Navigating Change: Behavioral Science for Business Resilience
Maya Shunker's insights on behavioral science for leaders and entrepreneurs to navigate change, foster resilience, and drive innovation.
Key Insights
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Insight
Identity resilience is built by defining oneself by 'why' they do something, not merely 'what' they do, enabling adaptation during career-altering changes.
Impact
Fosters greater adaptability and sustained motivation for professionals navigating career pivots or significant organizational shifts, reducing the impact of external losses.
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Insight
The 'end of history illusion' leads individuals to underestimate their future capacity for change, believing their current self is the final version.
Impact
This cognitive bias can limit proactive personal and professional development, potentially hindering innovation and long-term career growth by discouraging continuous self-reinvention.
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Insight
To drive innovation and create lasting initiatives within large, rigid organizations, cultivate a 'policy entrepreneur' mindset, institutionalizing efforts and securing grassroots support.
Impact
Enables impactful change and sustainable innovation in environments prone to bureaucracy and resistance, ensuring initiatives persist beyond individual tenures.
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Insight
Effective collaboration and buy-in for new initiatives require aligning incentives by framing proposals as complementary solutions that help stakeholders achieve their existing goals more efficiently.
Impact
Overcomes resistance, facilitates cross-functional cooperation, and accelerates the adoption and successful implementation of new strategies and projects.
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Insight
Breaking down daunting goals into small, actionable mini-milestones combats the 'middle problem' (a drop in motivation) and primes a new identity, leading to sustained progress.
Impact
Significantly increases the success rate for long-term projects, career transitions, and personal development by making overwhelming objectives manageable and reinforcing new behaviors.
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Insight
Leveraging behavioral science principles, such as default options and the endowment effect, can significantly improve the effectiveness of programs and public engagement.
Impact
Enables organizations to design more impactful policies, products, and services by intuitively aligning with human psychology, leading to better outcomes and participation rates.
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Insight
Practices like self-affirmation and seeking 'moral beauty' (witnessing others' courage) provide grounding and expand imagination during personal and professional setbacks.
Impact
Helps leaders and entrepreneurs maintain perspective, combat despair, and foster creativity, enabling them to envision and pursue new possibilities during challenging times.
Key Quotes
"You can future proof yourself and your identity by defining yourself not simply by what you do, but by why you do that thing."
"What you've just said is probably one of the theses of my book, which is that when big changes happen to us, they also inspire lasting change within us."
"I knew that there was actually very little incentive for them to partner with me because what's the benefit of taking a risk? I mean, they work with me, maybe it's revealed that their program's not working as effectively as they thought it did. They might get in trouble with their boss. And so what I had to do was approach the conversation in a way where I made it clear that I was actually going to be helping them achieve their goal more effectively and efficiently."
Summary
Navigating Change: Lessons from a Behavioral Science Entrepreneur
In today's dynamic business landscape, change is the only constant. From market shifts to organizational restructuring, leaders and entrepreneurs are constantly challenged to adapt. Cognitive scientist Maya Shunker, a former Obama White House advisor and current Google director, offers profound insights into not just surviving change, but thriving on the other side. Her work, blending compelling human stories with rigorous behavioral science, provides a vital toolkit for fostering resilience, innovation, and sustained growth in both personal careers and corporate ventures.
Redefining Identity for Resilience
A core insight from Shunker's work is the importance of defining one's identity not by what they do, but by why they do it. When a career-defining role or project is lost, the underlying passion and core motivations remain intact, providing a softer landing and a foundation for future pivots. This "future-proofing" of identity is crucial for entrepreneurs and executives facing unexpected disruptions.The Power of "Policy Entrepreneurship" in Large Organizations
Shunker's experience building a behavioral science team within the highly bureaucratic Obama White House demonstrates the power of "policy entrepreneurship." Operating without a mandate or budget, she fostered innovation by strategically aligning incentives. Instead of presenting her team's work as an external risk, she framed it as a complementary solution to help government agencies achieve their existing goals more effectively and efficiently. This grassroots approach, engaging at all levels and understanding stakeholders' objectives, is a blueprint for driving change in any large, complex organization.Micro-Milestones and Sustained Motivation
Whether pivoting careers post-layoff or launching a new venture, daunting goals can lead to "the middle problem" – a significant drop in motivation. Shunker advocates for breaking down large objectives into mini-milestones. Starting small, like writing for one minute a day, primes a new identity and creates a virtuous cycle of self-reinforcement. This strategy shortens the "middle period" of perceived stagnation, maintaining momentum and increasing the likelihood of goal achievement.Leveraging Behavioral Science for Business Impact
The application of behavioral science, as demonstrated by the school lunch program or the VA benefits initiative, offers powerful tools for improving program effectiveness. Simple tweaks, like changing an opt-in to an opt-out or reframing "eligible" to "earned," can yield significant improvements in participation and access. For businesses, this means designing products, services, and internal processes that intuitively align with human behavior, leading to better outcomes.Cultivating Resilience Through Affirmation and Awe
Navigating significant professional or personal setbacks can be profoundly disorienting. Shunker highlights the power of self-affirmation exercises to remind individuals of the rich, multidimensional aspects of their lives that remain intact despite a loss. Furthermore, seeking "moral beauty"—witnessing others' kindness, courage, or resilience—can inspire new possibilities and expand one's imagination, helping leaders move past feelings of being stuck towards hoped-for selves.Conclusion
Maya Shunker's framework provides a compelling blend of psychological understanding and practical strategies for anyone in business. By consciously cultivating identity resilience, adopting an intrapreneurial mindset, breaking down goals, leveraging behavioral science, and embracing practices like self-affirmation and awe, leaders can not only navigate the inevitable currents of change but also emerge stronger, wiser, and more capable on "the other side."Action Items
Consciously define your professional identity by your core values and motivations ('why') rather than solely by your current role or tasks ('what').
Impact: Builds greater resilience and adaptability, allowing for more successful and fulfilling career transitions during unexpected changes or opportunities.
When facing significant career shifts or layoffs, intentionally enter an 'exploration mode' to broadly investigate new interests and opportunities without immediate, fixed end goals.
Impact: Uncovers unforeseen career paths and passions, leading to more innovative and personally aligned professional directions beyond initial expectations.
Within your organization, act as a 'policy entrepreneur' by identifying opportunities to institutionalize lasting initiatives, building grassroots support, and engaging across all levels of the company.
Impact: Drives internal innovation and creates sustainable change that can thrive independently, making the organization more adaptable and forward-thinking.
Before proposing new projects or changes, thoroughly research stakeholders' existing goals and strategically frame your initiatives as tools to help them achieve those goals more efficiently.
Impact: Enhances internal buy-in, minimizes resistance, and accelerates the adoption of new strategies or methodologies across different departments or teams.
Break down ambitious professional goals, such as launching a new product or making a career change, into the smallest possible daily or weekly steps (mini-milestones).
Impact: Sustains motivation through the challenging 'middle period' of goal pursuit, prevents burnout, and significantly increases the likelihood of achieving long-term objectives.
Conduct a 'behavioral audit' of key organizational processes (e.g., employee onboarding, customer engagement, benefit enrollment) to identify opportunities for applying behavioral economics principles like default options or framing.
Impact: Improves efficiency, participation rates, and overall effectiveness of business operations and internal/external programs by leveraging insights into human decision-making.
Mentioned Companies
Maya Shunker successfully pitched and built a social and behavioral sciences team, demonstrating significant entrepreneurial impact within a governmental, bureaucratic system.
Maya Shunker is a Senior Director of Behavioral Economics at Google, indicating a successful career progression and application of her expertise in a leading tech company.