Kieran Flanagan & Dan Gregory 
Selfish, Scared and Stupid [PDF ebook] 
Stop Fighting Human Nature and Increase Your Performance, Engagement and Influence

Appealing to humans’ basic instincts to increase influence,
buy-in and results

Survival of the species comes down to three basic instincts, say
behavioural research strategists Dan Gregory and Kieran
Flanagan–fear, self-interest and simplicity. These basic
human behaviours come into play in all types of relationships,
including those between businesses and customers. Selfish,
Scared and Stupid: Stop fighting human nature and increase your
performance, engagement and influence, demystifies these
behaviours and examines the psychology behind why even the best
ideas sometimes fail.

This book helps businesses design their organisations for
reality rather than perfection, and also offers strategies to head
off unprecedented levels of disengagement within, and outside, the
business. It answers baffling questions around why the public
sometimes fails to engage despite overwhelming data suggesting
otherwise, why so many new products end up on clearance shelves and
why so many great salespeople often fall short of their monthly
targets.

* Learn how the survival of the species plays into business,
including delusionary realities and the reasons ideas can fail

* Discover how to offer customers strategic rewards, thereby
making the buying process more attractive to selfish natures

* Examine the link between fear and the unknown, including
strategies for quelling fears and turning them into action

* Learn to use a simple mindset to create low-involvement
products, helping appeal to instinct and making products hard to
resist

This provocative book is built on the idea that businesses must
return to a more human engagement methodology in order to succeed.
It is an informative read for anyone interested in improving
influence, growing business reach, improving sales figures or
understanding the complexities of human behaviour.

Table of Content

About the authors xi

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction xv

Part I: We are all selfish, scared and stupid

1 A matter of survival 3

2 The Happy Delusion 17

3 Why failure happens 31

Part II: Think selfish

4 Tell me WIIFM 51

5 Offer a reward 67

6 Make it enjoyable 81

Part III: Think scared

7 Flip the fear 97

8 Link it to the known 111

9 Show them they’re not alone 125

Part IV: Think stupid

10 Make it simple 139

11 Make it easy (lazy) 155

12 Make it hard not to 169

Selfish, scared and stupid in the real world 183

The Impossible Institute(TM) 189

Index 191

About the author

Dan Gregory and Kieran Flanagan are behavioural
researchers and strategists and the founders of innovation and
engagement think-tank, The Impossible Institute(TM). Dan can also
be seen on ABC TV’s Gruen Planet.