Unlocking Behaviour Change

Last but not least in our miniseries on decision fails we have 'I didn't ask'. Even when we think we know it all, we should often ask for another opinion or perspective. And we should always reflect on our own limitations and be willing to consult experts for important decisions that require technical expertise. And even when we might not have asked for it, we should be prepared to listen to advice. 

But there is a catch! How do we know when someone really is an expert, and is giving a knowledgeable and expert opinion? Jamie and Robert delve into this thorny topic and come up with some rules of thumb.

What to comment or suggest a topic? Go to the Contact Us page on the UBC website.

Want more? Check out our latest books:  

Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 

React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  

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Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange

In the mini-series on decision fails - common things that we fail to do that result in mistakes when making decisions - this episode covers our failures of imagination. Robert thinks this plays a large part in the well-known phenomenon of 'temporal discounting' - failing adequately to concern ourselves about things the further in the future they may occur. But failing to imagine goes far beyond this, which is why we often go to great lengths to make the possible outcomes of decisions vividly real for people to help ensure they take them seriously.  

Want to contact us, for example to suggest topics to cover? Go to the contact page on the UBC website.

Want more? Check out our latest books:  

Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 

React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  

Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  

Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange

Continuing on the ‘Top 5 Decision Fails’, Robert and Jamie discuss: ‘I didn’t think’. Why don’t leaders appear to think through the consequences of starting wars? When will the AI bubble burst?

Thinking things through comes in three main flavours: depth of analysis, breadth of analysis, and choice of 'decision rule'. Depth in the sense of tracing the possible consequences and their consequences far enough ahead, and breadth in terms of thinking about the whole 'system' that is affected by the decision. The 'decision rule' is about what criteria you are going to use to make the choice.

Feel free to suggest future topics via the contact page in the Unlocking Behaviour Change Website.

All this and more in today’s episode . . . 

Want more? Check out our latest books:  

Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 

React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  

Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  

Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange

In this mini-series on the top five decision fails, Robert and Jamie discuss five important things we fail to do, or do properly, that lead to mistakes in decision-making. We don't claim that this is the be-all and end-all, but we put them forward as ones that are probably really worth paying attention to in order to improve the way we make decisions.

This episode covers 'I didn't check'. We have information that is relevant to the decision, or think we have, but we don't take the time or make the effort to check that the information is correct. Of course, we can take checking too far, but mostly we should probably dial checking up rather than down ... If something doesn't look right - check!

Want more? Check out our latest books:  

Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 

React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  

Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  

Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange

In this new mini-series, Robert and Jamie go through candidates for the five biggest decision-making mistakes and how to avoid them - maybe. The first one is ‘I didn’t look’ . . . Sounds obvious - but there are important nuances.

Robert and Jamie also discuss psychologists trying to make people look stupid ... 

And in the podcast, Robert refers to a questionnaire he developed in the 1990s called 'The Decision-Making Questionnaire (DMQ)' which he developed with colleagues to help discover what makes one person more likely to have a car crash than someone else. Here is a link to the main article on this. And here is a link to a website where you can get the questionnaire. 

Want more? Check out our latest books:  

Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 

React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  

Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  

Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange