How to Determine Incentives:
1. Figure out what people really care about, not what they say they care about.
2. Incentivize them on the dimensions that are valuable to them but cheap for you to provide.
3. Pay attention to how people respond; if their response surprises or frustrates you, learn from it and try something different.
4. Whenever possible, create incentives that switch the frame from adversarial to cooperative.
5. Never, ever think that people will do something just because it is the "right" thing to do.
6. Know that some people will do everything they can to game the system, finding ways to win that you never could have imagined. If only to keep yourself sane, try to applaud their ingenuity rather than curse their greed. (p. 135)
Asking Small Questions Rather Than Big Ones:
1. Small questions are by their nature less often asked and investigated, and maybe not at all. They are virgin territory for true learning.
2. Since big problems are usually a dense mass of intertwined small problems, you can make more progress by tackling a small piece of the big problem than by flailing away at grand solutions.
3. Any kind of change is hard, but the chances of triggering change on a small problem are much greater than on a big one.
4. Thinking big is, by definition, an exercise in imprecision or even speculation. When you think small, the stakes may be diminished but at least you can be relatively sure you know what you're talking about. (p. 90)
How to Persuade People Who Don't Want to Be Persuaded:
1. First, understand how hard persuasion will be, and why.
2. It's not me; it's you. Whenever you sent out to persuade someone, remember that you are merely the producer of the argument. The consumer has the only vote that counts.
3. Don't pretend your argument is perfect.
4. Acknowledge the strengths of your opponent's argument.
5. If you really want to persuade someone who doesn't wish to be persuaded, you should tell him a story.
Think about the above from several perspectives:
1. The potential participant in any of your programs.
2. Your leadership, from project director to dean to vice president to present of your college.
3. Your staff, especially instructors who might be reluctant to try new curricula, new resources or new methods of instruction.
4. Your businesses, organizations and/or agencies that will provide employment for your students.
5. Your community leaders, who might not understand and appreciate the potential of your programs and your students.
6. Last of all, look inward. how will these points serve you to better understand your work, your connections with people with whom you work, and yourself.
Think Like A Freak, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, 2014
Thank you Mike for sharing. From a coach perspective, this information is valuable. For example, how to persuade those who do not want to be persuaded can be useful during many circumstances. To me, this helps point out the three important overarching principles that should be considered when attempting to persuade.
ReplyDeleteFirst, practice having an open discussion. It is not productive to lecture participants. Instead, listen to their concerns and understand their perspective.
Second, relate to the participant. Building trust through stories or life experiences is often been helpful with delivering a message. Additionally, acknowledging flaws in your argument allows participants to know that your message is genuine.
Third, keep in mind that persuasion is difficult and failure will occur. This is the component I often find difficult to accept, and before reading this blog, did not regularly acknowledge. As a coach, we are tasked with combating many personal, behavioral and financial challenges with our participants. This often proves to be a difficult task. I think it's important to keep hindsight on the reality of student issues. There are some students that you can successfully persuade and intervene with various challenges and barriers. However, some participants will "fall through the cracks". For me, being cognizant of this can be helpful for two reasons: (1) it should mentally prepare me to be on my best game due to the significance of the conversation; and (2) it should help me accept that not all students can be persuaded. Ultimately, it is their vote that counts. During persuasion, you may provide the best advice, best story and best reasons why to follow your argument. However if the participant is not willing to be persuaded, there is little more you can do. Understanding this principle can help us as coaches to dwell less on what we can’t affect, but acknowledge more of what we can. Therefore, I find this realization valuable.
Thanks again for sharing Mike.
P.S. I am a fan of the Freakonomics series as well. I am interested in learning more.