CHAPTER 12 The Design of People
- Anchoring
The email set expectations about the design process with an eye on
encouraging desirable behaviors among participants. It did so by
employing the power of anchoring repeatedly. - Fairness
The design process framed in the email employed what we know about
the effect of fair systems in inspiring positive human behaviors. - Honor Code
The phrasing and choreography of the email capitalized on the anchors
that specifically influence short-term human morality. - Social Coordination
The email unified the team by making the style of the feedback
something that all stakeholders shared in common. - Social Norms
The email removed me from the top of the accountability hierarchy and
instead replaced my position with the project. If one person were to
ignore the directions, they would be hurting the project instead of me.
It is worth mentioning that it wasn’t an entirely smooth ride. There
were a few stakeholders who turned in feedback far past their deadlines.
When I rejected their feedback on the grounds that the time had passed,
they escalated to the executive sponsor (and original founder of the sites).
Fortunately, thanks to past experience, I had put some air cover (support
from the most senior influencer on the project) in place before the project
kicked off. He dismissed such escalations, in turn adding another strong
psychological force to the forward momentum of Project Unify.
At this point, we’ll stop talking about other people and start looking at
our problems’ roots from another angle. After all, there’s a hard limit on