Handing out information on money management is easy. But changing behaviour isn’t that simple. No? Let me share some perspectives on behavioural change. Related post, Information is easy, transformation is not
Guy Kawasaki tried an experiment where he placed two rubbish cans next to each other. One had no cover, so people could throw anything into it. The other had a cover with a six-inch round hole—the perfect size to drop cans and bottles. There were no oral or written requests to segregate and recycle the trash.
Kawasaki was amazed by the results of the experiment: the trash can with the round hole was filled with bottles and cans. There wasn’t anything other than bottles and cans in it. There were a mere five beer bottles in the whole thing.
Kawasaki thinks that this illustrates how you can change behavior if you create paths or flows of the smoothest kind. Would you agree?
I think You can teach behavior when you make it simple. We overcomplicate so many things in the workplace. It also shows that people will do the right thing when you make it easy to do so.
Let’s take one money behaviour example:
If you need to change your investing behaviour, simply automate your SIP. Or mark fixed days on your calendar to buy ETF/ Select stocks. Ordering the bank to simply cut an amount from your account means that you don’t have to think about it every month.
This also means you cut out the emotion out of your investing. And it’s definitely a change for the better!
And as I write this I see some interesting tweets on transformation by Shyam He says, (for startups):
1. Transformation of a single person operation into something larger is extremely painful, short term you get overheads of both & little of the upside.
2. But it is an investment for the longer term that pays itself back. Patience is a virtue that no startup blog can teach you.
Coming back to our money behaviours, do you think we can change it for the better by simplifying things? How?
Let me also share with you an image that I like about Transition.
The Process of Transition
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A clear, nice and crisp message. If we complicate the things, we will get entangled into it. Wish that life could be so plain and simple but we ourselves woven this. So in the end no regrets though the desire for orginal and authentic still remained!!!!Thanks Ranjan for sharing the article…it made my day!
@Naresh, Thanks. It makes my day too if my blog has been useful to you!