Change Wired

Ever wonder why you can't just willpower your way to better habits, doing better work and making smarter choices? The answer lies not in trying harder, but in understanding how your brain actually works.  The most powerful force shaping our behaviors isn't conscious decision-making—it's our environment.  Research consistently shows that what surrounds us impacts our choices far more than we realize.  This environmental influence extends to every aspect of our lives. Researchers have identified the "zip code effect"—the remarkable finding that where you live predicts your health outcomes better than your genetic makeup. Your neighborhood influences your activity levels and food choices so powerfully that it can affect your lifespan by 10-20 years. Similarly, your social circles—both in-person and digital—shape your aspirations and behaviors more profoundly than conscious goal-setting.  Even work motivation follows this pattern. While we often believe perks or compensation drive performance, Teresa Amabile's research reveals that experiencing regular progress toward meaningful goals is actually the most powerful motivator. When we can see our efforts adding up to something significant, our engagement naturally increases—regardless of external rewards.  The takeaway?  Stop fighting against your natural tendencies and start creating environments that make your desired behaviors the path of least resistance. Architect your physical spaces, social circles, and work processes to naturally guide you toward better choices. By designing your life around how your brain actually works—not how you think it works—you can achieve lasting change with less struggle and more satisfaction. Share this episode with someone who's trying to make a change in their life!    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Decision regret doesn't have to be your default state.  Whether you're choosing shoes, supplements, a new career path, or a life partner, the quality of your decisions dramatically shapes your life satisfaction and success.  Drawing from Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman's work on dual thinking systems, this episode reveals why we make poor choices when stressed or overwhelmed. Your brain switches to autopilot (System 1) when resources are limited, falling back on habitual patterns that might not serve your current goals. The solution? A simple yet powerful decision-making framework that works even when you're not at your cognitive best.  The 3-step formula I share cuts through complexity and protects you from emotional biases.  Through practical examples—from buying shoes to choosing careers and relationships—you'll see how this versatile framework creates faster, more satisfying decisions in any domain.  Beyond the framework itself, I share how creating boundaries around decision-making (like my Saturday-only purchase rule) can further enhance your choices and prevent impulsive decisions you'll later regret. These systems become your protection against the whims of emotion and energy fluctuations that typically derail good judgment.  The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity and adaptability. You don't need perfect decisions—you need a reliable system that works consistently well. By implementing these strategies, you'll make choices that align with your values and goals, even during times of stress and overwhelm. Remember, our decisions define our life's journey—make them count.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Whether you’re a business leader, entrepreneur, or someone reinventing yourself, the way you think about innovation will shape your future. Innovation isn’t about guessing or chasing shiny ideas. It’s about having a process, the right tools, and the discipline to test, learn, and scale what creates value. In this episode, I sit down with Alex Osterwalder—one of the world’s most influential strategy and innovation thinkers, inventor of the Business Model Canvas, bestselling author, and CEO of Strategyzer. Alex has changed how the world approaches business design. Millions of entrepreneurs and leaders use his tools to innovate with clarity instead of chaos. We dive deep into the fundamental mistakes both large corporations and startups make: falling in love with ideas, building too much too fast, and only later discovering customers don't care.  Perhaps most valuable is Alex's framework for balancing core business operations ("exploit") with future-focused innovation ("explore"). This practical approach helps organizations avoid the common trap of applying existing business rules to innovation projects—a mistake that almost guarantees failure. Whether you're leading a Fortune 500 company, building a startup, or reinventing your own career, this episode offers actionable insights to make innovation less of a gamble and more of a repeatable process. What You’ll Learn From Volleyball to Strategy: How Alex’s unlikely journey shaped his obsession with creating and simplifying tools for business. Why Business Plans Fail: The origin of the Business Model Canvas and why structure beats guesswork. AI & Innovation: What AI changes (everything) and what it doesn’t (the fundamentals). Portfolio Thinking: Why great companies run many small bets, kill weak ones fast, and scale the winners. Avoiding Zombie Projects: How to spot and stop initiatives that drain resources but deliver no evidence of value. Systems, Not Slogans: Why excitement isn’t enough—innovation needs the right structures, incentives, and processes to thrive. Personal Success Strategy: Alex’s reflections on what success means beyond growth and money, and why defining your own metrics of success is essential. 👤 Guest Bio: Alex Osterwalder Dr. Alex Osterwalder is the founder & CEO of Strategyzer and a visiting professor at IMD Business School. Ranked among the world’s top 10 management thinkers (Thinkers50), he is best known for inventing the Business Model Canvas together with Yves Pigneur. Alex has authored five global bestsellers, including Business Model Generation, Value Proposition Design, Testing Business Ideas, The Invincible Company, and High-Impact Tools for Teams. Through Strategyzer, he helps organizations around the globe build innovation capabilities and transform systematically 🔗 Links Mentioned Strategyzer Alex on LinkedIn Innovation isn’t luck—it’s design. Tune in to this episode to learn how to turn your vision into a system of repeatable wins, master the fundamentals that don’t change, and lead with clarity in a world of uncertainty.  Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Have you ever wondered why so many of your meaningful intentions never transform into actual behaviors?   That language you want to learn, the presentation skills you hope to develop, the health habits you wish to build - all sitting in a metaphorical bucket of good intentions that rarely see the light of day.  The gap between intention and action represents your untapped potential, dreams that slowly fade as urgent (but perhaps less meaningful) tasks continuously take priority.  But what if behavioral science could offer a solution?  In this episode, I introduce you to a powerful concept used by researchers to help people take consistent action on important but non-urgent goals: just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs).  Unlike traditional reminders that pop up at predetermined times regardless of your circumstances, JITAIs deliver personalized prompts precisely when your internal state (energy, motivation) and external context (environment, resources) make action possible. This seemingly simple shift - from generic reminders to smart, contextual prompts — can dramatically increase your follow-through on meaningful intentions.  The beauty of this approach lies in its practicality. You don't need special technology or expertise to implement your own JITAI system.   Ready to transform intentions into actions?  Listen now to discover how you can design personalized just-in-time interventions that help you tap into your full potential and create a life filled with meaningful accomplishments rather than unfulfilled aspirations.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

What makes some people capable of extraordinary consistency while others struggle to maintain even basic positive habits?  The answer lies in 3 foundational pillars that shape all human behavior. A framework so powerful it can transform not just individual actions, but entire organizational cultures.  The first pillar, stories, operates as the foundation of all behavior change. As your host Angela Shurina reveals through compelling personal examples, the narratives we construct about our circumstances directly impact our capacity for action.   The second pillar, incentives, addresses the fundamental truth that humans consistently pursue what feels rewarding. Drawing on insights from behavioral science and thought leaders like Mark Manson, Angela reveals that sustainable habits require emotional or social rewards that make difficult behaviors meaningful. The third pillar, triggers, explains why good intentions often fail to translate into consistent action. Through practical examples of environmental design, Angela demonstrates how strategic placement of visual reminders dramatically increases the likelihood of performing intended behaviors. This same principle works in reverse for breaking unwanted habits.  When combined, these 3 pillars create a comprehensive system for behavior change that far surpasses traditional approaches based solely on willpower or motivation.  Whether you're struggling with personal habits, leading organizational transformation, or coaching others through change, mastering these 3 elements will unlock unprecedented results.  Try applying them to one behavior this week and experience firsthand how powerful this framework can be in creating lasting transformation.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Do you find yourself grinding through tough projects, just waiting for them to end so you can finally enjoy life?  Do you quit things often because you get bored or tired?  What if sustainable high performance didn't require sacrificing your wellbeing or joy of living?  This episode tackles the critical challenge many ambitious professionals face: how to achieve difficult goals without burning out. We'll explore the missing skill that separates sustainable achievers from those caught in burnout cycles.  Most people don't burn out because their work is too demanding; they burn out because they never learned when to pause.  Your mind and body operate as an integrated team, and when physical resources become depleted, your decision-making, emotional resilience, and perception of your work all suffer. The early warning signs of burnout appear in your thinking and emotions long before physical symptoms emerge.  Through a practical step-by-step exercise, you'll learn to create your personal energy agreement—establishing clear boundaries around working hours, designing effective transition rituals between work and personal time, identifying activities that genuinely recharge you, and recognizing your unique burnout warning signs before they escalate.  Download the worksheet to create your personalized framework for sustainable achievement while enjoying the journey. Remember, this isn't just about avoiding burnout—it's about creating a pattern of fulfilling growth where the process itself becomes rewarding.  Share this episode with someone who might be teetering on the edge of burnout. Together, we can transform how we approach achievement and create work lives worth living.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Why do well-intentioned initiatives so often fail to deliver results?  The answer lies not in strategy but in execution - specifically, in the gap between what people intend to do and what they actually do.  Scott Young has spent his career at the intersection of behavioral science and business transformation, advising Fortune 500 companies and teaching at institutions like the London School of Economics. His mission: helping leaders apply behavioral science ethically and effectively to drive real change.  In this illuminating conversation, Scott reveals:  • Behavioral science offers unique value in helping close the "intent-action gap" where people want to do the right thing but human nature gets in the way  • Simple frameworks like COM-B and EAST help leaders think broadly about potential barriers and design effective interventions  • Confusion serves as a much bigger barrier than we think, when people get confused, they use it as an "off-ramp" to avoid uncomfortable changes  • Most companies over-rely on communication and financial incentives while underestimating the power of environmental design and process changes  • Traditional top-down approaches to culture change often fail, instead, define specific behaviors that constitute values like "collaboration" or "innovation"  • Leaders should create a "behavioral lens" as part of their leadership toolkit to complement strategy with effective execution  • The timeliness of communication often matters more than its content - focus on reaching people at the moment of decision  • AI adoption faces 2 key barriers: general resistance to technology change and fear of replacement  • Psychological safety is crucial for technology adoption - people need to feel comfortable asking questions and expressing confusion - and where leaders get it wrong, while trying to shift culture towards it  ... and so much more!  Whether you're leading organizational transformation, building a more innovative culture, or trying to improve adoption of new technologies, this episode offers practical insights you can apply immediately.  Learn how to close the intent-action gap and create environments where good intentions translate into consistent results.  Tune in!  ___________________________📌 Scott Young  Scott Young is an independent advisor, educator, and former Head of Private Sector at the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) Americas. He previously led BVA Nudge Consulting and spent over 20 years running Perception Research Services, a global shopper insights agency.  Today, Scott lectures at LSE, UPenn, and Chicago Booth, serves as a board member at BeScy, and writes extensively on applied behavioral science. He conducts workshops and coaches executives to apply behavioral tools ethically and effectively across business functions and industries.  📍 Connect with Scott:  LinkedIn   Medium Articles   BeScy.org  Developing Behaviorally-Informed Executives   Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Ever wonder why willpower fails you  more at night? Why some days you're laser-focused and others you can't concentrate for five minutes?  The answer lies not in psychology, but in biology.  Your brain chemistry literally transforms throughout the day.  That morning brain, charged with cortisol and dopamine, is a focus machine ready for complex work. By evening, different neurochemicals dominate, making discipline nearly impossible but creativity more accessible. Fighting these natural rhythms is like swimming upstream – exhausting and counterproductive.  This episode unpacks the science behind working with your brain's biology instead of against it. We explore how top performers aren't superhuman willpower machines but strategic schedulers who align tasks with their optimal biological windows.  Your brain, consuming 20% of your energy while being only 2% of your body weight, constantly calculates whether activities justify their energy cost. Understanding this calculation revolutionizes how we approach habits and productivity.  Become aware of your unique biological rhythm, allowing you to design your ideal schedule and multiply your effectiveness while reducing effort.  Achieving more with less effort starts here.  As Stephen Kotler says, "Biology scales, psychology doesn't" – meaning biological realities will always trump psychological theories when it comes to sustainable performance.  Ready to stop fighting your brain and start leveraging its natural strengths? Listen now and discover how working with your biology can transform your productivity, habits, and performance with significantly less struggle.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

What if there's never gonna be a perfect plan and total clarity?  On today's episode Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, the author of "Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World", shares how tiny experiments can transform our approach to life, work, and meaningful change without rigid goals or predetermined paths. Her experimental mindset offers a powerful alternative to traditional planning - designing low-risk experiments to uncover your path one step at a time.  We will touch on:  From shiny to misaligned. Anne-Laure shares how a great job and smart teammates still left her internally “off”, impacting health and relationships - so she stepped off the ladder.  The risky jump (and reframe). A first startup “because that’s what you do” created avoidable financial stress. The second transition flipped the script: keep some income for safety and treat the next step as an experiment, not a bet-the-farm goal.  A scientist’s lens on identity change. Before you “optimize,” observe: practice 24 hours of self-anthropology (field notes without judgement) to notice energy, curiosity, and friction points.  Tiny Experiments in one line: “I will [action] for [duration].” Short, low-risk trials beat vague, year-long resolutions.  Bring the team. Run a shared “lab cycle” (30 days). Success = new knowledge, not a binary win/lose.  Mindful productivity > hustle. You’re not a calendar robot; protect moments and engineer creative windows with simple rituals (music, stretch, tea, micro-walks).  Procrastination is a signal, not a sin. Use Head/Heart/Hand to diagnose: misaligned rationale, low emotional pull, or missing skills/tools/support - then fix the right thing.  Generativity vs. Legacy. Aim to make a small, present-day impact you can see now; legacy may emerge as a by-product.  ... and so much more!  Ready to design your first tiny experiment?  Catch the full Change Wired episode with Anne-Laure Le Cunff and explore practical tools for mindful productivity, career transitions, and thriving in a goal-obsessed world.   Links & resources mentioned  Anne-Laure’s bio & personal site: https://anne-laure.net  Ness Labs (newsletter & articles): https://nesslabs.com/newsletter  Book: Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World Amazon  Target  Audible.com  Starter read on Mindful Productivity: “Mindful productivity: a sustainable way to work and think”   Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Have you ever felt stuck in life or business, unable to make progress despite having what seems like a perfect plan?   This espisode is definitely for you then!  The problem might not be your goal, but rather your attachment to how you think you should get there.  Life isn't a clearly mapped journey but more like walking through fog - we can glimpse our destination in the distance, but the path only reveals itself as we take each step forward. This insight transformed how I approach challenges, from personal uncertainty to business strategy.  Netflix co-founder Mark Randolph perfectly captures this wisdom with his advice to "fall in love with the problem, not the solution."  The most successful entrepreneurs and leaders understand that rigid plans rarely survive contact with reality. Like Navy SEALs who follow the terrain when it conflicts with their map, true progress comes from adapting to what's actually happening rather than what we thought would happen. This is why companies that endure for decades constantly evolve while maintaining their core purpose.  The experimental approach to life and business follows a simple 5-step framework you will learn in this episode. This scientific mindset removes the emotional attachment to particular solutions that often keeps us spinning our wheels when we should be pivoting.  Whether you're building a business, improving your health, or developing relationships, treating life as a series of experiments rather than a fixed plan creates freedom to evolve and ultimately find what actually works.  What experiment will you design this week to move past your current challenge?  Share your thoughts, subscribe to hear our upcoming episode featuring a Google expert on experimental career design, and join our community of change-makers ready to embrace the uncertainty of the fog while steadily moving forward.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant