In this episode of Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Melina Palmer, Founder & CEO of The Brainy Business. They discuss Melina’s aha! journey; the intricacies of human psychology within Behavior Economics and business; the contrasting views of behavioral economics and behavioral science; why your tone matters more than what you say; and the different methods of behavioral experimentation within your business, opening you up to invaluable insights. She also delves into her ten-year journey of searching for a career in Behavioral Economics.

Melina Palmer the Founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, a company that provides behavioral economics consulting to businesses all around the globe. She is also an Instructor for the Applied Behavioural Economics Certificate, a Columnist at Inc. Magazine., and an Author of What Your Customer Wants And Can’t Tell You. She is an incredibly passionate speaker whom audiences of all sizes and industries have praised: “Her fun, conversational approach is bringing behavioral economics out of academia and into application”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉Behavioral Economics is, essentially, the psychology of why people do what they do, why they buy what they buy, and how our brains actually work rather than how we think they should. Melina explains that the main problem of traditional economics is that it assumes everyone makes rational decisions in everything they do, but if humans are known for anything, it’s for their complex emotions and often irrational decision-making. Behavioral Economics takes both psychology and neuroscience into consideration, resulting in a more accurate, empathetic approach to economics and insights.

👉Melina’s first ‘Aha!’ moment, and possibly the most prominent one, came to her when she was studying in business school and came across a small section within a large textbook that spoke about the psychology of making decisions. For the next ten years, she searched high and low for a Master's course in that very topic and was greeted with only disappointment and rejection. It wasn’t until she attended a talk on Behavioral Economics that she found what she was looking for!

👉What’s the difference between Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Science? Some argue that the former only comes into play when money is involved, but Melina believes that there is always an exchange happening, it doesn’t have to be monetary. Behavioral Economics is all around us, even if it’s something as simple as swapping desks at work or reporting to someone new, there is always some sort of exchange.

👉A key tip that Melina mentions is ‘how you say something is much more important than what you are saying.’ How something is presented to us influences the way that we feel about it, and she believes that businesses could really benefit from this lesson. Sometimes, the reason a product might be a flop could be as simple as a poor choice of wording. 

👉 Behavioral Economics isn’t just the future of businesses, it’s the future of everything; businesses are made up of people, and it’s important to remember that. Don’t treat the people working for you as data and numbers, treat them with empathy and genuineness/

👉Melina discusses an anecdote about a team that was meant to design a nuclear power plant but was hung up on building a bikeshed first. At first glance, this seems ridiculous and unimportant, but think about it for a second: if they couldn’t build something that simple, how could they confidently begin work on a huge, scary powerplant? 

👉Behavioral experimentation can involve something as simple as ending emails on a question rather than a statement. This can be used to figure out how customers or audiences perceive you and whether or not you should stick with it.

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Episode Resources:
 
Melina Palmer on LinkedIn

Melina Palmer on Instagram

Melina Palmer on Twitter

Melina Palmer’s Website

Melina Palmer’s  Books

The Brainy Business Website

The Brainy Business Podcast

The Brainy Business on Youtube