Fun = Done
January 27, 2011
University of Birmingham/AP
Health researchers put up messages on stairs in a suburban mall in Coventry, England to see if they could influence people to get a little exercise instead of just riding up the escalator. ”7 minutes of stair climbing daily protects your heart” was the very encouraging, sensible message.
Result? The number of people using the stairs increased from 4% to 10%. One of the researchers was quoted as saying, “You can exercise without even really thinking about it.”
On the other hand… you ARE thinking about it, aren’t you? You see those signs, and you think, “Eh, I really feel tired but I will feel GUILTY and tired if I don’t take the stupid stairs, so I may as well get it over with.”
These messages are very sensible, and they are mildly effective at shaming some people into moving their legs, but it is hardly an inspiring success, is it? A full 90% of the mall-goers are still using the escalator.
It is really easy, given this evidence, to think that there is only so much you can do– people just don’t WANT to take the stairs, even when they know it is good for them. How can you change willfully self-destructive behavior?
Errr. You can make the alternative more fun.
Volkswagen tackled the same problem using a different approach: the fun theory. When their researchers thought about how to encourage people to use the stairs, they decided to make it a WANT TO rather than an OUGHT TO incentive. They made the stairs at the Odenplan metro in Stockholm into a working piano you play with your feet as you climb.
Their results? A 66% increase in people using the stairs. Apparently, while people may not like to exercise, they really enjoy playing on stairs that make music. By changing the message, these innovators significantly changed behavior.
As nonprofit folk, this example of dramatically changed behavior offers a huge opportunity. How are YOU approaching your employees, clients, and donors? Are you giving them a OUGHT TO incentive? Or are you giving them a WANT TO opportunity to have fun (while doing the things you want and need them to do)?
Another way to put it: positive incentives trump threats. If you have any lingering doubts, think about the effectiveness of sporadic speed traps versus this, another idea from The Fun Theory folks: Speed Camera Lottery.
It’s time to put some more fun in your mission, don’t you think?
