188. Behavioral Blueprint, including COM-B and MOVE models with Elina Halonen

Today I am very excited to introduce you to Elina Halonen, a behavioral insights strategist who has worked in the space for 15 years and co-founded a London-based insights consultancy working with global brands on branding, communications, and product/service development projects. She has expertise in behavioural analysis & design, consumer insights & market research, Cultural understanding, desk research & trends, branding & marketing strategy, and more.  Today on the show we talk a little about the COM-B and MOVE models, as well as Elina pre-committing to us all that she is going to write a book, called the Behavioural Blueprint! COM-B is for: Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior. MOVE is for: Meanings, Observations, Viewpoints, and Experiences. We dive into what these models mean, a couple of examples, and so many other great topics. Show Notes: [00:40] Today I am very excited to introduce you to Elina Halonen, a behavioral insights strategist who has worked in the space for 15 years and co-founded a London-based insights consultancy working with global companies on branding, communications, and product/service development projects. [03:13] Elina and Melina have been connected on LinkedIn for years and officially meeting for the first time for this interview!  [03:53] Elina shares about herself and her background.  [05:15] For the last couple of years she has worked as an independent consultant and has worked with various research agencies.  [08:02] Tips for starting a business in an emerging market? Find a niche where you can raise awareness for what you do. Some areas are easier than others. Find a way to educate the market. [09:52] You will need a lot of creativity to promote yourself and what you do.  [12:07] If you pick what you are going to do, you have to be all-in on that thing for at least a year to give it a chance to be successful.  [14:55] Elina’s first degrees were in marketing and it was always about consumer behavior.  [16:42] All of business is a long game.  [17:22] Give information generously. Make sure you add value to people. [20:31] She works with market research agencies and brings her behavioral science expertise.  [22:19] There are different ways of talking about behavioral science depending on what it is you are doing. It is not one size fits all.   [23:01] When they do a project, they think about the target behavior, what is the business objective, and what behaviors do they want to influence or change.  [25:04] Elina shares her commitment to writing her book, Behavioral Blueprint. Hold her accountable on Twitter. (handles below) [27:51] Melina shares her tips for writing a book, including to break it down and just get started.  [28:39] Break it down into chapters and look at what content you already have that fits that information and start segmenting it in.  [31:34] Bringing cultural psychology into behavioral change is becoming increasingly important.  [33:45] She has an intuitive process of looking at things in a certain way that is her Behavioral Blueprint.  [35:02] Start by looking at the situation and accessing what you are up against. [35:44] She is a big fan of the COM-B model: Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior. [36:46] There is a huge amount of context that applied behavioral science often ignores.  [39:11] When she is analyzing or trying to organize things she likes to make it logical.  [41:54] Solving the wrong problem is very common and very human. Not spending enough time identifying the problem is the biggest mistake Melina sees companies make.  [43:37] Elina shares her blog post that she wrote about Netflix solving the wrong problem.  [45:10] Everything you do has an opportunity cost. We need to be sure we are solving the right problem first. It is the foundation of everything we do.  [48:03] We need to understand someone’s logic empathically, putting ourselves in their shoes before we try to change their behavior.  [50:53] There are just some ways of spending money that is socially acceptable and some that aren’t.  [51:15] Never assume you understand why someone does something because you don’t.  [53:45] It’s not about you, it’s about the audience. Could it help someone else? [54:35] Melina shares her closing thoughts.  [56:19] If you enjoy the experience I’ve provided here for you, will you share about it? That could mean leaving a rating/review or sharing the episode with a friend (or 10!) Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.  I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation. Let’s connect: [email protected] The Brainy Business® on Facebook The Brainy Business on Twitter The Brainy Business on Instagram The Brainy Business on LinkedIn Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube Join the BE Thoughtful Revolution – our free behavioral economics community, and keep the conversation going! More from The Brainy Business: