Maritz – People Centered Business

Daniel Kahneman describes the science behind memories.  First, and foremost, he emphasizes that the experiencing self is not the same as the remembering self.  Most of what we experience, we do not remember.  We retain only a small portion of our experiences as captured by our remembering self who captures a story of what we will keep from our experiences. 

So what should we know if we want to create positive memories for people?  According to Daniel Kahneman, there are three critical aspects of experience that the remembering self pays particular attention to:

1.) Changes

2.) Significant Moments

3.) Endings

While most what people experience is lost, what they will remember are the changes, the significant moments, and the endings. 

Kahneman shares that, for example, a two-week vacation is barely better than a one-week vacation.  Why?  Time has very little impact on the story that is remembered.  If the second week of the vacation is similar to the first week, what’s the point?  The remembering self just doesn’t care about how much time we were on vacation.

As we strive to create positive memories for people and for ourselves, we need to artfully create opportunities for “significant moments” where positive emotions are released.  Additionally, we need to pay a lot of attention to endings.

So much of what businesses are striving to do today is create a positive experience for their key stakeholders including their customers, channel partners and employees.  How might we utilize these insights in small and big ways to create better business practices that enrich the lives of the people touched by them?