Mental Models: Story

ALL OUR DECISIONS ARE FILTERED THROUGH A STORY—REAL OR IMAGINED—THAT WE BELIEVE.

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How might this apply to great teams and cultures?We tell a lot of stories in organizations:

How might this apply to your business?Are you creating a story that includes your stakeholders? Stories can be explicit—simple, episodic narratives. Or a story can be implied, using words that suggest conflict, a hero or other narrative elements. The most powerful stories are well-crafted visions that give significance to mundane tasks.

Consider

What story did you tell yourself about the last person you just met or came into contact with?

See Also

Commitment & Consistency, Autonomy, Authority, Affect Heuristic, Conceptual Metaphor, Priming, Framing, Periodic Events, Task Significance

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In the whirl of our day-to-day interactions, it’s all too easy to forget the nuances that distinguish great teams, great cultures, and great products/services.

Mental Model Flash Cards bring together insights from psychology into an easy reference and brainstorming tool. Each card describes one insight into human behavior and suggests ways to apply this to your teams as well as the design of your products and services.

MENTAL MODELS: ACHIEVEMENTS

We are more likely to engage in activities in which meaningful achievements are recognized.

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How might this apply to your business?
Achieving something of personal or social significance is gratifying and even motivating, more so when recognized in some way. In gaming environments, achievement is shows through points, badges, levels and other kinds of recognition. In other contexts, achievement is signaled by things like promotion, membership, privileges, and acquisitions. What challenges—tied to desired behaviors—do you have in place and what are the associated achievements?

See also: Appropriate Challenges, Feedback Loops, Competition, Reputation, Status, Story

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In the whirl of our day-to-day interactions, it’s all too easy to forget the nuances that distinguish great teams, great cultures, and great products/services.

Mental Model Flash Cards bring together insights from psychology into an easy reference and brainstorming tool. Each card describes one insight into human behavior and suggests ways to apply this to your teams as well as the design of your products and services.

MENTAL MODELS: PERIODIC EVENTS

RECURRING EVENTS CREATE A SUSTAINED INTEREST, ANTICIPATION AND SENSE OF BELONGING.

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How might this apply to your business?
Excluding “scheduled maintenance outings,” what do your clients/users have to look forward to or reminisce about? Are there regular, recurring events enjoyed by al? Many kinds’ games use a narrative structure to create events—why not try the same in our business applications and public websites? Consider ways that all users or groups within a system could enjoy shared, recurring experiences.

See also: Story, Limited Duration, Limited Access, Peak-End Rule


MENTAL MODELS: FRAMING

THE WAY IN WHICH ISSUES AND DATA ARE STATED CAN ALTER OUR JUDGMENT AND AFFECT DECISIONS.

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How might this apply to your business?

How are you presenting choices in your system? What are the available options? An implied story makes the most desirable choice more obvious, especially for new or difficult concepts. For example, framing donations as costing “less than a cup of coffee a day” encourages people to rationalize a monthly pledge.

See also: Conceptual Metaphor, Story, Loss Aversion