What does it take to change someone’s mind?

We all know someone who was inspired to aim higher, dramatically change field or acquire new skills. Our economy will need vast amounts of this behavior.

All trends around the “future of work” require human beings to be open to more dramatic change, more frequently. Employers have job needs which could be filled, if only someone would be willing to re-imagine or re-skill to fit the need.

Assume that (1) new jobs are emerging, (2) training is becoming increasingly accessible via online, bootcamp and micro- options, and (3) new forms to fund training are emerging.

There’s still one major ingredient missing:
individuals themselves making a decision to attempt a very new job.

If you lose your job as an administrative assistant, do you simply use one of many excellent job boards to apply for other administrative assistant jobs, or do you aim for something new and better?

For the sake of individuals (and the economy as a whole), choosing the “new and better” job has to become the norm, not the exception.

There’s at least five reasons why it isn’t the norm though.

1. Choosing the unfamiliar. Behavioral science tells us that people gravitate to choosing familiar things over unfamiliar things. Many kinds of campaigns work on this basis — even if users don’t deeply know an option, the fact that they’ve been exposed to it creates familiarity that causes it to be selected. In the world of new jobs, this is a problem: workers won’t naturally choose new jobs/titles/companies over familiar ones. What design practices counter such bias?
2. Guidance. Behavioral science tells us that people resist control; they do not like to be told what to do. A “recommendation system” that spits out the best answer might not be the most effective option. User interaction where the user explores and finds a solution for themselves, amongst complex options, might be more impactful.
3. Changing your mind. Confirmation bias makes it very hard to change someone’s mind, and facts and statistics aren’t usually enough. This is true of political beliefs, beliefs about global warming and any number of beliefs. If an individual believes that he isn’t creative, isn’t analytical, or isn’t good with technology, the new jobs they will consider will be limited. What might work to change limiting beliefs about oneself ?
4. Growth mindset. Having a growth mindset lets you learn something new, even if you haven’t mastered it yet. Many adults have not been exposed to the notion of growth mindset, which greatly limits the opportunities they’ll consider personally achievable. What are effective ways to impart growth mindset thinking in adults?
5. Success stories. Sometimes presenting users with success stories backfires: it creates jealousy, unhappiness and inaction. What are the principles of designing motivational ‘success stories’ for end users?

I hope to find good insights on the topic of how we might enable individuals to make better job-related decisions (at scale). It’s one piece of the ‘future of work’ puzzle but a key one.

Have you built consumer-facing software products? I’d love to learn from your expertise in behavioral science and user behavior.

Products in advertising, marketing, social media, search, financial planning, health and fitness, counseling and politics all involve a deep understanding of how individuals perceive information and make decisions. I’d love to hear about relevant books and research. Thinking Fast & Slow (Daniel Kahneman) and Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) have been helpful.