How to not build a useless app
I’m all about goals. Without them, you can’t know if you’ve made a good decision or not, because a decision is good if it maximizes your...
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business tips
Peloton versus Noom: How decision fatigue can cost you customers
Lessening the cognitive load for your customers may win them over the long term. The more decisions your customers have to make to see...
How you can be blind to reality and not even know it
Confirmation bias is easy to define but harder to spot when it's happening. It can prevent you from making solid data-driven decisions....
The Culture of Pricing (and why traditional survey research gets it wrong)
Pricing is a unique challenge that you want to get right. Many businesses do pricing research that has participants evaluate a list of...
Rethinking imposter syndrome (and embracing it)
A Decision Science approach to imposter syndrome starts with the premise that feelings of imposterism might not be triggered by...
Calling audibles: Why some managers act too quickly and why it’s a problem
Acting quickly might look good from the outside. It’s a hallmark of decisiveness and control, and when things feel uncertain, acting...
How the positives can be negative, and the importance of getting real
We're biased toward seeing things the way we wish they were, as opposed to how they really are. It's human nature, but it can be risky...
What conspiracy thinking can teach us about making better decisions
Bad business decisions can happen under the radar. They can happen when you assume that what you know is all there is to know, when...
Emotion versus function: how I miss smoking, and what that has to do with building a solid brand
A one-size-fits-all, purely emotional approach to brand-building doesn't work in the internet age. Access to information about...
The “consumers don’t do what they say” dilemma, and why Decision Science is the answer
What consumers say don't always line up with what they do. Some believe the answer is to make a choice: trust their words or trust their...
5 things you can do to make better decisions (from someone who is tired of "5 things" lists)
Perseverating over your decision won't lead to a better decision. Seek out information, talk to different people, get better sleep,...
Deep dark secrets, consumer insights, and why you can't de-prioritize consumer research
Consumer research is often de-prioritized or put off because it's not considered as valuable as big data, not able to uncover...
Never say "always": how sweeping generalizations can compromise your business
Conclusions about some can't be used to draw conclusions about all - even if the "some" constitutes a majority. Life is too complex to...
Lifting weights and looking for copycats: when it's not useful to profile your customers
Sometimes businesses profile existing customers, and then target consumers in the market that possess similar profiles. But this sort of...
When cats and coworkers are annoying: why you should care about scripted behavior
We often follow scripted behavior, which might be a problem when important decisions are at stake. Paying attention to when you're...
Racing, kickboxing, and building endurance as a decision-maker
Decision fatigue is real, but putting off decisions because you're tired has a downside. This week I explain why it's important to...
Too exhausted to choose: how avoiding decision fatigue can make you more persuasive
Making decisions can be exhausting. The more decisions someone makes, and the more intensely they think about them, the more quickly...
Selling to a know-it-all: the challenge of dealing with earned dogmatism
Some people believe they're experts when they're not, when life experiences re-enforce a sense of expertise that doesn't really exist....
"Why is he so stubborn?!": How understanding preference stability can benefit your business
We care about what consumers want, so we ask their preferences. But if you don't explore the stability of those preferences, you could be...
My writer's block, your benefit: how to work your way out of indecision
When we're stuck making decisions, we crave more options. In reality, constraints are more likely to get us unstuck. Time constraints...
Achy joints and botox: how aging consumers can benefit your brand
Aging consumers are more likely to see the gray - less likely to get hung up on the black-and-white. They're more forgiving and less...
"How could I be so stupid?!"
It's human to judge the quality of a decision by its outcome. But outcomes are shaped by variables that have nothing to do with the...
Freaking out and buying stuff: Why you should pay attention to consumer stress
Stress causes consumers to more likely act on impulse, which often involves habitual behavior. If you're trying to get consumers to try...
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