budget. It could be you want your manager to grant you extra time to work on a project. It could be you need community members to contribute to preventing littering actively. It could be you wanted employees to embrace organisational change. No matter what situation you were ever in, we have all experienced once or twice that getting someone to do things is hard. At least, the way we often approach it. There is a more effective approach to change. This is what this blog post is all about.

In this blog post I want to explore the concept of value. I want to argue that Behavioural Design is as much about influencing how people perceive and experience things, as it is about changing actual behaviour. The design of psychological value is in my opinion a great concept to think about how to change perception and experience.

In this blog, I want to explore the different forces that shape behaviour change. Whenever you want to design a strategy that aims at changing behaviour, you have to ask yourself three questions: Macro-forces: What are the trends I can tap into? Meso-forces: What are the needs I can tap into? Micro-forces: What are the biases I can tap into?

Changing behaviour is challenging but certainly not impossible. With the right tools in your Behavioural Design toolbox, you can leverage the power of behavioural science to shape positive behaviours and influence better decisions. This blog post introduces you to the SUE | SWAC Tool©. An easy-to-use tool to develop interventions that will change behaviour predictably. It is part of our SUE | Behavioural Design Method© and the second step after unlocking human insights with our SUE | Influence Framework©. The SWAC Tool© will turn insights into tangible ideas to develop better products, services, policies, campaigns or living environments.

This blog post is an extended introduction to Behavioural Design. You will get a clear idea about what it is, how you can use it in your professional and personal life to influence minds and shape behaviour, and what you could do to learn more about it. Moreover, this blog post is the perfect entry to most other blogposts we published on the SUE Behavioural Design website.

Can we design a choice? In most societies, if there is one value we hold dear, it is our freedom of choice. Having autonomy is a concept that directly speaks to our core as human being. Suppliers of goods and services understand this and have submerged us in an economy of choice that can match everyone’s individual needs. It fits our need for autonomy like a glove. It allows us to be in the driver seat of our own lives. But is it? Is it true? Does abundance help us make better decisions? Does more choice equal more satisfaction? The answer is no. So, the question is: How we can master the subtle art of choosing to shape better decisions and positive behaviours?

If there is one thing we as humans all want more control over, it is our own happiness. Thousands of self-help books have been written, bought and earmarked. Maybe one of the pieces of advice you have come across is this quote: ‘You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with’. From a behavioural science point of view, this is intriguing, as behaviour is strongly influenced by context. We all act and react to what happens around us. Can we learn from behavioural science what kind of people we must surround ourselves with? How can we influence our context to trigger behaviours that make us flourish as human beings? Or to go beyond this: How do these insights transfer to a business context? Can it help create better performing teams and more motivated talent? This blog post will give some answers from a Behavioural Design point of view.

The know-how of behavioural science can be a powerful tool to shape choices and behaviour. Therefore in Behavioural Design, thinking about ethics and acting upon them is not just relevant – it is indispensable. In this blog post, you can read all about our vision, mission and behaviours to safeguard ethics in our Behavioural Design. It comes with a Behavioural Design Toolkit. Everything, to make sure we (and others) leverage this incredible power of behavioural science to do good.

We all are influencing people every day. On a small scale (could you pass me the salt) and on a larger scale (choose me, my business or sales proposition). But how do you get people on your side who happen to believe the exact opposite of what you’re trying to convince them of? Or how do you get people to engage in behaviour that is better for them, communities or the planet if they don’t believe that behaviour is the right thing to do or too hard to perform?

In this blog post, we will highlight the main concepts from the work of Nobel prize winner Richard Thaler as explained in his bestselling book ‘Nudge.’ We will explain what nudging is all about, how it related to behavioural economics and how you can use it to influence people and help them make better choices.

Do you want to know how you can boost motivation in your team? Astrid Groenewegen explains in her video what you can do to make this happen.

Do you want to know how you can boost performance in others? Astrid Groenewegen explains in her video what you can do to make this happen.

Do you want to understand numbers and statistics better? Astrid Groenewegen explains in her video what you can do to make this happen. It is all about perspective.

Can’t control yourself sometimes? It’s not up to you! Self-discipline is hugely overrated. In this video, Astrid Groenewegen explains what we can pay attention to besides self-discipline.

Do you find it hard to ask for big favour from someone? Then you must be happy to hear that you don’t always have to! In this video, Astrid Groenewegen explains how asking for something small, in particular, can help you win big.

Are you struggling to motivate your employees to participate in your business goals? That could be because you are engaging them in the wrong way. In this video, Astrid Groenewegen explains the missing ingredient for setting good goals.

I am continually fascinated to discover the importance of behavioural economics in solving the significant challenges of our time: eradicating disease and tackling climate change. After reading an interview with Susan Athey, I realised how robust and starting from choice psychology can be in solving these complex challenges.

In this week’s video, Astrid Groenewegen explains how we often forget a crucial factor when we want to change behaviour: anxieties. Instead of focusing on the positive elements of desired behaviour, you should look at what prevents someone from showing the desired behaviour.

In this week’s video, Astrid Groenewegen gives you 2 practical tips from behavioural science to fight addiction to your phone. How often and how long you spend on your phone has everything to do with behaviour. Therefore, a behavioural intervention is exactly what you need to reduce this.

In this week’s video, Astrid Groenewegen explains how comparison can also be positive. We often look at the negative sides of comparing ourselves to others. Other people seem to always have it that little bit better. But comparison doesn’t have to be just negative. Comparing yourself with others can also give feedback that positively influences behaviour.

Today I want to introduce another macro-force for behavioural change: Stories. I want to explain the central role of stories in how we think about ourself and the world. And I want to argue that stories are perhaps the essential ingredient of a strategy for behavioural change on a massive scale.

Our mission is to help as many people as possible to leverage the power of behavioural science to make better decisions that will help them improve their work, private life and living environment. This is why Astrid Groenewegen, co-founder of SUE | Behavioural Design, has created a video series called ‘Behavioural Science for Daily Life’, showing you how you can make the breakthrough and unmissable insights from behavioural psychology work for you in practice.

These are challenging times and it’s not obvious to keep up the positive spirit. That’s why I want to explore some thoughts on how to apply behavioural design thinking to inject more joy and happiness into your life.

In this blog post I want to explore a fascinating phenomenon: how individuals morph into groups. Behavioural Science sheds some perspective on group behaviour in organisations and how to influence this in a positive way. So if you struggle with how to be creative, productive and happy within your team, then this blog is for you.

Discover how to prototype happiness by experimenting with small behavioural changes. Learn how testing what brings joy can lead to more fulfilling work and life.

Learn how to make agile teams truly customer-centric using behavioural design. Discover tools to uncover real customer needs and turn insights into action.

Discover how behavioural design can accelerate the shift to electric driving. Learn how smart nudges and psychological insights can change habits and drive sustainable choices.

Every year we humans engage in this collective ritual called New Years Resolutions. We somehow seem to believe in the illusion that the symbolic crossing of December 31st to January 1st unlocks a new door to untapped willpower and ability to change our behaviours and habits. The beauty of a ritual is that it gives hope. The problem with rituals is that they don’t work. Bad habits are just too strong to change. Willpower dips fairly quickly. Temptation to give in to instant gratification is everywhere. Our lives play out in a choice architecture in which the most convenient option is to keep doing what we’re doing. And yet, this time of the year is the perfect time to make some changes. So why not do it properly? New Years’ Resolutions are all about changing behaviours and building new habits. So let’s apply some behavioural design thinking to the problem.

I wrote this blog post on why personal coaching is rather pointless, a little while ago. I tried to argue that it’s much more important to put the effort in the coaching of a team, than to coach individuals. Great teams have figured out ways to harness the collective creativity and intelligence of a group. But a team can only transform into a great team if the individuals in the group have sufficiently overcome their need for security, recognition and belonging.

Learn how trust in experts is built—and lost. Discover the behavioural science behind credibility, authority, and how to design for trustworthy communication.

A long-term relationship is a classic behavioural design challenge. How do you keep being in love? And how do you keep the desire burning? What are the specific behaviours that add up to the more abstract goals of love and desire or passion? Let’s approach the problem with a behavioural design lens.

This blog post touches upon the organisational habits that boost innovation and growth. Why are some companies more innovative than others? I want to argue that they have habits in place that produce more ideas and habits to get those ideas shipped. As Steve Jobs once famously said (paraphrasing William Gibson) : “Real artists ship”. In this blogpost I want to explore this innovation habit, based on our 8 year experience with collaborating with teams.

How do you apply for a job? From a Behavioural Design point of view, this is a fascinating question. When you are applying for a job, there are several challenges you need to overcome. It’s a multi-level game in which you need to figure out how to reach level 3 or 4 with one single run. This blog post will tell you which levels are important and how to reach them.

In this blog post, we will introduce you to the work of Dr. Robert Cialdini. Who is an expert on how to influence people. And in the psychology of persuasion. In his bestselling book, ‘Influence‘ Cialdini identifies six principles of persuasion. And explains the psychology of why people say “yes”. And how to apply these understandings in real life.

We want to talk about mental models. They are key for intelligent decisions making. We want to introduce you to one of our intellectual heroes. A man who turned 95 on January 1st of 2019. There’s a fair chance that you’ve never heard about him. But you definitely have heard about his 88 years old associate, Warren Buffett. The man we’re talking about is Charlie Munger.

This blog post shows how we can change behaviour by design. It’s hard denying we as humankind are facing serious problems today, and things need to change. Global warming is happening as we speak, obesity is overtaking smoking as the number one cause of death. And for most of us, it isn’t that we don’t care about these problems. Sometimes we care a great deal. Who wasn’t shocked after seeing Before the Flood, the stunning climate change documentary starring Leonardo DiCaprio? Who wasn’t moved by Jamie Oliver’s quest to start a Food Revolution knowing children didn’t even recognize real food like an ordinary tomato? And even if you weren’t aware of these two specific examples: We all know some serious issues are going on.

Last week, I was attending a keynote presentation by the CEO of one of the biggest Belgian banks. He was presenting the story of the digital transformation of his bank and he brought it as if it was a visionary story. And although the man certainly had excellent presentation skills, I somehow got annoyed with his storyline. Probably in the first place because it felt like 2007 was back with cliché-slides as “Shift Happens”, “The Consumer is in Control” and “Remember Altavista? Look at what Google Did!”. But the second reason for my annoyance had to do with something more profound. He was preaching the “customer-first”-mantra, while in reality, his story had absolutely nothing to do with customer-first. It was very obviously “Bank-First”, under the disguise of “we want to make it more simple for the customer to buy more stuff”.

This blog post shows you three super-effective techniques rooted in behavioural science to supercharge the creativity of your team. It does require to kill off one creativity habit we all use: the brainstorm. But trust us, the techniques we propose instead are much more effective and fun!

This is a video we’ve watched over and over again. It’s a TED Talk by a personal hero of ours Rory Sutherland. In his talk, he holds a plea to sweat the small stuff. Quite a refreshing point of view in the marketing and advertising world that’s all about the big idea.

Here you can find the fundamentals of Kahneman’s breakthrough work on human decision making. Firstly, it will address his discovery of fast and slow thinking. Secondly, the importance of our unconscious mind in making decisions and influencing behaviour will be discussed.

The SUE | Influence Framework© is a powerful mental model we developed at SUE to analyse the forces that shape behaviour systematically. The framework will provide you with all the human insights you need to develop ideas for behavioural change. A deeper understanding of the forces that prevent people from change or boost behavioural change is essential to influence minds and shape behaviour. In this blog post, we explain the model step-by-step and illustrate it with lots of examples.