Sunday, May 20, 2012

Stand Up Gamblers

Last week I blogged about how to run meetings more effectively, including the famous "stand up meeting", where people have to stand up during the whole meetings because chairs have been removed.  The lack of chairs causes attendees to quickly focus on the topics on hand and make decisions as quick as possible.   In short, the environment has been set up to improve effectiveness.

Behavioral economists have shown that people make mistakes in their decision making, specially when deciding on complex issues, where feedback is slow or lacking.   In these cases, it makes sense to "nudge" people in the right direction, so both the person and society gain from improved decision making.

A recent Freakonomics article talked about how an organization in Australia is thinking about tackling the problem of gambling, using an adequate environment and nudges.   Basically, their suggestion is to remove chairs in casinos, so gamblers have no choice than to go and rest in a different area, other than the black jack table, when getting tired.    How would this change in the environment impact a gambler's behavior?

Are you considering your company's environment?   Is it adequate for your company's purposes?

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