E166 | Dr. Katy Milkman: How to Change - The Science Of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

The Art Of Coaching

We all know people who don’t enroll in the 401k program at work despite understanding the power of investing or those who won’t stop smoking even though there’s a history of lung cancer in their family. But while incredibly frustrating to the outside observer, we are all resistant to change in some aspect of our lives.

Understanding where and why we resist change is important because modifying the behavior of those we lead is often central to our mission. And what do we do when information and rational persuasion don’t work? Today we have the pleasure of talking to a world renowned behavioral scientist, Dr. Katy Milkman about what makes change so hard, strategies to tackle these barriers and how to harness the power of a fresh start.

Dr. Milkman is the James G. Dinan Professor at the Wharton School, author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, co-founder and co-director of the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, and host of the Choiceology podcast from Charles Schwab.

We discuss:

• Why information and logic alone doesn’t change behavior
• “Fresh starts” and the science of timing
• Planning for disruption and the power of expectations
• What’s the “price for the vice”?
• Barriers to change and how to overcome them

Connect with Dr. Milkman:

Via her website: www.katymilkman.com/book

Via her podcast: Choiceology

Via Twitter: @katy_milkman

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