83. Weapons of Social Seduction (How we make decisions)

“If leaders don’t understand how the human brain works and how people perceive information, they’ll struggle.”

That’s a quote from today’s guest, Phill Agnew. Phill is Sr. Product Marketer at Buffer, product marketing ambassador at the PMA, and host of Nudge, the only podcast dedicated to consumer psychology. Phill specializes in consumer behavior, looking specifically at how to apply behavioral science at each stage of the marketing funnel.

Phill shares a wealth of knowledge with us about how consumer (human) behaviors can be influenced, with a focus on how leaders can use this psychology to improve productivity and job satisfaction within their teams.

We’ll talk about basic psychological tenets such as loss aversion, anchoring, autonomy, purpose, mastery and scarcity when “nudging” people to make decisions or improve their performance. Phill quotes multiple evidence-based studies and talks about his favorite leaders (like Steve Jobs) and other notable public figures, authors, and scientists who have used these basic theories to influence others.

Discussion Points

How applied behavior science is important in marketing
What Phill finds so fascinating – there’s evidence that it all works
Applying the science to leadership - Steve Jobs as a case study
The Google cafeteria– manipulation or nudge?
Competent and showing a weakness - the ultimate combination
Can nudges make us do things we don’t want to do? The Milgrim experiment
How leaders can improve teams - Autonomy, purpose and mastery
Timing is critical for nudging underperformers - NBA basketball stats
Using scarcity – the chips story
How loss feels worse to people than the equivalent gain
Loss aversion
Leaders much educate themselves on the power of their influence: books by Cialdini, Pink, and Phill’s free marketing course
Phill’s greatest influences
My key takeaways:
- Leaders understand their influence
- Leaders are likable
- Leaders motivate people
Let me know your thoughts about this interview on my socials