Why do we invest millions changing customer behavior but ignore how people behave inside companies?

In this thought-provoking conversation, behavioral scientist and author Matt Wallaert returns to Change Wired to explore the next evolution of behavioral science: internal change.

We discuss why most organizations treat employee behavior as fixed or random — and what it takes to build systems where people grow continuously, without relying on luck, politics, or the next big program.

🔍 In this episode:

• The economic bias behind why companies fund customer change but not employee change.
• How to make behavioral science practical inside organizations — linking people systems to business outcomes.
• 3 pillars of employee motivation.
• The problem with measuring value of employees through opportunity instead of capability.
• The Boy Scouts model of development: advancing by demonstrated skills, not politics.
• The trap of “participation-trophy culture” — and how to make growth easier without lowering standards.
• How leaders can start — by documenting their own growth goals first.
• The future of meaningful work: designing systems where people stay not because they have to, but because they can grow.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Growth is not a perk — it’s a human need and business driver.
• People don’t resist growth and change — they resist misaligned systems that make it hard.
• Making it easier ≠ lowering the bar; it means adding clarity and support.
• The simplest place to start culture change? Write down where you’re going and how you’ll get there.
• Companies that measure capability, not just output, unlock deeper innovation and resilience.

🎯 Why you should listen:

If you’re leading transformation, culture change, or talent growth strategy — this episode gives you a blueprint for building systems that make growth inevitable.
Matt offers practical, evidence-based steps any leader can apply, starting tomorrow.  

👉 Listen to the full episode to learn how to turn growth into your company’s competitive advantage — one behavior at a time.  

👤 Matt Wallaert – Short Bio

Matt Wallaert is an applied behavioral scientist, author, and public speaker known among other things for pioneering how behavioral science can drive organizational change.
He currently serves as a Chief Experience Officer at Oceans, leading initiatives that combine behavioral insights with systems design to help companies improve performance, motivation, and growth.

Previously, Matt was Microsoft’s Director of Behavioral Science, the Chief Behavioral Officer at Clover Health, and the author of Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change.
He has advised Fortune 500 companies, governments, and startups on building behaviorally informed systems that make doing the right thing the easy thing.

📚 Learn more and connect:

• 🌐 mattwallaert.com
•  💼 LinkedIn: Matt Wallaert
•  📚  Book: Start at the End  

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina

Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Ever felt “off” without a clear label? That unsettled itch - not sure what it is or what to do with this feeling?  

We unpack 1 question that flips the script from vague discomfort to decisive action.  

The shift from analyzing your current mood to aiming at a target feeling - confident, capable, empowered, which opens a practical path you can actually walk. 

air it with one follow-up question, that naturally comes to you - and you’ve got a daily operating system for momentum for the last 90 days of the year.  

I share how this came to me after reading Marc Brackett’s Dealing with Feeling.  

On today's podcast we'll also challenge a common trap: waiting to be picked. Choosing yourself isn’t posturing; it’s stewardship of your craft. If your work helps others, your job is to ship it, test it, and refine it until the world takes it off your hands.  

You’ll learn how to use emotions as a compass to design action path that reliably generates the inner state you want, helping you to make progress without waiting for permission. By the end, you’ll have a simple, repeatable tool you can use whenever life feels unsettled: pick a feeling, plan the reps, and step into the driver’s seat.  

If this resonates, tell me: What feeling are you choosing for your next 90 days, and what’s the first action you’ll take today?  

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina

Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

What if the difference between busy and brilliant is one decision - choosing what feels right over what feels good?

Today, together we build a practical system for high performance: map your peak cognitive hours, defend them with clear boundaries, and feed them your most important task so your best thinking meets your highest leverage.

We walk through an elegant 2-step method for turning down distractions and saying no without drama. 

We'll learn how to prevent burnout, often coming from over-committing, trying to look good or please others.

Burnout (even from the work you love) isn’t a mystery when you know where to look. We highlight early warning signs, and pair them with a ready-made recovery protocol.

Finally, we share a daily add-and-remove challenge to make good habits not a struggle but a default.

Together, on today's episode, we'll build a simple work-life operating system: design days that match your goals, say no like a pro to distractions, and let systems—not willpower—carry you forward.

If this resonates, tune in to today's show and share it with someone who needs better boundaries to protect the work that matters and the life, that feels fulfilling.

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina

Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Ever felt like so much of what happens at work is utterly meaningless, wasteful and backwards?

You're not alone.

In this eye-opening conversation with James Healy, founder of Behavior Boutique and author of "BS at Work," we dive deep into why modern work often feels like bullshit.

What if the biggest problem in modern work isn’t lack of effort, technology, strategy, or "better humans" but the simple fact that we keep designing for humans as if we were some logical machines… instead of messy, emotional, social creatures we are?

James reveals the fascinating disconnect between how organizations design systems and how humans actually operate.

We've built workplaces on the false assumption that humans are rational, logical beings making careful calculations, when in reality we're "social, emotional, tribal storytelling animals" who often make decisions based on context, ease, and what others are doing.

Take modern communication crisis. The average worker now faces 153 Teams messages and 117 emails daily, with interruptions approximately every two minutes. This constant barrage prevents deep work, destroys focus, and fuels burnout. And with AI potentially supercharging this problem.

But there's hope.

James offers practical principles for creating more human-centered workplaces.

What you’ll learn:

• Why burnout is 100% preventable if we stop treating humans like machines.
• The shocking origin stories of tools like Myers-Briggs and DISC (and why they’re no more valid than a Harry Potter quiz).
• Why e-learnings and endless policies fail.
• How context, not individual willpower, drives behavior change at scale.
• Why sometimes the most effective solution is illogical, creative, or has to do with removing, not adding things.
• The power of storytelling as a leadership tool for influence, motivation, and culture change.

... and so much more!

👉 If you’re a leader tired of wasting energy on initiatives that don’t stick, this conversation will show you how to make work more human and more effective.

Ready to question the workplace BS you've accepted as normal?

Listen now and discover how behavioral science can transform your work experience from meaningless to meaningful.

___________________

👤 James Healy is a keynote speaker, executive advisor, and author passionate about using behavioral science to build better organizations. He is the Founder and Managing Director of The Behaviour Boutique, has led transformation projects in 60+ countries, and previously co-founded Deloitte’s Behaviour First offering.

James is the author of The Future of Change Management, Adopting AI: The People-First Approach, and BS at Work, and hosts The B-Word podcast, featuring leading voices in behavioral and social sciences.

Connect with James:

• Website: thebehaviourboutique.com
•  LinkedIn: James Healy
•  Podcast: The B-Word
•  Book: BS at Work: Why so much of modern work is bullshit and how

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Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

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!  

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Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership 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.  

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Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership 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

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Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership 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.  

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Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership 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.  

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Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership 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.  

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina

Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant