7 Superpowers of the Behavioural Designer

Behavioural Design Method

Seven Superpowers of Influence

Every meeting, every campaign, every policy, every product is an attempt to change behaviour. The question is whether you do it by guesswork - or by method.

Behavioural Design is that method. Seven superpowers that give any professional a systematic way to understand, predict and influence behaviour.

You reach the brain that actually decides.

Others fight for attention with facts and rational arguments. You know what they don't: people don't decide with their rational brain - they rationalise afterwards what their automatic brain had already determined. You learn to communicate with that automatic brain. Not with better arguments, but with the right trigger at the right moment.

Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman

"Humans are to thinking what cats are to swimming. We can do it if we have to, but we much prefer not to." - Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize in Economics

You think from the person, not from the offer.

While others try to make their product more attractive, you ask a different question: what deeper self-interest is this person actually trying to fulfil? You learn to think outside-in. Not "how do I convince someone of my offer?" but "how do I position my offer as the best path to what this person truly wants?"

"A job-to-be-done is the progress that someone is trying to make in a given circumstance, or what someone hopes to accomplish." - Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School

You read the invisible forces beneath the surface.

When people don't move, everyone else sees a motivation problem. You see a force field. The SUE | Influence Framework™ maps four invisible forces that shape every decision, and most professionals never even know they exist.

Pains: barriers blocking the desired behaviour

Gains: motivations that make people willing to act

Anxieties: fears that make people hesitate

Habits & Comfort: the pull of the status quo

The SUE | Influence Framework™

You make desired behaviour easier than undesired behaviour.

Most professionals work on motivation. Better rewards. Stronger campaigns. More awareness. But willpower is finite, unreliable, and disappears exactly when it matters most. You ask a different question: not "how do I motivate someone?" but "how do I make the desired behaviour so easy that motivation barely matters?"

Simplicity eats willpower for breakfast.

You fall in love with the person, not your own solution.

Every team, every expert has the same problem: they know too much. They've become so close to their own solution that they no longer really see the people they're building it for. You train a different muscle. You go back to the real human being - with real doubts, real habits, and a real reason not to move.

People always turn out to be different from what you assumed.

You design for all four moments that matter.

People don't change in one step. They have to notice you, consider you, choose you, love you, and stick with you. Each stage breaks down differently. Each stage needs different interventions.

Stage I Catch The hurdle People aren't looking for you. They're distracted, on autopilot, and have no reason to stop.

Design to break the automatic and earn a moment of attention.

Stage II Convert The hurdle Interest doesn't become action automatically. Anxiety, inertia and doubt block the moment of decision.

Design to remove friction and make the decision feel obvious and safe.

Stage III Confirm The hurdle People talk themselves out of decisions right after making them. Doubt kills loyalty before it starts.

Design to reduce post-decision doubt and strengthen commitment.

Stage IV Continue The hurdle First-time behaviour rarely becomes habit. Without the right environment, people slip back to their default.

Design context that makes the new behaviour the easy default.

You change the environment, not the person.

When people don't do what they should, the default diagnosis is always the same: they don't want it enough, they're resistant by nature. But that diagnosis is almost never right. People change all the time - when the environment makes it easy enough.

Good people, bad circumstances. You solve the environmental problem that everyone else mistakes for a people problem.

"The problem is almost never the people. It's the context they're operating in. Change the context, and the behaviour changes itself." - Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman Ogilvy & author of Alchemy

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Proven in practice

Does this work for my type of challenge?

SUE has worked on hundreds of influence challenges across every sector. Click your audience and see what Behavioural Design can do.

Consumers

Voters

Donors

Employees

Professionals

Talent

Stakeholders

Citizens

Getting consumers to act

The shortest route to conversion runs through the brain of your customer.

A/B tests on button colours miss the point. Those who understand which psychological barrier blocks the purchase design customer journeys that actually convert.

Behavioural Design

Identify purchase barriers at every touchpoint
Design choice architecture that drives conversion
Build loyalty from behavioural patterns

Amplified with AI

AI identifies friction in your customer journey
AI generates nudge variants per touchpoint
AI tests with synthetic users before you go live

SUE Case

“How can we get our customers to think about their energy challenges and manage them through KBC?”

Getting voters to act

When 72% of voters decide in the last week, how do you influence that one decision?

The problem is never motivation, it's the moment. Those who understand how voting behaviour actually works design campaigns that bring people to the polls.

Behavioural Design

Understand voting behaviour with the Influence Framework
Design social commitment strategies
Remove barriers to taking action

Amplified with AI

AI analyses sentiment per audience group
AI generates messages per voter segment
AI simulates campaign impact in advance

SUE Case

“How can we ensure as many people as possible come to vote on European election day, regardless of political preference?”

Getting donors to act

Between ‘this moves me’ and ‘I’m making a transfer’ is a gap. That gap can be closed.

More emotion doesn’t help. Those who understand which psychological barriers hold donors back design concepts that actually convert.

Behavioural Design

Identify donation barriers
Design interventions that make giving easy
Build commitment ladders for repeat donations

Amplified with AI

AI personalises donation proposals
AI tests messages with synthetic donors
AI optimises the donation journey per segment

SUE Case

“How do we convince high-net-worth individuals to give structurally to a problem that seems unsolvable?”

Getting employees to act

What works in Australia clashes in Brazil. How do you design culture that lands everywhere?

Engagement surveys change nothing. Those who understand how habits and context drive behaviour design workplaces where people want to perform.

Behavioural Design

Uncover behavioural drivers in teams
Design leadership moments that shape culture
Embed new behaviour in daily routines

Amplified with AI

AI recognises patterns in team dynamics
AI personalises learning interventions per team
AI monitors behaviour change over time

SUE Case

“How do we design a shared leadership culture in an organisation scaling rapidly across 4 continents?”

Getting professionals to act

A doctor has 12 minutes per patient. In those 12 minutes, your innovation has to land.

Doctors, advisors, specialists - they don’t decide at conferences or in meetings. They decide in the moment. Those who understand that moment win.

Behavioural Design

Map the decision moments of professionals
Design interventions that fit into the workflow
Build adoption pathways from Jobs to be Done

Amplified with AI

AI analyses adoption patterns in your data
AI generates touchpoints per professional profile
AI simulates adoption scenarios in advance

SUE Case

“How can we convince doctors, nurses and health insurers that our new subscription model is better for patients, practitioners and payers?”

Getting talent to act

Top talent doesn’t choose a company, but a mission they want to be part of.

The best people don’t choose the best deal. They choose the story they want to belong to. Those who understand this design recruitment that attracts the right people.

Behavioural Design

Uncover the real drivers of top talent
Design application processes as selection experiences
Build employer branding from behavioural insight

Amplified with AI

AI segments talent on motivation, not CV
AI personalises the candidate journey
AI tests employer brand messages in advance

SUE Case

“How do we attract the smartest young engineers in Saudi Arabia to choose us over a trendy tech startup?”

Getting stakeholders to act

Everyone is in favour of nature policy. Until it affects their backyard or wallet.

Citizens, farmers, policymakers - they don’t resist change. They resist loss. Those who understand this can turn resistance into engagement.

Behavioural Design

Understand resistance patterns per stakeholder group
Design framing that shifts perceptions
Build coalition strategies from shared interest

Amplified with AI

AI analyses sentiment per stakeholder group
AI generates frames per target audience
AI simulates stakeholder support scenarios

SUE Case

“How do we get farmers, citizens and policymakers aligned behind ambitious nature policy?”

Getting citizens to act

Good policy changes the rules. Smart policy changes the context.

Awareness campaigns don’t work. Fines work even less. Those who understand how context drives behaviour design policies that people actually follow.

Behavioural Design

Uncover behavioural barriers in policy context
Design nudges and choice architecture
Test interventions before implementation

Amplified with AI

AI analyses compliance patterns
AI generates nudge variants per context
AI simulates policy impact on behaviour

SUE Case

“Why don’t people wash their hands at the office, even though they know they should and dispensers are everywhere?”

Explore all cases →

Every Professional is a Behavioural Designer

The Behavioural Design Method is used by organisations around the globe, across all kinds of categories.

Seven Superpowers of Influence

You reach the brain that actually decides.

You think from the person, not from the offer.

You read the invisible forces beneath the surface.

You make desired behaviour easier than undesired behaviour.

You fall in love with the person, not your own solution.

You design for all four moments that matter.

You change the environment, not the person.

Ready to master all 7 superpowers?

Does this work for my type of challenge?

The shortest route to conversion runs through the brain of your customer.

When 72% of voters decide in the last week, how do you influence that one decision?

Between ‘this moves me’ and ‘I’m making a transfer’ is a gap. That gap can be closed.

What works in Australia clashes in Brazil. How do you design culture that lands everywhere?

A doctor has 12 minutes per patient. In those 12 minutes, your innovation has to land.

Top talent doesn’t choose a company, but a mission they want to be part of.

Everyone is in favour of nature policy. Until it affects their backyard or wallet.

Good policy changes the rules. Smart policy changes the context.

The science of behaviour, applied to your daily work.

Navigate complex organisational challenges.

Ready to master all 7 superpowers?

Every Professional is a Behavioural Designer

The Behavioural Design Method is used by organisations around the globe, across all kinds of categories.

Seven Superpowers of Influence

You reach the brain that actually decides.

You think from the person, not from the offer.

You read the invisible forces beneath the surface.

You make desired behaviour easier than undesired behaviour.

You fall in love with the person, not your own solution.

You design for all four moments that matter.

You change the environment, not the person.

Ready to master all 7 superpowers?

Does this work for my type of challenge?

The shortest route to conversion runs through the brain of your customer.

When 72% of voters decide in the last week, how do you influence that one decision?

Between ‘this moves me’ and ‘I’m making a transfer’ is a gap. That gap can be closed.

What works in Australia clashes in Brazil. How do you design culture that lands everywhere?

A doctor has 12 minutes per patient. In those 12 minutes, your innovation has to land.

Top talent doesn’t choose a company, but a mission they want to be part of.

Everyone is in favour of nature policy. Until it affects their backyard or wallet.

Good policy changes the rules. Smart policy changes the context.

The science of behaviour, applied to your daily work.

Navigate complex organisational challenges.

Ready to master all 7 superpowers?

1,5 minutes of influence