The Fun Theory

Throughout the different posts, we’ve been discussing different aspects of sustainability and the various stakeholders involved in it: different parts of the company, government, non-profitable organizations, suppliers, consumers, etc. One of the common conclusions of this analysis is that changes must be achieved. Some of these changes may be achieved through political regulations, others by managerial decisions and other by changing the mental models in the average consumer. Today, I want to share with you an innovative way of modifying people’s behavior called “The Fun Theory”.

"Fun can obviously change behavior for the better.
We call it the Fun Theory"

This is an initiative of Volkswagen in which people are made to choose the better alternative by making it more fun. For example, making it fun to take the stairs over the escalator; or making it fun to recycle instead of throwing bottles to the trash. The interesting thing is that in the last post I wrote about this company that makes people to recycle by paying them. Here people recycle because it is fun, another big engine of human behavior.

These two different points of view may be combined towards a way of modifying effectively the behavior of individuals towards collective sustainability.

One important difference between the two points of view is that giving people money will be effective with no dependence on time while the fun theory is highly time dependant. With this I mean that people will always need discounts in the grocery store while the “piano staircase” may lose its “fun component” with time. So, the fun theory must be dynamic and reinvent itself with time. Nevertheless, I believe that by combining the main characteristics of the two perspectives (and some more) true changes may be achieved.

If you are interested in continue reading about the fun theory, go to http://www.thefuntheory.com/