The central idea of Nudge was that we are not rational. Far from it. For example, we don’t save for the future when the now is calling. We miss opportunities to act.
A well-designed nudge puts macro thinking into action at a micro level.
That idea has never been more important.
In the age of information overwhelm, competing agendas, and social pressure, one thing is becoming clear: as individuals, we are out of our depth. For some, that’s obvious — and a good reason to keep our heads down. For others, the guru position has never made more sense. Clarity where there is none is appealing.
I wrote yesterday about the choices a coach, teacher, or instructor faces with the simplest of decisions; I have a skipping rope. What happens next?
Add your own narrative about what you do. Layer on the expectations of those you serve. Then pile on the demands of schools, governing bodies, and anyone with a keyboard — and you get the picture. We are not being nudged; we are getting our arses kicked.
Initiatives come and go. The agenda of today is not the agenda of tomorrow, but what remains is choice.
Overwhelm comes in the face of competing choices; we would do well to recognise the choices we face in grassroots sports out in the open — and design accordingly.