Selfish, scared and stupid : stop fighting human nature and increase your performance, engagement and influence Dan Gregory & Kieran Flanagan

Appealing to humans'' basic instincts to increase influence, buy-in and results Survival of the species comes down to three basic instincts, say behavioral research strategists Dan Gregory and Kieran Flanagan-fear, self-interest and simplicity. These basic human behaviours come into play in all types of relationships, including those between businesses and customers. Selfish, Scared and Stupid: Stop fighting human nature and increase your performance, engagement and influence, demystifies these behaviors and examines the psychology behind why even the best ideas sometimes fail.

SELFISH, SCARED & STUPID; CONTENTS; ABOUT THE AUTHORS; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INTRODUCTION; Who we are and how we came to write this book; What really drives human behaviour?; Who this book is for; PART I We are all selfish, scared and stupid; Chapter 1 A matter of survival; Selflessness is a recipe for extinction; Selfish is hard to resist; Fearlessness leads to extinction; Fear: one of the most motivating emotions we possess; Complication and complexity lead to extinction; Don't fight your nature: work with it; Chapter 2 The Happy Delusion; What is The Happy Delusion? How does this delusion form?The qualities of the mythical hero; But it is a delusion and delusions cost us; Stress and fear are bad; We should focus only on the positives; Heroes are successful by good deeds alone; We operate rationally and morally; It will all work out in the end; The most important good is looking good; Ignore your critics and detractors; The universe is conspiring to help you; Human beings are amazing; Delusion beats reality; Chapter 3 Why failure happens; The truth is, we set ourselves up for failure; Discipline is hard work; Human irrationality; Beliefs are hard to shift Our brains are over-confidentLaboratory conditions don't exist; We over-focus on results; Failure is an error in design; Part II Think selfish; Chapter 4 Tell me WIIFM; Selfishness can be a force for good; Build identity congruence; Create values alignment; Demonstrate a connection to broader goals; Show them what's in it for their communities; Offset the cost; Demonstrate that your issue is my issue; The environmental movement; Gender equality; The real question is, 'What's in it for them?'; Chapter 5 Offer a reward; On carrots and sticks; Wielding the carrot; Carrots for conformity The psychology of rewardsThe importance of acknowledgement; Why do we fail to acknowledge?; Rewards must be valuable in context; The greatest rewards are unexpected; The difference between 'more' and 'better'; When rewards stop working; Chapter 6 Make it enjoyable; It's not just girls who want to have fun; Make it a game; The yawning chasm between pleasure and pain; The 'no pain no gain' myth; Eat the chocolate frog; Focus on the boring bits; Why so serious?; Part III Think scared; Chapter 7 Flip the fear; Fear drives change; Some fears cost us; The fear of change; The fear of making mistakes The fear of differenceThe fear of being out of control; Learn to see fear as a lever for positive change; Define and contain fear; Instil appropriate fear; Rebalance the fear; Chapter 8 Link it to the known; Familiarity is just so familiar; Something like an analogy; Link it to the past; The language of change; Perception is everything; Chapter 9 Show them they're not alone; We are a social species; Social media exists for a reason; There is safety in numbers; The desire to be 'normal'; Help us 'fit in'; Connect us to each other; Connect us to something bigger than ourselves; Watch our six.