What makes us more or less likely to comply with rules or laws? My guest, Benjamin Van Rooij, knows all about this subject. He is a Professor of Law and Society at the University of Amsterdam who researches and writes about behavioural law; in other words, the impact laws have on human behaviour and the behavioural science behind law. This is Benjamin’s fifth appearance on the show, which tells you that he’s incredibly engaging and insightful. I invited Benjamin to come back onto the show to dis...
May 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min
What goes into human decision-making ? If you listened to the previous episode of the show with Dr Melina Moleskis on decision-making, then you’ll know what’s coming next. If you didn’t, then don’t worry; you can listen to that after this. My guest on this episode is Ben Cattaneo , a friend of the show and the founder of The Decision-Making Studio , a startup that helps clients to make better decisions. In our discussion, we pick up some of the themes I discussed with Melina and explore others. ...
Apr 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min
What is decision science, and how can it help us to make better decisions? On this episode, I'm joined by decision-making expert Dr Melina Moleskis , who explains how she combines decision science and behavioural science to help her clients make better decisions. In a wide-ranging discussion, we explore: how decision-making education is often overlooked in schools and businesses; why decisions are swayed by various behavioural factors and how we can recognise them; the power of AI to help provid...
Apr 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min
What is it that makes a job enjoyable and fulfilling? While you’re likely to have your own very individual answers to that question, chances are it’ll be to do with what you’re required to do, how much freedom you have, whether you think it’s worthwhile and how well it plays to your skillsets and interests. Yet, all too often, companies focus more on profit and less on creating environments that truly allow people to flourish. My guest on this episode, Philippa White , thinks things can be done ...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Why do we lie and cheat and why might it not always be a bad thing? On this episode, I’m speaking to a research professor who has studied lying and cheating in the natural world and what we can learn about it in the human world. My guest, Dr Lixing Sun is a Research Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Central Washington University. While his research focuses on biology, his interests are in connecting behaviour, evolution, psychology, and economics. In his latest book, The Liar...
Apr 13, 2024•59 min
What prompted a courageous former employee of Harvey Weinstein to break her Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) ? On this episode I'm speaking to a campaigner who came to prominence as the individual who broke the silence surrounding the misconduct of Harvey Weinstein. Formerly an assistant to Weinstein, Zelda Perkins made headlines when she came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against him. In the late 1990s, she signed an NDA, as part of a settlement which for years prevented her from ...
Apr 06, 2024•1 hr 13 min
How, in a world of limited resources, can we prioritise risk? Which ones should we focus on more than others? This isn't just something we need to think about in a work context. It also applies to our personal lives; where should we spend our money, time and headspace? My guest is a friend of the show who has appeared four times before (links below). Professor Magda Osman is a Professor of Basic & Applied Decision-Making at Leeds Business School . She's a psychologist by training, with a spe...
Mar 30, 2024•1 hr 6 min
How can we make better decisions? By paying attention to good advice or information and ignoring the opposite. In a world where we're overloaded with data and opinions, it can be hard to determine what is good and what is bad advice. My guest Nuala Walsh , is the author of a new book called ' Tune In! How to make smarter decisions in a noisy world '. In it, she highlights how we make decisions and the risks of using the wrong information to make them. What are the risks of mishearing, misinforma...
Mar 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min
What does storytelling have to do with managing risk? On this episode, I’m speaking to novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Preethi Nair . She also helps people who want to tell their stories to identify the one that will resonate and tell them in the best possible way. We all know the power of storytelling. It’s how we learn as kids and how we share information as adults. The risk angle here is that if we want people to do the things we want them to do, and not do the things we don’t, then st...
Mar 17, 2024•1 hr 3 min
What can business learn from improvisation? If you listened to the previous episode of the shwo, you'll know the answer. If you haven't yet done so, then I recommend dojgn that before listening to this. Because this is Part Two of my discussion with Heather Urquhart and it lfows naturally on from Part One. Meet Heather Urqhuhart My guest Heather Urquhart is a professional improviser who not only performs improv but also works to help busineses to manage uncertainty and drive creativity via her f...
Mar 10, 2024•46 min
What can business learn from improvisation? On the face of it, a form of entertainment that involves making things up as you go along, seems to be filled with human risk and not at all helpful in the business world. But actually, the skills that improvisers use to entertain us, are incredibky useful in businesses to drive better decision-making, The techniques that allow them to respond to unexpecte situations or come up with creative ideas, are incredibly helpful in a business context. Having p...
Mar 03, 2024•48 min
What is burnout , and how can we prevent it? We're increasingly hearing about the idea of 'burnout', which the World Health Organisation has defined as a condition " resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed". Recent high profile resignations, including Jacinda Ardern the former PM of New Zealand and Jürgen Klopp, the Manager of Liverpool Football Club — both citing not having enough energy to continue to do their jobs — are merely illustrative of a dyanmic t...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 2 min
What is Healthcare Coaching? If I say the word ‘doctor’ to you — in a medical, not academic, sense— you’ll probably think of someone in a white coat with a stethoscope who makes medical assessments and prescribes treatments and drugs to patients. Which, of course, is what they do do But a word that probably wouldn’t come to mind when you think of doctors is ‘coach’. Yet, that’s the role that my guest on this episode, Dr Ollie Hart, thinks is a key part of helping patients live longer, healthier ...
Feb 18, 2024•1 hr
How can businesses do the right thing? What does that even mean and why does or should it matter? What is Business Ethics? Business ethics used to be a case of dealing with things like bribery and fraud, which companies tried to — and often did — manage with rules and processes. But nowadays, in a world where every employee and consumer has the ability to go viral on social media, it’s a much harder dynamic to manage. Businesses are under increasing scrutiny, not just for their business practice...
Feb 12, 2024•59 min
What happens when a surgeon decides to become an airline pilot? You get some amazing insights into mistakes, how they happen and what we can do to mitigate them. That surgeon and now pilot is my guest Niall Downey . He’s also the author of a book called ‘Oops! Why Things Go Wrong’: Understanding and Controlling Error’ He began his career as a doctor, where he becaeme a cardiothoracic surgeon. After twelve years of medical training, Niall decided to change course and retrained as an airline pilot...
Feb 03, 2024•1 hr 10 min
What happens when companies outside financial services are required to comply with regulations such as AML (Anti-Money Laundering) ? As we all know from our personal experiences of banks that want to verify who we are and where money is coming from or going to, the rules are complex. That’s challenging enough if you’re a bank. But if you’re an art dealer, a real estate agent or someone else working in the field of high-value goods, that’s even harder. Particularly if the rules aren’t something y...
Jan 28, 2024•55 min
Authenticity is often praised, and inauthenticity is criticised. We want people to be themselves. But what happens if the society we’re in isn’t supportive or even hostile toward who we really are? Or we don’t yet know. That’s the challenge facing many LGBTQ+ people in relation to coming out . It’s the subject of a brand new book called ‘ Countless Sleepless Nights ’ which tells the real-life stories of people who, because of their sexuality, have had to or are dealing with the challenges of whe...
Jan 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min
What’s the most effective way to manage cyber risk? The obvious answer is to have more sophisticated security systems. My guest on this episode thinks the answer is humans. That’s because behind every cyber attack, there is a human, and the biggest point of vulnerability within an organisation is its humans. If we can better understand humans and how they behave, we can be more effective at managing cyber risk. That’s the view of my guest on this episode, Sarah Armstrong-Smith . She’s the Chief ...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min
What determines the price of an item or service? How can we price things so that people want to buy them but also so that we feel it’s fair? Whether (like me) you’re in business and have to sell, or you’re negotiating a salary or looking to buy or sell a house or a car, pricing matters. My guest on this episode, Melina Palmer , is the author of a new book, The Truth About Pricing: How to Apply Behavioral Economics So Customers Buy (Value Based Pricing, What Your Buyer Values). She’s also the hos...
Jan 08, 2024•59 min
What drives the choices we make, and how can we influence the choices that others make? On this episode, I’m speaking to an expert in human decision-making. Richard Shotton is a behavioural science practitioner who has written two best-selling books, ‘ The Choice Factory ’ and ‘ The Illusion of Choice ’. Having begun his career in marketing, Richard now helps companies apply behavioural science to solve problems, particularly, as the titles of his books imply, when it comes to influencing the ch...
Dec 31, 2023•1 hr
How can we manage people who are doing creative work? On the one hand, letting someone do what they want feels incredibly risky. On the other hand, creativity requires a degree of freedom, experimentation and agency. That’s a particular problem in the creative fields, but it’s also a broader challenge. In the 21st century, the jobs people are doing are increasingly ones that require some element of creativity. Creativity is that it doesn’t always lend itself to being managed in traditional ways....
Dec 16, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Why do we sometimes make bad decisions in relation to money and what can we do about it? My guest, Vishal George , is a Behavioural Scientist who has recently published a book called ‘ Money Mindsets: Science-Based Stories to Rewire your Money Beliefs, Goals, & Habits ’. In it, he explores that he way we behave when it comes to money, comes from beliefs about it, that we’ve adopted from our families, socio-cultural environment, and significant life events. They’re almost like scripts that ar...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min
What do you think of when you hear the word ' error '? It's highly likely you'll think of it negatively as a defect. The obvious way to manage defects, particularly in safety-critical industries, is to have detailed procedures, strict compliance, and zero tolerance for errors. But we know that this doesn't always work. After all, if it did, we'd have far fewer errors. My guest on this episode takes a different approach. He specializes in helping organizations, particularly safety-critical ones w...
Nov 27, 2023•1 hr 11 min
What are museums, and what purpose do they serve? As a regular museum-goer — both when I’m travelling and also at home when I need distraction or creative inspiration — I’m always intrigued, both by what they show and how they show it. If you’ve been following my Compliance In The Wild series on LinkedIn (example post here ) you’ll know that museums regularly feature as they often contain fabulous examples of Human Risk and the methods we use to mitigate it. My guest on this episode is Dr Freddi...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 7 min
What is it like to grow up in a country that no longer exists? That's the challenge faced by my guest Katja Hoyer. She grew up in the GDR, the German Democratic Republic. Or as most of us think of it, East Germany. While most histories of the country focus on the political decision-making or things that are most extraordinary — for example, the Stasi, the East German secret police or dramatic escapes over the Berlin Wall — Katja wanted to write a more human history. In her book 'Beyond The Wall'...
Nov 12, 2023•1 hr 12 min
What is the Monday Revolution, and why do we need it? On this episode, I'm speaking to someone who used to run a company that grabbed a lot of my attention during my teenage and younger years. That company was Capital Radio — at the time, London's largest radio station — and that person is David Mansfield . After being CEO of Capital and its successor company, GCap Media, he went on to advise a number of other successful companies, including Carphone Warehouse and Game Group. Nowadays, as well a...
Oct 31, 2023•1 hr 10 min
How can lying earn you millions? If you’re an actor and good at impersonating people, then the answer is that you become a corporate spy. That’s the unexpected career path followed by my guest Robert Kerbeck , whose memoir ‘ Ruse: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street! ’ tells the story of how it happened. And on this episode, he joins me to talk about some of the behavioural dynamics behind his fascinating life. Robert didn’t grow up wanting to become a spy. He just wanted out ...
Oct 21, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Why can senior leaders — usually in post as a result of experience and expertise — often make mistakes? The answer might seem counterintuitive; it’s precisely because of their experience and expertise that this can happen. How that happens and what we can do to mitigate it, the subject of this epsiode. My guest is Dr Constance Dierickx , who is also known as the Decision Doctor. She’s also the authr of a new book called ‘Meta Leadership: How To See What Others Don’t And Make Great Decisions ’. I...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Why is some software a real pain to use? How does it happen, and what can we do to make it not happen? On this episode, I’m speaking with Sebastian Lees , an experienced software developer with a keen interest in making things more human-centric. We often think of computers as making our lives easier and reducing human risk. Yet, poor design and a lack of thinking about the humans that will use it can actually increase rather than decrease human risk. In our discussion, amongst other things, we ...
Oct 07, 2023•1 hr 4 min
What is trickle-down safety? On this episode, I’m finding out with two safety specialists who help me to explroe what it means and why it’s relevant to other fields. By safety, I mean the kind that saves people’s lives on building sites,not the cyber kind. My guests are James MacPherson and Elisa Lynch. James is a safety professional who works across multiple industries, including manufacturing and construction. He operates his own consultancy called Risk Fluent and also runs an app called Risk ...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 9 min
