Fashions come and go - as does the popularity of psychological solutions to business challenges. And although interest in behavioural science in commercial environments has never been higher, Rory thinks that we have barely scratched the surface of its potential. In this introductory episode of MAD//Masters, he outlines the basic principles of how businesses can use behavioural science to influence consumer decisions,  its role alongside data and creativity, and why ‘logic’ is often overrated.

Discussion points include:

• The importance of re-framing questions over optimising existing metric
• Why you should embrace a mindset of ‘comfortable ambiguity’
• Perception vs. reality: how human behaviour is driven by perception and emotional contexts - messy scientific concepts
• The secret power of ‘odd’ - why counterintuitive insights and ideas are often disproportionately valuable
• How to combine data (‘what’), behavioural science (‘why’) and creativity (‘what to do next’)
• The limitations of data and why you should conduct more experiments

This episode explores the importance of using behavioural change frameworks - or "checklists" - as tools to generate alternative hypotheses for human behaviour, rather than defaulting to simplistic economic explanations. Key discussion points include:

• COM-B: the essential components of human behaviour
• How the EAST concept can encourage behavior adoption
• MINDSPACE - a comprehensive behavioural framework that should be in the armoury of all  businesses
• SCARF and Relational Capitalism: how successful businesses often prioritise long-term value and mutual trust over short-term gains
• How you can use frameworks and creative experimentation to uncover "moonshot" opportunities

From Penicillin and the microwave oven to Coca-Cola and Corn Flakes, many of the biggest breakthroughs in business (and science) don’t fit neatly into 'scientific' data-driven models. Yet more and more businesses attempt to explain emotional, often irrational human decision making with rational logic. For Rory, this is a mistake because it is easy to distort reality with logic, attribute the wrong meaning to behaviour, and diminish the value of creative problem solving. Key discussion points include:

• The role of creativity, storytelling and experimentation in human decision making
• The problem with pseudoscience in business and the need to ‘look scientific’ (often at the expense of solving problems with intuition or experimentation)
• Why most businesses fail to spot the difference between ‘one way doors’ (irreversible, high-commitment) and ‘two-way doors’ (reversible, low-commitment)
• How marketing and innovation are ‘fat-tailed’ and produce compounding value over the long-term
• Why efficiency is the enemy of innovation
• How to maximise your odds of ‘getting lucky’
• The ‘Broken Binoculars’ effect - how we are in danger of distorting reality and the essential role of behavioural science as a ‘third eye’

This week Rory introduces the concept of heuristics - imperfect but generally sound rules that help us to make decisions quickly that are right most of the time. Rory goes on to talk about why thinking that a business can control the behaviour of customers (“the elephant”) can be a risky misconception. Discussion points include:

• The role of heuristics - unconscious rules of thumb - in human decision-making and business
• “The Elephant and the Rider” metaphor - the relationship between the conscious brain of the “rider” and unconscious, emotional and intuitive mindset of the “elephant”
• Reputation as a driver of human behaviour - why trust is based on prestige and reputational vulnerability, which are often deeply embedded in human biology
• The transparency trap - why all new ideas lack historical data and require a leap of intuition
• Why businesses should think like detectives, dividing work into investigative and evidential phases

In this episode, Rory reveals the dangers of over-reliance on data and metrics, and calls for a balanced approach to exploitation with exploration - as seen in the natural world. He also introduces the concept of ‘reverse benchmarking’ - a powerful concept that can drive attention, differentiation and distinctiveness. Discussion points include:

• Why data is historically biased and can misrepresent the truth
• Why efficiency drives suffer from the law of diminishing returns
• Introduction to ‘reverse benchmarking’ - a valuable concept to drive drive attention, differentiation and distinctiveness
• Scoring systems convergence - why you shouldn’t use the same metrics as your competitors
• The rise of ‘technoplasmosis’ and marketing metrics that fall short
• The Explore-Exploit trade off: why every business needs ‘scout bees’

In this episode, Rory is joined by behavioural science advocate and ODEON Group Head of Digital Polly Jones to discuss the application of psychology in the real world. Discussion points include:

• Selling how marketers think - how behavioural science can enable us to talk the same language as the c-suite
• The overlooked concept of ‘loss aversion’ as a driver of human behaviour
• Why it pays to remove friction
• Priming and ‘hot and cold states’
• How understanding the ‘Sunk cost bias’ has enabled ODEON to create powerful brand advocates
• How ODEON uses choice architecture and the ‘Goldilocks effect’

In this episode, Rory explores Nudge Theory and the concept of choice architecture - principles that challenge the standard economic assumption that humans make neutral, rational decisions in a logical vacuum that assumes perfect trust. Discussion points include:

• Small changes, big impact - introducing Richard Thayler’s Nudge Theory and application in the real world
• How choice architecture - the presentation of choices - can help us to overcome the “do nothing” human default
• Minimising anxiety in the customer journey
• The Paradox of Choice: why presenting too many alternatives can cause choice paralysis
• Loss aversion and pricing - why perceived losses are felt more than gains

In this episode, Rory is joined by Herdify CEO Tom Ridges to explore the idea that humans are fundamentally herd animals, as well as the powerful and interlinked concept of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Discussion points include:

• Why humans use copying as a rational and effective survival mechanism, similar to the behaviour of herd-based species such as dogs, elephants, and dolphins
• How ‘social proof’ drives human behaviour and purchase decisions
• The power of proximity - why clustered behaviour is contagious and how it shifts social norms
• Why ‘worth of mouth’ marketing and peer-to-peer recommendations are so effective - and how they can be cultivated
• The role of brand and reputation in an AI-driven world
• Understanding the acute social instinct of FOMO and the “hedonic treadmill” - where status matters more than absolute wealth
• Why marketers should create prestige in ways that are net-positive for the community
• Re-thinking loyalty - are your customers really loyal to your brand or each other?

In episode 9, Rory revisits the concepts of nudge theory and reverse benchmarking, and explains how they can be applied to stand out in competitive markets.

Discussion points include:

• Why you should “zig when others zag” - the advantage you can gain from trying something different - and the perils of the ‘homogeneity trap’
• Why reverse benchmarking and “optimising for surprise” is likely to be more effective than traditional benchmarking approaches
• How Game Theory and thinking how your competitors will respond to your actions can boost your market position
• How reframing the question and “strategic sacrifice" can boost differentiation and your market position
• How fame changes the game and leads to unforeseen opportunities
• Re-thinking metrics - why repeat purchase and the reasons people didn’t buy your product may be the most useful insight you can get

In this episode, Rory explores how to develop game changing ideas that change behaviour, and explains why the most important big ideas may not be expensive or logical. Discussion points include:

• Why ‘logic-proof problems’ do not fit into standard business and economic model
• The hidden and messy concept of trust: how it can create and destroy value - and advertising as "reputational capital”
• Why great products fail - the importance of framing challenge or problem in an interesting way
• The MAYA principle for innovation and adoption
• Design thinking vs. persuasion - how to maximise the chances of adoption and commercial success
•  Why big ideas take longer to be adopted due to a lack of social proof - and how to accelerate the process
•  How behavioural science can bridge the gap between sales and marketing, creating a common language and an opportunity to discover key friction points
• The danger of using data as a “truth aggregate” and the need for psychological due diligence

In this episode, Rory is joined by acclaimed author and behavioural scientist Richard Shotton to explore behavioral science hacks, and why focusing on unchanging human nature is invaluable in a time of technological disruption and societal change. Discussion points include:

• Behavioural science as an anchor - why focusing on what doesn’t change can provide an enduring framework
• Why AI models are underpinned by human behaviour
• How to avoid AI-driven convergence and retain human-based contextual intelligence and decision making
• The illusion of effort and how it influences our notion of quality
• How testing, experimentation and counterintuitive ideas can lead to major breakthroughs
• The power of framing - how small changes can disproportionately influence consumer behaviour and lead to better business outcomes

In this final episode, Rory summarises key behavioural insights from the course and how and when you might apply them. Discussion points include:

• Constant curiosity - why we need to ask more challenging questions if we want to discover the psychological root cause of a problem
• Why we must embrace uncertainty and ambiguity - and create a “loose function” mindset
• Behavioural frameworks revisited - how they can prevent costly oversights
• Logic-proof problems and why discovering magic means for persistent problems requires abandoning logic
• Understanding what to test and creating a culture of experimentation