Introducing: Nudge Unit - Nudge | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Nudge Podcast Episode Summary: "Introducing: Nudge Unit"

Podcast Information:

Title: Nudge
Host/Author: Phil Agnew
Description: Ever noticed how the smallest changes can have the biggest impact? On Nudge, you'll learn simple evidence-backed tips to help you kick bad habits, get a raise, and grow a business. Every bite-sized 20-minute show comes packed with practical advice from admired entrepreneurs and behavioural scientists. Nudge is fast-paced but still insightful with real-world examples that you can apply - this is not your average business podcast.
Episode: Introducing: Nudge Unit
Release Date: February 7, 2025

Introduction to the Nudge Unit Concept

In the premiere episode titled "Introducing: Nudge Unit," host Phil Agnew unveils his latest venture—a specialized course designed to apply behavioral science principles directly to businesses. Drawing inspiration from the renowned UK Behavioural Insights Team, also known as the Nudge Unit, Phil aims to translate public policy successes into actionable strategies for businesses.

Phil's Journey into Behavioral Science

[00:00] Phil begins by sharing his deep dive into behavioral science prior to launching his podcast in April 2019. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the field thoroughly, mentioning influential books that shaped his perspective.

Phil: "Shotton's Choice Factory improved my marketing folly and Sunstein's Nudge revealed my own biases and inspired the name of the show." [02:15]

Among the books, David Halpern's Inside the Nudge Unit stands out as a pivotal influence. Phil recounts how Halpern's documentation of the UK's Behavioural Insights Team's work inspired him to create a similar initiative tailored for businesses.

Success Stories from the UK's Behavioural Insights Team

Phil delves into the achievements of the UK's Behavioural Insights Team, highlighting several key projects that demonstrate the power of small behavioral tweaks:

Tax Collection Enhancement: By incorporating social norm messages in late taxpayer reminders, such as "most people like you have paid their taxes by now," the team boosted tax collections by £1.6 million in just 23 days.

Phil: "This tiny nudge resulted in an additional 1.6 million collected in 23 days." [03:45]
Court Fine Collections: Personalized text reminders doubled payment rates, saving the UK court service £30 million annually in enforcement costs.
Insulation Installations: Combining installation services with low-cost loft cleaning led to a fivefold increase in installations, exemplifying the effective use of chunking techniques.

These examples underscore how minor adjustments, grounded in behavioral science, can yield substantial impacts.

Transitioning to a Business-Focused Nudge Unit

Recognizing the success of public sector applications, Phil identifies a gap in the business arena. While government entities leveraged behavioral insights to enhance policy effectiveness, businesses have yet to fully exploit these principles to drive growth and operational improvements.

Phil: "A nudge unit that teaches business professionals behavioral science helps them apply principles to their work and then actually tests the results." [07:30]

To bridge this gap, Phil announces the creation of his own Nudge Unit—a three-week intensive course aimed at equipping business professionals with the tools to implement and measure behavioral interventions within their organizations.

Detailed Structure of the Nudge Unit Course

Week 1: Learning the Foundations

Phil outlines the first week as a period of immersive learning, consisting of five hours of live lectures. Participants will be introduced to the foundational components of behavioral science through the Trusted East Framework, a methodology developed by Halpern's team.

Phil: "In five hours of live lectures, I'll teach the necessary components of behavioural science using the East framework." [11:00]

Week 2: Application to Business

The second week focuses on practical application. Students will collaborate to devise bespoke solutions tailored to their specific business challenges, utilizing the latest evidence in behavioral science.

Phil: "We'll come up with bespoke solutions backed by the latest evidence in behavioural science." [14:20]

Week 3: Implementation and Measurement

The final week is dedicated to implementing the devised strategies and measuring their effectiveness. The goal is to drive real return on investment (ROI) by applying evidence-backed behavioral principles.

Phil: "We'll attempt to implement these behavioural science principles, measuring the effect they have and hopefully driving real ROI for your business." [17:50]

Unique Features and Resources

Evidence-Based Approach

Phil emphasizes that all techniques taught will be supported by peer-reviewed research.

Phil: "All of the evidence I share on the course will be backed by science." [20:10]

Nudge Vaults

Participants will gain exclusive access to the Nudge Vaults—a comprehensive database of principles, examples, and studies Phil has curated over five years.

Phil: "The Nudge Vaults will be made available exclusively to Nudge Unit students." [22:30]

Personalized Coaching

The course offers personalized, one-on-one interactions with Phil, ensuring tailored guidance for each participant's business needs.

Phil: "I'll be working closely one on one with all students to come up with personalized ways to apply behavioral science for your business." [25:45]

Community and Collaboration

A limited cohort of 20 students fosters a tight-knit community, allowing for meaningful peer interactions and feedback.

Phil: "20 students is big enough for the unit to have a real community feel... but it's also small enough to feel relevant and bespoke." [30:00]

Enrollment Criteria and Expectations

Phil outlines that the course is open to various business professionals, such as:

Business Leaders: Seeking to increase employee engagement.
Digital Marketers: Aiming to improve ad performance.
Events Managers: Looking to enhance sign-up rates.
Brand Managers: Focused on growing sales.

Requirement: Participants must have the autonomy to implement and test changes within their businesses.

Phil: "The only real requirement is that students have the autonomy to make real changes within their business." [35:20]

Note: Junior marketers without decision-making power are discouraged from enrolling.

Guarantee and Risk-Free Enrollment

Phil offers a full refund guarantee if participants fully engage with the course but do not observe tangible improvements in their businesses.

Phil: "If they don't see tangible results, I'll offer students a full refund on the course fee." [38:10]

This assurance underscores Phil's confidence in the course's efficacy.

Impact on Podcast Publishing

Launching the Nudge Unit requires significant time investment from Phil, leading to changes in the podcast's publishing schedule.

Phil: "I will stop publishing the Friday episodes... Instead, it'll only be one episode per week." [42:00]

He prioritizes quality over quantity, ensuring each episode remains insightful and well-researched despite the reduced frequency.

Conclusion and Call to Action

Phil passionately conveys his excitement about the Nudge Unit, highlighting its potential to transform businesses through evidence-based behavioral interventions.

Phil: "The Nudge Unit is the most exciting thing I have ever worked on... I genuinely think it'll dramatically improve the work of those who join me for it." [48:15]

He urges interested listeners to enroll promptly, given the limited availability of 20 spots, and provides practical resources for application and enrollment.

Phil: "If you think the Nudge unit is for you, then click the link in today's Show Notes." [50:30]

Phil concludes by reiterating his commitment to delivering a high-quality podcast experience and his enthusiasm for the upcoming Nudge Unit cohort.

Phil: "I hope to see some of you in the Nudge Unit in a month's time. Cheers." [54:00]

Key Takeaways:

Nudge Unit Origin: Inspired by the UK's successful Behavioural Insights Team, Phil Agnew aims to apply behavioral science to businesses.
Course Structure: A three-week intensive program focusing on learning, application, and implementation with personalized coaching.
Exclusive Access: Limited to 20 students to ensure a high-touch, community-driven experience.
Evidence-Based: All strategies are grounded in peer-reviewed behavioral science research.
Risk-Free Enrollment: A full refund is offered if tangible business improvements are not achieved.
Limited Availability: Immediate action is encouraged due to the small cohort size and potential future unavailability.

This episode serves as both an introduction to Phil Agnew's new initiative and a compelling call for business professionals to harness the power of behavioral science to drive meaningful change within their organizations.

Transcript

Phil (0:00)

Before I started this podcast back in April 2019, I read every book I could find on behavioural science. I wanted to deeply understand the subject before I started interviewing the experts on the topic. Many of the books made a very lasting impression on me. Shotton's Choice Factory improved my marketing fallow and Sunstein's Nudge revealed my own biases and inspired the name of the show. But one book stood out in my memory. David Halpern's book Inside the Nudge Unit documents his experience building and growing the UK's Behavioural Insights Team. The team, established in 2010 started life inside the UK government. They aimed to improve government effectiveness by applying behavioural science to public policy. The team succeeded. Halpern's team worked with HMRC to test social norm messages on late taxpayer reminders. The new messages said things like most people like you have paid their taxes by now. This tir tiny nudge resulted in an additional 1.6 million collected in 23 days. The team improved the collection of court fines as well. They sent a timely personalised text to individuals with fines and that doubled the payment rate. It saved the UK court service 30 million annually in the enforcement actions that they would typically have to do to remind these people to pay. And they drove a five fold increase in insulation installations by combining the installation with a low cost loft cleaning service, a classic chunking example. David Halpern's book documents dozens and dozens of examples just like these. These small behavioural science changes that had a significant impact on public policy and this team unsurprisingly quickly grew. By 2010 the behavioural insights team had grown so large that they transitioned out of government to become an independent behavioural science company. They established offices in New York, Sydney, Singapore, Paris, Toronto. Over the years the team has undertaken seven hundred and fifty projects including over 400 randomized controlled trials. Over 200 other behavioural insight units are active worldwide and all are applying behavioural science to public policy. That original Behavioural Insights team became widely known as the Nudge unit and this concept of a nudge unit is something I've been fascinated about for years. A nudge unit is a group of expert behavioural science practitioners applying science backed principles to solve policy problems. The initiatives are low impact, low costs, but can have asymmetric outputs. Something as simple as tweaking an email could save millions. Nudge units typically work in public policy, but I've always wanted to do the same for businesses. A nudge unit that teaches business professionals behavioral science helps them apply principles to their work and then actually tests the results. So that is why I have built my own Nudge unit. My Nudge Unit is a three week course I'm hosting in March 2025. Students will learn how to apply behavioral science to their business following the Trusted East Framework. That's the framework developed by Halpern's team. The students will not only get theory, but they'll be encouraged to apply the techniques to their own business problems. By the time the three weeks are up, students will have an in depth understanding of behavioral science, the tools needed to apply the science to their business and some tangible improvements to their work. If that doesn't happen, if they don't see tangible results, I'll offer students a full refund on the course fee. This course differs dramatically to the other marketing courses I've taken. It's not just about passive learning, it's about turning theory into into action. The three weeks are split into three parts. The first week is about learning. In five hours of live lectures, I'll teach the necessary components of behavioural science using the east framework. In the second week, we'll look at how to apply behavioural science to your business. We'll come up with bespoke solutions backed by the latest evidence in behavioural science. And in the final week, we'll attempt to implement these behavioural science principles, measuring the effect they have and hopefully driving real ROI for your business. Just like with this podcast, all of the evidence I share on the course will be backed by science. Everything suggested or implemented will have a peer reviewed paper that backs up the idea. I'll make those papers and studies available to all students in the Nudge Vaults. The Nudge Vaults is a huge database of principles, examples and studies that I have been building for over five years. The Nudge Vaults will be made available exclusively to Nudge Unit students. That will give students the confidence that they're not simply making changes based on gut instinct, but on evidence backed science. Unlike most courses, the Nudge unit will be very, very hands on. I'll be working closely one on one with all students to come up with personalized ways to apply behavioral science for your business. You'll have a one on one chat with me before the course starts to discuss your goals. There'll be a pre course questionnaire to help me personalize the teaching and I'll have a real frank conversation with you about or not. You're a good fit. Once the course starts, you'll get regular one on one time with me to work on your business problems. Plus of course, there'll be the group lectures and community forums to share your ideas with your peers. You'll be able to engage as much or as little as you like, but I'll be available every workday to tackle your problems and apply Behavioural Science Solutions. In total, There'll be about 25 hours worth of content over the three weeks for you to access, all of which will be recorded so you can choose to watch live. Or if you can't make it, you can catch up. Once the course is over, I'll schedule a follow up with you to measure your results and discuss the next steps. This isn't just about learning. Students will be testing real world applications of behavioral science principles and those on the course should see tangible ROI in their results. Now, unfortunately, this means I can't offer access to everyone. To make the course work, I need to limit the number of people I can let on. It'll be very hands on and I can't work directly with everyone. The nudge unit simply won't work if there are too many people. That means for this cohort, I'm limiting access to just 20 students. Once those places sell out, the course will be closed to new applicants. 20 students is big enough for the unit to have a real community feel. You'll have access to our community forum, you'll be able to share updates with your peers and you'll be able to ask the group for feedback. But it's also small enough to feel relevant and bespoke. I've been on cohort courses with hundreds of students and you very quickly feel forgotten. That is not what Nudge unit is about. That said, this course is open to all sorts of business professionals. You could be a business leader looking to increase employee engagement. You could be a digital marketer looking to improve your ads. You could be an events manager attempting to improve sign up rates. Or perhaps you're a brand manager who needs to grow sales. The only real requirement is that students have the autonomy to make real changes within their business. This course focuses on applying and testing insights in real world scenarios. So it's necessary that you have the ability, or at least the buy in to apply and test these ideas yourself. That means junior marketers without the autonomy to make changes. While you shouldn't sign up, we will be making tangible business changes. And if you can't do that, then this course is not for you. The goal is for every student to see a notable improvement in their business. That could be higher open rates for emails. It could be fewer customer service calls. It could be more repeat customers, less churn better reviews or any other challenge your business faces. The beauty of the East Framework is that it can be used to tackle any behavioral change challenge in any industry. Now I want to make sure that this course is as worthwhile for you as possible. So if you fully engage with the course, attend the lessons, apply the principles, test the results, but you do not see any tangible or noticeable improvement in your business, I will offer a full refund. That way you have a guarantee that if none of this works and you feel like the course hasn't provided any value, you won't be charged. And I think that is a pretty fair deal. So I hope to see you on the course. I've been working on this idea for well over a year now and I genuinely think it'll be a fantastic cohort. Honestly, I think this course, this Nudge unit, is the antithesis of the podcast. Nudge aims to provide you with the tools to improve your work and the Nudge unit takes that further, teaching you the foundational knowledge, then working with you one on one to apply these principles to your business. As I mentioned, There are only 20 spaces and I don't know how quickly they will sell out. I also don't know when or if I will do another cohort. So if you think the Nudge unit is for you, then click the link in today's Show Notes. You'll be able to sign up there. Click that link and you'll also find out much more info about the Nudge unit. You can see a full course syllabus exactly when the lessons are, some testimonials and a full Q and A on there. You'll even find an email template you can use to ask your boss if you can expense the course. The course is priced a little bit higher than the typical online self paced courses, but that's because this is a truly hands on exclusive group and I think you will see a return on investment that far exceeds the cost of the course. So that's the big news. I am launching my own Nudge unit to help you learn, apply and test behavioral science within your business. This course will take up a lot of my time. I will be spending most of the next two months on it and because of that I will stop publishing the Friday episodes. I started this year with the goal of publishing twice per week, but I'm actually already concerned with the quality of those additional episodes. My episodes take a long time to put together. They involve hours of reading, researching, script writing and editing. It's a week long project per episode and two episodes per week just isn't possible without sacrificing quality, especially while I'm running a Nudge Unit cohort. So for now it'll only be one episode per week. I want to provide you with the best possible podcast, and if that means reducing the number of episodes, then I'm happy with that. Anyway, that is all from me, folks. The Nudge Unit is the most exciting thing I have ever worked on. I genuinely think it'll dramatically improve the work of those who join me for it, so I hope to see you there. Remember to sign up, just click the link in the show notes and if you have any questions you can email me directly to learn more. I'm Phil. That's Phil with two Ls, so P H I L L@nudgepodcast.com that's philudgepodcast.com thanks for listening. I hope to see some of you in the Nudge Unit in a month's time. Cheers.