The Human Element

The Human Element

by Loran Nordgren, David Schonthal
Released October 2021
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119765042

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Book description

Wall Street Journal bestseller

Watch your most innovative ideas take flight by overcoming the forces that resist change

The Human Element is for anyone who wants to introduce a new idea or innovation into the world. Most marketers, innovators, executives, activists, or anyone else in the business of creating change, operate on a deep assumption. It is the belief that the best (and perhaps only) way to convince people to embrace a new idea is to heighten the appeal of the idea itself. We instinctively believe that if we add enough value, people will eventually say "yes." This reflex leads us down a path of adding features and benefits to our ideas or increasing the sizzle of our messaging - all in the hope of getting others on board. We call this instinct the "Fuel-based mindset." The Fuel-based mindset explains so much of what we do, from adding countless trivial features to software, to bolting a sixth blade onto a shaving razor.

By focusing on Fuel, innovators neglect the other half of the equation – the psychological Frictions that oppose change. Frictions create drag on innovation. And though they are rarely considered, overcoming these Frictions is essential for bringing new ideas into the world. The Human Element highlights the four Frictions that operate against innovation. Readers will discover:

  • Why their best ideas and initiatives often get rejected – despite their undeniable value
  • How to disarm the forces of resistance that act against change
  • How to transform the very Frictions that hold us back into catalysts for change

Perfect for business leaders, product managers, educators, and anyone else who seeks to bring new and exciting ideas to life, The Human Element is an indispensable resource to help people overcome the powerful forces of human nature that instinctively resist change.

Table of contents

  1. COVER
  2. TITLE PAGE
  3. COPYRIGHT
  4. DEDICATION
  5. 1 The Law of Attraction
    1. The Law of Attraction
    2. The Mystery of the Disappearing Customer
    3. The Four Frictions
    4. The Anatomy of Innovation
    5. The Intended Audience
    6. A Note about Ethics
    7. Note
  6. 2 Thinking in Fuel
    1. The Car Sales Experience
    2. The Fuel‐Based Mindset
    3. Putting New Ideas into Motion
    4. Progressive Fuel
    5. Aversive Fuel
    6. Bad Is Stronger than Good
    7. Fuel Is Costly
    8. Fuel Is Self‐Evident
    9. Fuel Amplifies Friction
    10. Why We Think in Fuel
    11. Strangers to Ourselves
    12. From Fuel to Friction
    13. Notes
  7. 3 Inertia
    1. Love at Repeated Sight
    2. We Buy What We Know
    3. The Pleasure Machine
    4. How Inertia Kills Innovation
    5. Notes
  8. 4 Overcoming Inertia
    1. Acclimate the Idea
    2. Strategy #1: Repetition
    3. Strategy #2: Start Small
    4. Strategy #3: Find a Familiar Face
    5. Strategy #4: Make It Prototypical
    6. Strategy #5: Use Analogies
    7. Make It Relative
    8. Strategy #1: Add an Extreme
    9. Idealistic vs. Realistic
    10. Strategy #2: Highlight Undesirable Options
    11. The Decoy Effect
    12. How Frogs Are Like Wine Lists
    13. Relativity in a Nutshell
    14. Overcoming Inertia
    15. Acclimate the Idea Tactics
    16. Make It Relative Tactics
    17. Notes
  9. 5 Effort
    1. The Law of Least Effort
    2. Friends of Convenience
    3. The Primacy of Effort
    4. Changing the Effort Calculus
    5. Effort Neglect
    6. The Uncommon App
    7. Notes
  10. 6 Overcoming Effort
    1. Effort Defined
    2. Create a Roadmap
    3. FedEx Days
    4. If‐Then Triggers
    5. Streamline the Behavior
    6. Streamlining 2.0
    7. Overcoming Effort
    8. Create a Roadmap
    9. Streamline the Behavior
    10. Note
  11. 7 Emotion
    1. Emotional Friction
    2. Hiring Emotion
    3. Noah's Animal House
    4. The Emotional Life of Procurement
    5. Picking Second Best
    6. The Shift to Self‐Service Fuel
    7. Notes
  12. 8 Overcoming Emotion
    1. Activating Latent Demand
    2. Overcoming Our Blindness to Emotional Friction
    3. Focus on Why
    4. Become an Ethnographer
    5. Pay It, Plan It
    6. Bring the Outside In
    7. Hiring Your Customers
    8. Focus on Why
    9. Become an Ethnographer
    10. Bring the Outside In
    11. Notes
  13. 9 Reactance
    1. Rats, Graffiti, and the Origins of Reactance
    2. Why Strong Evidence Is the Worst Evidence
    3. Rethinking the Hard Sell
    4. Notes
  14. 10 Overcoming Reactance
    1. The Power of Self‐Persuasion
    2. The Power of Notecards
    3. Deep Canvassing
    4. Ask Yes Questions
    5. How Brainwashing Works
    6. Total Participation
    7. Co‐Design
    8. Three Rules for Self‐Persuasion
    9. Overcoming Reactance
    10. Reactance‐Busting Tactics
    11. Notes
  15. 11 Three Case Studies
    1. Notes
  16. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  17. ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  18. INDEX
  19. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Product information

  • Title: The Human Element
  • Author(s): Loran Nordgren, David Schonthal
  • Release date: October 2021
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119765042