Don't Trust the Process

In their book Nudge, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein outline two systems of thought that go into decision-making:

• Automatic: the "lizard brain" or "gut instinct" system
• Reflective: the "logical" or "well-reasoned" system

If we were all robots, we'd all be Reflective, all the time. But it's impossible to operate that way. Automatic decision-making is much faster and easier. That's why Sunstein and Thaler suggest choice architects (aka leaders) should present options in a way that makes certain desired outcomes appealing, while still preserving free will. This is called a nudge.

UX designers know nudge theory well. It's why some software features are more visible, and others are hidden; it's why Airbnb hides guest and host reviews for each other until both are written; it's why Netflix asks, "Are you still watching?" three episodes into a series (the company doesn't wish to slow down consumption for the good of your health, it's actually cheaper from a licensing perspective).

Nudges are not only helpful from a user behavior perspective. They're also powerful internal tools. At some point or another, a growing startup faces the question of process. Process at a company is essentially an internal UX problem: how do you efficiently and effectively nudge people to take desired actions?

You are probably already nudging employees in some ways. These are likely your most effective processes - ones in which employees can choose their actions, but the actions they prefer are the ones that benefit them individually and benefit the company as a whole. This is in contrast to rigid (and arbitrary-seeming) "set rules" which employees will inevitably rebel against.

Some examples:

People know when a process is created in order to set them up for success vs. one that exists because you don't trust them. That's why nudges are great for remote teams - they preserve autonomy for independent-minded folks.