The Human Risk Podcast

Why do we have arguments & why might they actually be a good thing?That's what my guest, Ian Leslie, explores in his new book Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together. In it, he explains how conflict is the secret of happy relationships, the way companies can build collaborative cultures and what lies behind some of the greatest scientific and creative breakthroughs.Ian’s first career was in advertising, as a creative strategist for some of the world’s biggest brands, at ad agencies in London and New York. Nowadays he’s a writer and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. He’s also got a wonderful newsletter - details below.To find out more about Ian, visit his website - http://ian-leslie.com/For more on Conflicted see - http://ian-leslie.com/conflicted/To subscribe to Ian's excellent newsletter The Ruffian - https://ianleslie.substack.com/

What are companies here to do? Make profit? Or is there something more? That's what my guest on this episode, John Rosling, is here to help me find out.On previous episodes, I've explored the idea that companies don't always get the best out of their employees, and that a lot of human risk crystallises within organisations, because of the disconnect between individual priorities and the stated organisational priorities.John is the CEO of Contexis, a company that helps large organizations become more effective and productive. Their passion is around purpose in business and how companies can measure it. John's view is that if you get organisational purpose right, then you can drive human productivity, human happiness and organisational effectiveness. By implication, therefore, also reduce human risk.In a career spanning over 30 years, John has worked at large companies such as Unilever and Diageo, as well as smaller startups. In our discussion, we explore what Purpose is, why it matters and what we can do to ensure organizations have it.For more on John & Contexis 👉 https://www.contexis.com/imt_team/john-rosling/

How is our perception of risk impacted by ethical dynamics? That's what I'm exploring on this episode with my guest Dr Cailin O'Connor.She's the co-author of a recent draft research paper that highlights some interesting findings in relation to the risk perception of COVID. The paper explains that research subjects thought that people were less at risk of COVID infection when engaged in morally good actions, and more likely to catch COVID while doing morally bad things. In other words, people’s risk judgments are systematically skewed. Cailin is a philosopher of biology and behavioral sciences, philosopher of science, and evolutionary game theorist. She’s an Associate Professor in the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science and a member of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Science at UC Irvine.On this episode, I speak to Cailin about the COVID research, before moving on to look at two other areas of her work. We explore previous work she’s done on Misinformation and some future work she’s interested in exploring around how healthcare risks are communicated. For reasons she explains, she’s got a personal interest in it.To read the Twitter thread that drew my attention to the paper: https://twitter.com/cailinmeister/status/1390821582726066176?s=20You'll find the research pre-print here: https://osf.io/preprints/metaarxiv/d64a8For more on Cailin and her areas of research: http://cailinoconnor.com/Cailin's co-authored book on Misinformation, called The Misinformation Age: http://cailinoconnor.com/the-misinformation-age/

This episode is the second half of a discussion between Paul Craven & Gerald Ashley. If you haven't listened to the first half (🎧 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/gerald-ashley-paul-craven-on-statistics-spreadsheets-scam-artists/) then I highly recommend you do so, though the episode does work on a standalone basis.On this episode, Paul & Gerald discuss:Ergodicity - hear my previous guest Luca Dellanna on this 🎧 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/luca-dellanna-on-ergodicity/Taylor Pearson on Russian Roulette - https://taylorpearson.me/ergodicity/John Allen Paulos - https://math.temple.edu/~paulos/Behaviour Lab - https://behaviourlab.com/Danish Physicist Per Bak - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_BakStonehenge - https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/Matt Ridley - https://www.mattridley.co.uk/Cicero, On The Good Life - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/260941/on-the-good-life-by-marcus-tullius-cicero/Herbert Simon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_A._SimonTim Marshall, Prisoners of Geography - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Prisoners-of-Geography/Tim-Marshall/9781501121470To find out more about my two guestsGerald: http://www.geraldashley.com/Paul: https://www.paulcraven.com/Previous episodes of this show featuring Gerald and Paul:Gerald - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/gerald-ashley-on-uncertainty/Gerald & Rory Sutherland Part One - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/rory-sutherland-gerald-ashley-on-networks-part-i/Gerald & Rory Sutherland Part Two - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/gerald-ashley-rory-sutherland-on-prosilience/Paul - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/paul-craven-on-magic-money-the-mind/

What do Statistics, Spreadsheets & Scam Artists have in common? They're all topics that my guests on this episode, Gerald Ashley & Paul Craven discuss as they explore how we make decisions. Both Gerald and Paul have previously appeared on the show (links below) - Gerald as an individual and a 'head to head' with Rory Sutherland and Paul as an individual guest. Since the episode with Gerald and Rory, proved to be so popular, I thought I'd invite Gerald and Paul onto the show together. This episode forms Part One of their discussion.Gerald specialises in Business Risk and Decision Making. His work concentrates on trying to understand decision making, risk-taking and human behaviour, in the face of uncertainty.Paul is an expert in behavioural science, decision making, investment and psychology, applying the inner operations of the mind to the economic worldSome of the topics, Gerald and Paul discuss include:- Kasparov vs Deep Blue Chess match: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_versus_Garry_Kasparov- Gerd Gigerenzer, a researcher and author on risk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Gigerenzer- Herbert Simon on Satisficing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisficing- 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', a book (and movie & TV series) by John LeCarre:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_Tailor_Soldier_Spy- Frank Abagnale's 'Catch Me If You Can' (also a movie): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_Me_If_You_Can_(book)- Richard Littlejohn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Littlejohn- The Bavelas Experiments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_BavelasTo find out more about my two guestsGerald: http://www.geraldashley.com/Paul: https://www.paulcraven.com/Previous episodes of this show featuring Gerald and Paul:Gerald - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/gerald-ashley-on-uncertainty/Gerald & Rory Sutherland Part One - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/rory-sutherland-gerald-ashley-on-networks-part-i/Gerald & Rory Sutherland Part Two - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/gerald-ashley-rory-sutherland-on-prosilience/Paul - https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/paul-craven-on-magic-money-the-mind/

Why are many of the laws & regulations that are put in place, either ineffective or counter-productive? How can we make them more effective?That's the question that my guest on this episode, Professor Benjamin van Rooij of Amsterdam University, explores in a new book he's co-authored with Professor Adam Fine. The book isn't out until later this year, but Benjamin kindly agreed to join me to tell me more about it.Benjamin first appeared on the show last year, looking at COVID Compliance — exploring the effectiveness of government attempts to influence our behaviour. You'll find that episode here: 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/professor-benjamin-van-rooij-on-covid-compliance/On this episode, we catch up on his COVID research and then discuss his new book The Behavioural Code. You can find out more about that here 👉https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/676270/the-behavioral-code-by-benjamin-van-rooij/In our discussion, Benjamin highlights some of the ways in which the law influences us in ways we might not realise and explores how some traditional ideas about how we can get people to behave in a particular way are flawed - they either don't work or are counter-productive.What he has to say is fascinating for people whose job involves influencing others — so Compliance, Legal, Audit, HR, Comms — but also for each of us as citizens. With a better understanding of what works from a legal perspective, we can make smarter decisions about who we vote for.To learn more about Benjamin's work, visit his website 👉https://www.uva.nl/profiel/r/o/b.vanrooij/b.vanrooij.html?cbYou can also find him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/benfuzi

How can companies be better at managing the strategic risks they face in an uncertain world?This episode is part two of my discussion with Hans Læssøe on Strategic Risk. If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/hans-lassoe-on-strategic-risk-part-one/ - then I recommend that you do that first.Having explored how Hans’ career evolved in Part 1 of our discussion, in this episode we look in more detail at the techniques and principles which Hans uses in his work. Hans now works as an independent risk consultant and trainer. You can find out more about his work 👉https://aktus.dk/

How can companies be better at managing the strategic risks they face in an uncertain world? My guest on this episode Hans Læssøe, spent over 35 years working for Lego. He held a variety of roles within the company, culminating in being responsible for developing and running Lego’s Strategic Risk Management program. In other words, helping Lego Senior Management to better understand and mitigate the risks they face on a strategic level — the things that could derail their ability to deliver those little bricks into our hands and keep themselves in business.In this, Part One of our discussion — Part Two is in the next episode of the podcast —we explore how Hans came to work at Lego and head the risk function. He also explains how he approaches uncertainty and the key techniques that can be deployed to manage Strategic Risk. Hans now works as an independent risk consultant and trainer. You can find out more about his work 👉https://aktus.dk/

What is Clubhouse and why should you care? Clubhouse is a new(wish!) social media network that is focused on live audio content. The audio element isn’t the only thing that differentiates Clubhouse from other networks. It also offers a very different user experience - one that relies heavily on Behavioural Science. As an active user of Clubhouse, for professional and personal reasons, I’m fascinated by the opportunities it offers and the BeSci that’s been used to drive the user experience. Even if you’re not a user of social media, you’ll be aware of the impact it is having on human decision-making. In a previous episode, I spoke with Evelyn Gosnell and Lindsay Juarez - two behavioural Scientists who helped one social media network, TikTok, to limit the spread of unverified information. You can hear that 🎧 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/evelyn-gosnell-lindsay-juarez-on-reducing-the-spread-of-misinformation-on-social-media/On this episode, I'm joined by Dr Ali Fenwick who has just published a book on Clubhouse called “Everything you need to know about Clubhouse: What is it, why should you care, and how to get started?: The Ultimate Guide”. It’s a user guide, a behavioural analysis of how it works and a competitor analysis that explores how it is positioned against the other platforms. You can find a link to that here 👉 https://www.hult.edu/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-clubhouse/. It’s a user guide, a behavioural analysis of how it works and a competitor analysis that explores how it is positioned against the other platforms.Ali is Professor of Organizational Behavior and Innovation at Hult Business School, where his research focuses on the behavioural foundations of organizations and management and explores how psychological interventions can be applied within the (digital) workplace to increase employee well-being and organizational performance. He’s also a Behavioural Science practitioner working with business, education, government & NGOs.To find out more about Ali 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/afenwick/Whether you’re an experienced Clubhouse user, waiting to get access - if so get in touch with me via www.human-risk.com - have never heard of it, or have absolutely no interest in joining it, what Ali reveals will be of interest to you. Because the techniques he describes, aren’t just being deployed by social media. They influence our decision-making in other fields as well. What you’ll also hear is a positive argument for social media, because as Ali points out many of the benefits that Clubhouse offers are socially beneficial. At least for now.If you’re on Clubhouse, you can find me @humanrisk 👉 https://clubhousedb.com/user/humanriskDo join me for my regular slots in:The Behavioral Hacks Club 👉 https://clubhousedb.com/club/1244868721-behavioral-hacksThe Diversifi BeSci Network 👉 https://clubhousedb.com/club/650742502-diversifi-global-networkThe PivotPoint Ideas Lab 👉 https://clubhousedb.com/club/565255043-the-pivot-point-ideas-lab

How can Behavioural Science help us to better plan for the future? That's the subject of a new book by Dr Grace Lordan, who is my guest on this episode. In Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want, she explores how Behavioural Science can get us closer to to the life we’d like to live.Whether you fantasise about changing industry, landing a big promotion, writing a screenplay, setting up your own company or starting your own podcast (a terrible idea by the way 😉) Think Big has some practical Behavioural Science infused ideas for how to go about it. In our discussion, we explore how she came to write the book and what she learned from writing it.For more on Thing Big 👀👉https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/315/315350/think-big/9780241420164.htmlGrace is the Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative, Director of the MSc in Behavioural Science and an Associate Professor in Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. For more about her 👉https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/People/Dr-Grace-LordanGrace previously appeared on the podcast in these episodes:Cognitive Diversity & Privilege 🎧 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/dr-grace-lordan-on-privilege-cognitive-diversity/Inclusion 🎧 👉 https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/dr-grace-lordan-on-inclusion/