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Letter from the EditorWelcome to the 100th edition of the Behavioural Digest! Our first BMT Newsletter (as it was called back then) was published back in 2010, and since then we’ve been sharing stories, articles and snippets of wisdom every month. Eight years have flown by.The Behavioural Digest team are indebted to all the people who have contributed ideas and articles over the years, and we’re grateful to have such a large, loyal audience, so thank you.The world has changed significantly since 2010, but some things never change: Human nature, for good or ill, remains predictable. While our environment changes - on a global or a local scale - people’s behaviours are subject to the same drivers as they always have been. The ability to apply behavioural science tools and techniques to help predict and influence our own behaviours and the behaviours of those around us remains constant - a power for good, just waiting to be harnessed.Have a happy festive season, and very best wishes for 2019. Warmest regards,Lynn Dunlop (editor)

I Heard It On The Grapevine By Howard LeesIt’s well worth getting to know if there are any distracting conversations out there in your workplace. Gossip or grousing can take up vast amounts of time that could otherwise be put to effective and enjoyable production. Fifteen years of doing climate surveys has told us that there are frequent narratives in the workplace that dominate people’s conversations. I would say 80% of the time the distracting narrative centres around either one boss or one policy (e.g. car parking, timesheets etc). Commonly, when we try to explain the problem of the distracting narrative to the leaders, they tend to dismiss it. I guess it’s because a comfortable delusion is better than a cruel truth. For sure, the knowledge workers will be talking about the subject of the day/month/year in their safe places to talk (water cooler, kitchen, pub). No-one can control that narrative. Of course, if the daily narratives are enthusiastic, work-related conversations then there’s a good chance that it’s a resonant and high performing workplace.

Strategy Workshop - Jan 17th 2019There are a few places left for this one-day workshop. It is aimed at people who want to learn more about designing a sustainable strategic plan that works - one based on the realities of the environment in which it must be delivered, and which adjusts as required.The location is Manchester Airport and the event is £585, which includes lunch, parking, a post-workshop one-to-one coaching session and a pre-release edition of our new book, The Adaptive Strategy. For more information, visit www.hollin.co.uk/events

Behavioural DigestNo. 100 - December 2018

Tickets on Sale Now:BMT for Leaders Conference

& WorkshopMay 15th & 16th, 2019

Manchester, UKwww.hollin.co.uk

© Copyright 2018 Hollin Ltd.

Shades of BMT• Organisations already have all the data they need to find out

what’s really happening. They can also collect all the opinions of all the people working there. What they never have is a reason to do those two things.

• The problem with timesheets is that some organisations inadvertently create the slow erosion of everyone’s integrity by making their people fit what they do into an hour-by-hour chargeable format, irrespective of what they actually did that week.

• In a resonant team, communication is reliable.• People seem to really like some ideas until they find out who

they’ve come from.• Abundant honest feedback throughout the team has the effect

of levelling the playing field for everybody. If you already see yourself as the Christiano Ronaldo of your team, then a level playing field is going to be very painful for you indeed.

• People who are willing to compromise do so as they find the process of compromise reinforcing. To the people that refuse to compromise, I have one question: “How’s that working for you?”

• When you finally adjust your environment, the blindingly obvious appears from round the corner and overwhelms you.

• Some people work in dissonant teams every day, others in resonant teams. And the rest - all stations in between.

• Companies that lock down discretionary spend perhaps have the comfort that their people are not wasting small sums of money. The other side of this coin is that they should also have the awareness that there’s not going to be much discretionary effort out there. High performing companies develop a surplus of discretionary effort and they do this via trust (and money).

My Fitbit Heaven By Elizabeth WarnerI have had a Fitbit for 5 years now, and I am averaging 70,000 steps per week. I would say it has influenced me, as I now walk to places where I used to drive. My major irritation is that I am persistently second place in the rankings behind Jane Salter. I asked other people on the rankings how they do so many steps. Some said they park their car at the furthest space they can find from the office. Some get off the bus or tube 2 stops before the office stop and walk the rest of the way. One person said they put their Fitbit on their dog when they take it for a walk. I am now tempted to put my Fitbit on my 5 year old son, who runs around all over the place. I don’t think it’s a question of integrity, it’s a question of reinforcement - I can definitely get a dose of reinforcement from this by making mischief. Hang on, this story is starting to feel like a workplace parable! We all started out measuring what we do and publishing it, and doing so adjusted our behaviour, which was the goal. However, over time some people have started cheating. By the way, if someone can think of a way of slowing down Jane Salter I will be much obliged.

AvoidanceResorting to avoidance behaviours can be described as a coping mechanism, i.e. doing something else instead of the thing you perceive as stressful. It results in cognitive dissonance: “I know I should be doing that, but I am going to do this instead.” We thought, for a bit of fun, and as it’s the Christmas edition, we would share some of our favourite avoidance behaviours in order to bring this common phenomenon into the open. Enjoy:• Posting an opinion on social media

instead of chatting with a real human about it.

• Emailing rather than phoning for a difficult conversation.

• Saying “I’ll do it” instead of doing it! • Saying yes because I recognise that

look on your face.• Saying no because I recognise that

look on your face.• Waiting for an advert break in Fireman

Sam before turning the TV off.• Cleaning the house rather than doing

the other thing I don’t want to.• Walking around the building at work,

having the crack with whoever is also doing it.

• Mindlessly surfing the internet when you should be working.

• Buying a gift voucher instead of a thoughtful present.

• Putting cartoons on the TV instead of playing with the kids/listening to them whine.

• Looking at phones instead of talking during dinner.

• Organising your folder/tidying room rather than revising for an exam.

• Dropping the kids off with grandparents rather than taking them to the supermarket.

• Put headphones in at work to avoid anyone talking to you.

• Nodding and agreeing with the room to avoid the meeting running over.

• Pretending to be on the phone when you pass the ‘charity muggers’ in the high street.