Transcription
You probably think that your TV, computer, or the phone you're using right now to watch this video produces millions of colors, but it doesn't. It produces only three: red, green, and blue. Your screen is designed to hack your brain by mixing these primary three colors. A new color is created in your head. The screen is designed for humans. In other words, your dog thinks that your TV is awful because dogs can only detect two colors, whereas humans can detect three colors. Pigeons, on the other hand, can detect five colors, and one of them is ultraviolet.
Just like you can create a new color in a human brain, you can do the exact same thing and create new things without actually creating them in real life. You can make something bad look good and make something good look bad. I know you're thinking that this is some kind of scammy psychological trick, but it's not. It is science-based. Rory Sutherland, the author of the book titled Alchemy, calls this process intervention. Intervention is similar to innovation, but instead of creating something new in the physical world, you create it in the brain. In this video, I will share with you seven amazing takeaways from that book.
Takeaway number one: Perception is reality. In 2009, Eurostar, a train company, was losing customers to airlines. So they asked, "How do I make the journey from London to Paris better?" And what was the solution engineers came up with? Well, they spent over eight billion dollars and built completely new train tracks, which reduced the total travel time by 40 minutes, from 3 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes. A psychological way to solve that problem would be to stop looking at the quantity of time and start looking at the quality of time. So, what could they have done? They could have transformed the trip into a better experience. For example, they could install Wi-Fi in the trains for a fraction of that money, which, by the way, they didn't do for another 10 years. Or they could have spent only one billion dollars and hired the world's most gorgeous male and female supermodels and paid them to serve free champagne throughout the journey. Sounds ridiculous, but this could be a much cheaper solution, and people would ask for the train to slow down.
We perceive time differently depending on what we do during that time. For example, you have probably said things like, "That was the longest five minutes of my life," or "I didn't know how one hour passed." Now, look at your own business or job and see how you can apply this knowledge. For example, maybe you can redesign the waiting room in your office so that your customers can do some fun things and forget about waiting.
Here's another thing about time: we absolutely hate waiting in uncertainty. You can reduce time not by reducing it, but by reducing the uncertainty of it. Compare Uber to taxis, for example. You probably feel like Uber gets to you really faster than a taxi. The thing is, Uber didn't necessarily reduce the time it takes for the car to get to you. Instead, they reduced the uncertainty of how long you had to wait. How? By showing you a map where you can see where the driver is and have an estimated arrival time. You feel more in control and less anxious about waiting. We're happier waiting 10 minutes for a car knowing it'll take 10 minutes than waiting five minutes for a car in a state of uncertainty. Humans hate uncertainty. So, if you can find a way to reduce it, then you surely have a valuable product or service in your hands.
If you look at problems psychologically rather than logically, you come up with different answers that may be better and cost even less. For example, in the UK, if you buy a Ferrari, they'll deliver it to your local dealership for free, which is pretty cool. But there's also a second option: they call it the factory tour. Here's how it works: you pay 500 pounds to visit the Ferrari factory, and you have to travel at your own expense. But get this: at the end of the tour, you get to drive your brand new Ferrari off the factory lot and take it home. So, what they have done has nothing to do with reality. Reality hasn't changed at all, but by calling it a tour of the factory, they've gotten you to pay 500 pounds and pick up your own car.
One more example from the car industry: Rolls-Royce made their cars cheaper by changing the context in which they were exhibited. They used to exhibit them at car shows as usual, but there, they looked absurdly expensive compared to the other cars. So they came up with a very smart move: they stopped taking the cars to car shows and started exhibiting them at yacht and plane shows instead. Now, if you've been looking at airplanes and boats all afternoon, a 250,000 car looks pretty cheap in comparison.
One final example: a lot of businesses fail not because their product is bad, but because they don't know how to sell it. One great example is the English Royal Mail. It's actually a very good service. The percentage of first-class letters and mail delivered overnight in the UK is 97%. They wanted to improve it even more and reach 98.5%. Unfortunately, it imposed huge costs on the system and almost broke it. The funny thing is that if you went and asked people what percentage of first-class mail arrived the next day, the typical answers ranged from 40 to 80%. No one said 97%. This proves that the problem was with their perception of the service, and not with the service itself. If perception is much worse than reality, then why are you trying to improve reality instead of improving perception? What they should have done was simple: just advertise and let people know how good their product is. That's why it makes no sense to focus on the product and forget marketing. People need to get a great product, but they also need to believe they're getting a great product.
Takeaway number two: Small interventions can have a significant impact. We often assume that complex problems require complex solutions, but sometimes a small, seemingly trivial intervention can have a significant impact. For example, instead of spending a lot of money to make elevators faster, you can install mirrors. Mirrors keep you distracted and avoid boredom, therefore the ride seems faster than it actually is.
Another example: let's suppose you're a doctor, and your patients have the terrible habit of abandoning antibiotic treatment as soon as their symptoms subside. The rational solution is to tell them about how dangerous that is, maybe with a small biology class explaining how bacteria can get stronger. You can make them scared and create real fear of becoming badly ill. Or you can find a much easier solution. Instead of giving them 24 white pills, give them 18 white pills and 6 blue ones. Tell them to take the white pills first and only then take the blue ones. By chunking it, they'll feel like this is a process divided into two stages. The likelihood that people will get to the end is much greater when there is a milestone somewhere in the middle.
Let me give you a personal example: sometimes I see someone taking one of my videos and publishing it as is. The only thing they change is usually one word in the title or a tiny change in the thumbnail. Guess what? That video performs better than mine. I was angry and at the same time fascinated by this because I couldn't understand how the exact same video could perform better on their channel, where they didn't even have 10 subscribers. But now I understand: it is the tiny changes that make all the difference.
Takeaway number three: The opposite of a good idea is a good idea. In science, there are right answers and wrong answers. The opposite of a correct answer is a wrong answer. Five times two equals ten. Any answer that is not ten is wrong. But in psychology and marketing, this rule might not apply. The opposite of a good idea can still be a good idea. For example, if you go to a restaurant, you expect polite and welcoming treatment. The opposite of polite behavior is rude behavior, and there are some restaurants that have made rudeness part of their service. If you visit one of such restaurants, the waitress will bring the food and throw it in front of you and say rude things to your face. Somehow, when you make rudeness part of your culture and people expect to be treated badly, then it becomes a fun experience, and people are happy to pay for it. Take Red Bull, for example. It is the opposite of Coca-Cola. It tastes strange, comes in a tiny can, and costs several times more than cola. Everybody would laugh at you if you told them that you were going to develop a drink that you would make taste strange on purpose, charge two to three times more for it, but sell it in a tiny can so that people could get very little drink for their money. But that is Red Bull, and it is successful.
Takeaway number four: Ask stupid questions because nobody else will. Sometimes the solution to a problem lies in asking what we would consider a stupid question, the kind of question everyone thinks they know the answer to. Asking unconventional or even stupid questions can lead to breakthrough insights and innovative solutions. Let's take a super common example: taking your child to the doctor. Why do you take your child to the doctor when they get sick? I know it sounds like a very silly question, but bear with me. Is it because they are ill and you want them to get better? You obviously want them to feel better, but many more motivations lie beneath this apparently rational behavior. What people are mostly seeking when they go to the doctor is not treatment, but reassurance. More than a treatment, you want the doctor to tell you that your child will be okay. If you have children, you know most times your child has a fever is because of a cold or just a silly virus they caught from other children at kindergarten, and that their bodies will fix it by themselves. That doesn't change the fact that you want to hear the pediatrician telling you that it's nothing big. Most people will go to the doctor even if they're not sick, just to make sure things are okay. The only reason someone would do something like that is reassurance. And the best proof is that you don't see people visiting the dentist for no reason, do you? Well, you know the dentist will do something, even if it's just a dental cleaning.
Most people don't want to look stupid, which is why they don't ask stupid questions, but they can help you to uncover powerful insights. There can be an extraordinary competitive advantage if you create a small space in your business for people to test things that don't make sense. The great value of experimenting outside of the rationale is that most of your competitors will be too scared to go there.
Takeaway number five: Don't design for the average. Designing for the average person may seem like a safe bet, but it can lead to failure. That's because almost nobody is actually average. Think of it this way: some adults are two meters high, others are 1.3 meters. This means that the average person would be 1.65 meters. If you design something, let's say pants, for example, for a 1.65 person, it'll fit them great. But will they fit the two-meter person? Will they fit the 1.3-meter person? Probably not. And we're not even taking into consideration average weight. Designing something for the average person is like trying to create one-size-fits-all pants. It might fit some people okay, but in reality, it will fit very few people perfectly. Just like how everyone's body is unique, everyone's preferences and needs are also unique. If you try to design something for the average person, well, there's a chance your product won't be absolutely hated, but it won't be loved either. Instead of trying to make something that everyone will like, it's better to focus on a specific group of people who have unique needs or preferences. If you can make something that these people really love, they'll tell all their friends and help to make your product a success. An interesting example of that is Harry Potter. The story was created for English 11-year-old boys but became so popular among their audience that it leaked into other audiences too, and today it's a story loved by people of all ages and countries.
Takeaway number six: People don't see the world objectively. I need to create an advertisement for a car, and I don't know which one to choose. Which option would you recommend? Option A is to create an ad that shows the car, shows how beautiful it is outside and how spacious it is inside, and talks about the powerful and fast engine and the comfortable seats. Option B shows the car racing along the African Savannah, side by side with a big cat such as a lion. If you think option B will be more successful, you're probably right. And the reason is more simple than it looks: there's an animal in it. It's been proven that advertisements with beautiful or fluffy animals simply do better than advertisements without them, whatever the product is. Now, if I'm buying a car, I should probably take things like comfort, power, and space into consideration. Then why is it that I allow myself to make my choice based on that cute big cat instead of all the objective features of the product? The reason has to do with your unconscious mind. We do things for reasons that we consciously know nothing about. If you ask someone why they're doing something, they will obviously give you a reason, but that doesn't mean that is the actual reason. The founder of the Ford car company, Henry Ford, once said, "If I asked people what they want, they would say a faster horse."
We assume that people perceive the world objectively and that people see clearly and think logically all the time, but that is just not true. We don't see the world as it is; we see the world according to what it means to us. Subjective experiences are valuable and can be as important as objective data in making decisions. If you own a business or are a leader, you need to have that in mind at all times. Even if you're not dealing with the business context, you solve problems all the time. You solve problems with your partner, and your co-workers, and with your friends. And thinking in psychological terms will help you remember what people say is not always what they mean, and doesn't always translate into what they feel or what they intend to do.
Takeaway number seven: It doesn't pay to be logical if everybody else is being logical. There's one thing that is very interesting about military strategy: it never makes a lot of sense. Of course, if you track back to all steps taken by an army during an attack, for example, you'll realize that in the end, there was a clear goal and steps taken to get there. But the thing is, there were also diversions along the way. The reason is that if the military act logically, they'll become predictable, and you don't want your enemy to be aware of your every move, do you?
Businesses that follow a predictable path also become obsolete quickly. They just become the same as everyone else. This happens because even if you have initial success, soon everyone will know what you're doing and will be doing the same as you. To be successful, it's essential to think differently, creatively, and innovatively. The author says, instead of copying your competitors because whatever they're doing is working, find out what they are doing wrong. What are the flaws in their strategies? Identify their shortcomings and exploit them to your advantage. That way, you can develop a unique selling point that makes people want to choose you over anyone else. For example, if you plan to write a book, find similar books to the one you want to write and read all the one and two-star reviews. If you want to open a YouTube channel, then read the comments and see what people complain about and what they want to see but no one is providing.
According to the author, many of the solutions of the future will probably come from psychology, not from logic and rationale. We don't live in the Middle Ages anymore. Most of the problems that require logical solutions have already been found. The remaining problems are highly likely to be logic-proof, meaning they can't be solved with logic. If there was a logical solution, we would have already found it by now.
This is it for this video. I've summarized several psychological books similar to this one. If you found this video interesting, then check out the playlist you see on your screen. Finally, thank you for spending your valuable time on my channel. The most important currency in this world is time. You just spent some of it watching this video. I hope it was worth it. Have a nice day.