Behavioural Engineering | People of Influence

The Problem

Organisations the world over are trying to evolve their cultures to be more collaborative, innovative, productive and agile. Essentially, more competitive. All of it requires behaviour change on a mass scale.

Yet most change efforts rely on telling people to change, then hoping they do. New behaviours do not stick, and the intended results never arrive.

The Insight

Behaviour is powerfully shaped by the environment around it. Change the environment and you change the behaviour, at scale. Behavioural Engineering is a systematic, science-based approach to doing exactly that, grounded in behavioural economics, behavioural science and neuroscience. Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny, founders of People of Influence, have used it to help some of the world's great companies engineer behaviour change that lasts.

Watch

Watch Michelle Rushton on how to change behaviour across an organisation.

Equipping or engineering?

There are two ways to change behaviour. Both matter, but they work very differently. Most organisations only ever try the first.

Equipping

Equip an individual to change their own behaviour by shifting self-awareness, capability, motivation, beliefs or values. From the inside-out.

Engineering

Change behaviour at scale by designing the environment and the prompts around it, using proven behavioural science. From the outside-in.

Behaviour = PAW

A behaviour only happens when three things are present. Design for all three and behaviour changes, reliably and at scale.

Prompt

A cue in the environment that triggers the behaviour at the right moment.

Ability

The behaviour is easy enough to do, with the friction and hassle designed out.

Willingness

The person is motivated enough to act in that moment.

Key Outcomes

What your organisation walks away with

Know what great looks like

Everyone understands what it takes to change behaviour at scale, and the B = PAW model behind it.

See where you stand today

Spotlight the specific behaviour that drives your result, and measure its current state.

Strategies you can use immediately

The proven behavioural science principles, Easy, Starty and Sticky, as practical tools for designing change.

Test it for real

Small, controlled experiments prove what actually shifts behaviour before anything is scaled.

A toolkit and a repeatable process

The tools and method, through Behaviour School, to run behavioural engineering projects yourselves.

Change that sticks

The new behaviour is embedded and the result tracked, so the change holds long after the project.

The Principles

How we design an intervention

Every experiment is designed against three simple principles.

Easy

Reduce the barriers, hassle and friction around a behaviour, so it is easier to do and uptake and momentum build.

Starty

Prompt the behaviour and lower the bar to begin, using cues and small first steps that get people started.

Sticky

Make the new behaviour stick, turning a one-off action into a lasting habit that holds after the project ends.

How It Works

The Behavioural Engineering process

A project can run as a single sprint or a full program, shaped around your goal and appetite.

Define the result

Start from a clear organisational outcome (engagement, sales, NPS, safety, innovation) and the metrics that will show it is moving.

Spotlight the behaviour

Identify the specific target behaviour, done by a specific audience, that will drive that result. Measure the current state.

Design the interventions

Using behavioural science principles (Easy, Starty, Sticky), we design a set of interventions likely to shift the behaviour.

Run the sprint

We experiment: small, controlled tests against a control group reveal which interventions actually move the behaviour.

Scale what works

The winning interventions are rolled out more widely, with the losers discarded before they cost time and money.

Embed and measure

We make the new behaviour sticky and keep tracking the result, so the change holds and the impact is clear.

Format & Delivery

Shaped around your goal

Format

Behaviour School, a Behaviour Spotlight, or a full Behaviour Sprint

Delivery

Consulting engagement, in person or virtual

Audience

Leaders and teams driving change at scale

Two ways to work with us

People of Influence is the consultancy through which Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny deliver leadership programs, team offsites and impactful conferences.

Contact People of Influence →

Leadership Engine is our proprietary platform for diagnostics, dashboards and roadmaps.

Visit Leadership Engine →