The Irrational Mind | With Kristen Berman

Nupur Kantamneni, responsible for Consumer Product, discusses the behavioral strategies used by Affirm for their flexible buy now pay later model. Topics covered include understanding payment terms, mental models for onboarding experiences, the appeal of zero interest, revenue generation, and aligning incentives. The podcast also explores the compromise effect, surprises in user onboarding, missed payments handling, partnerships, and the pros and cons of buy-now-pay-later.

Product leaders at Match discuss the science behind creating successful profiles and improving user engagement. They cover topics such as profile engineering, onboarding process, common mistakes in dating, messaging features, and the future of dating apps.

Kira Wampler, a product launching expert, discusses her time at Lyft and the brand's philosophy of treating better. She shares insights on the successful Undercover Lyft program and the incentives that built trust with new drivers. The implementation of a tipping system and the complexity of Lyft's choice architecture are also discussed. Kira's current efforts in the healthcare sector and the work of Jasper, a smart planner for cancer care, are explored too.

Bert Lui, Co-founder & CPO at SetSail, discusses the trade-offs between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations in sales, the impact of charisma on sales, and the pros and cons of quotas. They also explore how SetSail motivates sales reps with incentives and visibility, reduces the fear of rejection, experiments with compensation and tracking behaviors, and looks into the future of sales with real-time feedback and different incentives.

Letting a person into your home involves a careful evaluation process, but with the right behavioral principles, it can become a task that you can easily perform from your smartphone. In this episode, the talented Product Leader Jiaona Zhang shares the most significant lessons learned while being part of the Product Development team in Airbnb, such as the importance of progress trackers, real time feedback and host measurement beyond the guest reviews. Listen and learn how to build experiences that delight and bring the best out of each user!Jump straight into:(01:10) - Today’s guest Jiaona Zhang introduction.(02:30) - Consider using progress trackers: Insights from the onboarding flow design for hosts at Airbnb.(09:03) - Trying to hit the mark: The science that makes uploading photos to Airbnb a less daunting experience.(10:59) - Rapid and relevant feedback: How Airbnb achieves small incremental changes in hosts' behavior and deals with bad experiences.(17:00) - Enabling more honest reviews: The secret sauce behind the rating system development in Airbnb.(23:07) - Measurement beyond the ratings: How response time impacts the way in which the app measures each host (and how that measurement improves the host behavior).(27:47) - Carrots and sticks: The value of public recognition and enhancing the communication between guests and hosts.(32:36) - Micro learnings from setting new norms: The link between interaction and comfort (and providing guests the choice to interact).(35:38) - Everyone wants to be delighted: Lessons from Jiaona’s early gaming experience that have impacted her PM skills.(40:11) - A spirit of optimization: What change has Airbnb established over the last 10 years?Episode resourcesConnect with JZ through LinkedIn and TwitterThank you for listening to The Science of Change. Reach out to Kristen through LinkedIn and visit The Irrational Labs website for more information on behavioral science. This show is presented by SetSail (follow on LinkedIn) and produced by Irrational Labs and Studio Pod Media. Our executive producer is Rachael Roberts, all episodes are written by Kristen Berman and Ying Lin with expert script editing by Jack Buehrer. Special thanks Lydia Trupe for fact checking and citations.

It’s well known that Netflix has made history by revolutionizing the way we consume and interact with TV series and movies. This process has required considerable experimentation and result testing, leading to the invention of a past time we now know and love: binge-watching. In this episode, Gibson Biddle, one of the leaders who established the fundamentals for Netflix success joins the show to have an insightful conversation from what predicts our movie preferences to conversion rates of free trials. We also get into a light chat on the ethics of autoplay and deep dive into the theory of revealed preferences. Ready for some Netflix and chill with Gibson and host Kristen Berman? Click the play button and enjoy this new episode of The Science of Change!Jump straight into:(01:10) - Introducing Gibson Biddle: A product leader who helped pave the way to success at Netflix.(02:46) - Early test results focused on retention improvement: Why waiting and anticipating may be the key to maximizing happiness from an experience.(09:45) - Non-intuitive preferences, enjoyment, and prediction errors: Is movie rating actually helping Netflix improve retention?(15:23) - Past behavior makes future choices: The essential data behind movie taste prediction.(17:33) - Revealed preferences and the effects of highlighting movies and shows: How much of my taste is determined by the algorithm?(23:43) - The radical binge-watch invention: A conscious perspective on the efficiency of episodic TV formats.(27:42) - Rapid-fire questions: Adapting the algorithm, the value of new members, free trial reminders, and Gibson’s career on A/B testing for consumer behavior research.(37:07) - Positive actions payback: Explaining reciprocity principles and quitting brand benefits to grow trust in consumers.(39:49) - The balancing act between discipline and chaos: Gibson’s career advice on constant experimentation. Episode resourcesConnect with Gibson through Twitter and LinkedInGibson Biddle: Product Leadership & StrategyThank you for listening to The Science of Change. Reach out to Kristen through LinkedIn and visit The Irrational Labs website for more information on behavioral science. This show is presented by SetSail (follow on LinkedIn) and produced by Kristen Berman and Studio Pod Media. The executive producer is Rachael Roberts. All episodes are written by Jack Bueher. Music and editing provided by nodalab. 

Next week, behavioral scientist and co-founder of Irrational Labs Kristen Berman returns. This time, she’s sitting down with even more product pioneers and thought leaders from your favorite apps. You’ll hear conversations with guests like former Netflix product head Gibson Biddle as Kristen gets to the bottom of binge-watching. Listen to marketing powerhouse Kira Wampler breaking down how Lyft got us to ride in cars with strangers. VP of Webflow and former product leader at Airbnb explains how their review system created trust for both hosts and guests alike. And CPO Bert Lui from SetSail is changing the sales game, with an all new incentive system - rooted in none other than behavior science. And that’s just the beginning. What do these conversations tell us about our own behavior? What can we learn from the impact these apps have had on how we behave? And what tactics could be beneficial to your product? Kristen answers these questions and more with this 8-episode run taking us from February to mid April. So get ready to deep dive into The Science of Change! This show is presented by SetSail and produced by Kristen Berman and Studio Pod Media. The executive producer is Rachel Roberts. All episodes are written by Jack Bueher. Music and editing provided by nodalab.

The Science of Change host and behavior scientist Kristen Berman is back again to save you from another classic holiday blunder: not keeping your New Year's Resolution. In this mini-isode, Kristen breaks down three behavior science principles that will help make sure your resolution sticks in 2022. Hint: one might involve getting a furry friend. But the best resolution of all? Make sure you follow and like The Science of Change for all-new episodes starting this January. Episode resourcesThank you for listening to The Science of Change. Reach out to Kristen through LinkedIn and visit The Irrational Labs website for more information on behavioral science. This show is presented by SetSail and produced by Kristen Berman and Studio Pod Media. The executive producer is Rachel Roberts. All episodes are written by Jack Bueher. Music and editing provided by nodalab. 

The holidays are here and that means it’s the season for gift giving! But how can you make sure you’re giving the right gift this year? In this mini-sode, our host Kristen Berman uses behavior science to unwrap three common mistakes we make in exchanging gifts, as well as some tips on how to avoid them. Remember not all gifts are bought, sometimes we can put our creativity to work and think of something to give that will contribute to someone else's life in an unexpected way. Let's jump in!Episode resourcesThank you for listening to The Science of Change. Reach out to Kristen through LinkedIn and visit The Irrational Labs website for more information on behavioral science. This show is presented by SetSail and produced by Kristen Berman and Studio Pod Media. The executive producer is Rachel Roberts. All episodes are written by Jack Bueher. Music and editing provided by nodalab. 

Who said numbers ain’t fun? When it comes to football and sports in general, many fans try to develop a new way to connect with the game through analytics and predictions based on stats. Data research has become so important that it now determines how teams make decisions and how they operate as a whole, defining what their strategy is and even becoming the key to winning a championship. In this episode, host Kristen Berman talks with Eric Eager, VP of Research and Development at Pro Football Focus to discover the many ways in which they're changing the game of football with behavior science. Jump straight into:(01:27) - Get to know PFF: A football data collection and analysis firm for every single player in every single game that offers an entertainment platform.(08:39) - Trust in the numbers: On math-based playbook strategies versus intuition, risk aversion, and omission bias.(17:15) - Behavior and decisions made under pressure: What’s behind the mistakes of a quarterback and a coach?(24:04) - How did the analytics revolution in sports start plus why it works so differently in football.(28:01) - Exploring the many ways data has changed football teams’ draft and trade decisions and how that impacts their money cap.(34:58) - Drawing up trick plays meant to deceive the other team and how that applies to markets and real-life decisions.(38:37) - Home team advantage relevance: Discussing the fans’ role when it comes to predictions.(41:31) - What’s going to change for football in the future? Determined positions and the use of algorithms.Episode resourcesConnect with Eric through LinkedInPFFThank you for listening to The Science of Change. Reach out to Kristen through LinkedIn and visit The Irrational Labs website for more information on behavioral science. This show is presented by SetSail (follow on LinkedIn) and produced by Kristen Berman and Studio Pod Media. The executive producer is Rachel Roberts. All episodes are written by Jack Bueher. Music and editing provided by nodalab.