Rituals at Work: Teams That Play Together Stay Together
Rituals—even seemingly silly ones—help employees bond and add meaning to their work.
Content: Article | Authors: Francesca Gino, Kristen Senz, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Culture, Organizational Behavior, Teamwork
People Have an Irrational Need to Complete ‘Sets’ of Things
People are irrationally motivated to complete arbitrary sets of tasks, donations, or purchases—and organizations can take advantage of that, according to new research by Kate Barasz, Leslie John, Elizabeth Keenan, and Michael Norton.
Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Customer Related, Market/Investment
Pay Attention To Your “Extreme Consumers”
What do Porsche fanatics, a video game hater, and a person who cooked two weeks’ worth of meals in a rice cooker have in common? They are all “extreme consumers”—those whose tastes are so out there that mainstream market researchers tend to dismiss them as “noise” when trying to figure out how typical consumers think.
That’s fine if you only want to keep making incremental improvements … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Jill Avery, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Customer Related, Market Research, Marketing / Sales
From McRibs to Maseratis: The Power of Scarcity Marketing
In their book, Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton draw on years of quantitative and qualitative research to explain how we can turn cash into contentment. The key lies in changing our spending habits and adhering to five key principles:
1. Buy Experiences. Research shows that material purchases are less satisfying than vacations or concerts.
2. Make it a Treat. … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Elizabeth Dunn, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Personal Development
Are We Thinking Too Little, or Too Much?
In the course of making a decision, managers often err in one of two directions—either overanalyzing a situation or forgoing all the relevant information and simply going with their gut. HBS marketing professor Michael I. Norton discusses the potential pitfalls of thinking too much or thinking too little.
Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Personal Development
How Concepts Affect Consumption
Our prehistoric ancestors spent much of their waking hours foraging for and consuming food, an instinct that obviously paid off. Today this instinct is no less powerful, but for billions of us it’s satisfied in the minutes it takes to swing by the store and pop a meal in the microwave. With our physical needs sated and time on our hands, increasingly we’re finding psychological … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Dan Ariely, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Marketing / Sales
Decoding the Artful Sidestep
Do you notice when someone changes the subject after you ask them a question? If you don’t always notice or even mind such conversational transformations, you’re not alone. New research by Todd Rogers and Harvard Business School professor Michael I. Norton explores the common occurrence of “conversational blindness.” Q&A with Rogers.
Content: Article | Authors: Michael I. Norton, Todd Rogers | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Organizational Behavior