I believe in books. Not a rare sentiment, sure, but I would like to take this opportunity to plug one of the books that has helped us along the way. Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath is a book about how to achieve changes; how to affect change in your life, your company and even broader social change. Specifically, I want discuss just one little concept from the book and how it jives with our way of thinking. With that said, the book is full of valuable and actionable advice so we recommend you give it a read [or a listen].
“Script the Critical Move”
Let’s take an example right out of the text and give a closer look to one of the most iconic campaigns in American health history, the infamous Food Pyramid. When you were introduced to the Food Pyramid do you remember your eating habits changing? The answer is probably no, but to identify the reason why you have to ask the right question. What’s the first step of the food pyramid? Ah-ha! There isn’t one. The designers of this masterpiece plopped some information into the shape of a triangle [aren’t pyramids by definition 3-dimensional?!] and put it in front of every American. Call it what you want: an actionable step, a call to action, a critical move; either way it was missing. The point is, they failed to “script the critical move.”
Our system allows you to log your health behaviors each day, one quick touch at a time. The ease of this method is valuable. But where is the direction? That is the right question. And there is direction a-plenty for users with all different motivators. The natural leader is driven to push his or her compatriots to complete the Team Challenge each week. The self-motivator has a need to fill the personal Health Meter each and every day. The instant gratification of the points system and medals delight the impatient sort. The dashboard helps teach the more emotionally driven to focus on behaviors that improve their mood and energy level. Even the office jokesters get to have their fun with lines like “hey pal, go nudge yourself,” and “whoa, two cookies? You better put that on Nudge.” Missing are features for the sake of features. Present is a system designed to appeal to real people who want help improving or maintaining their health.
The scripted moves are there for your intrinsic motivation to uncover, and the interactive nature of the app keeps you on track. In other words, we designed Nudge to leverage your inner drive allowing you to draw your own roadmap to better health. The big positive changes take hold one little Switch at a time. It just takes a little Nudge to get started. And that’s the critical move.
Sales Note:
Of course, to see the details behind how Nudge works you’ll have to see it in action. And to do that, you’ll just have to find a way to get your company signed up. We are taking on a limited number of clients while in beta testing so drop us a line on our contact page to let us know you’re interested!
@philbeene @TeamNudge @macgambill
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