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The Dynamics of Business Behavior

An Evidence-Based Approach to Managing Organizational Change

A book written by Beirem Ben Barrah and Philip Jordanov

Globally published by Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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About the book

The Dynamics of Business Behavior: An Evidence-Based Approach to Managing Organizational Change brings together the art of change—where creativity, meaning, and imagination are leveraged—with the latest research and findings in behavioral science. Uncovering the impact they have on our ability to adapt, learn, and embrace change, it unlocks the secrets to transforming organizations with a human-centric and evidence-based approach.

Written by entrepreneur Beirem Ben Barrah and cognitive neuropsychologist Philip Jordanov, this book explores the fundamentals of brain and behavior and how to think and approach problems from the mindset of a behavioral scientist, along with how neuroscience relates to business principles like change management, management and leadership, people and organization, growth, and innovation.

It features 40+ interviews with industry leaders and scientists to provide you with a behaviorally informed toolkit to drive positive and lasting change with step-by-step guides on 18 evidence-based interventions. The Dynamics of Business Behavior earns a well deserved spot on the bookshelves of business leaders and professionals, especially those involved in Management, P&O/HR, or Innovation, seeking to steer their organization towards sustained, positive change.

The Dynamics of Business Behavior book cover - written by Beirem Ben Barrah and Philip Jordanov

Testimonials

Dilip Soman blurb for The Dynamics of Business Behavior by Beirem Ben Barrah and Philip Jordanov

Dilip Soman

Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Science and Economics at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

“This book tackles the elephant in the room of change management. Change is impossible without behavior change, and this book shows us precisely how to achieve it.”

Ben Tiggelaar blurb for The Dynamics of Business Behavior by Beirem Ben Barrah and Philip Jordanov

Ben Tiggelaar

Dutch behavioral scientist, speaker, and author of The Ladder.

“Too often change management still revolves around abstract concepts like ‘the organization’ or ‘the culture’. Far too little do we look at the concrete behavior of real people. Therefore: praise for Philip Jordanov and Beirem Ben Barrah. They constructed a practical and solid bridge between behavioral science and organizational change.

Paul Gibbons blurb for The Dynamics of Business Behavior by Beirem Ben Barrah and Philip Jordanov

Paul Gibbons

Author of The Science of Organizational Change, Impact, Change Myths, and more.

“For too long the change profession has ignored the appalling results that pure ‘hearts and minds’ type interventions produce. Beirem and Philip aim to put that right with a groundbreaking book that looks to integrate, in theory and in practice, change management and behavioral science.”

Table of Contents

What will you learn in this book? There’s much more to be found but here is a brief outline of what each chapter will contain.

Foreword by Bas Zwart

Bas Zwart, the Global Change Management Leader at Johnson & Johnson, on balancing the art and science of organizational change management.

Preface by Paul Gibbons

Paul Gibbons, former Talent and Transformation Partner at IBM and renowned author, on the development, challenges, and important of behavioral science in organizational change management.

Introduction

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Who this book is for
  • Why behavioral science matters in change management
  • The challenges of applying science
  • Behaviorally informed change management
  • The academic, practitioner, and entrepreneur
  • Unique insights from 40+ interviews
  • How to read this book

Part I: Bridging Two Disciplines

This part explores and merges the fundamental disciplines of Behavioral Science and Organizational Change Management.

CH 1: Managing Organizational Change

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • History of organizational change management
  • Evolution of OCM
  • The drivers of change
  • The audio technician
  • The success rate of OCM projects
  • Six change areas
  • Recognizing who is responsible
  • Recurring challenges in OCM
CH 2: Think Like a Behavioral Scientist

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • A brief history of behavioral science
  • Behavioral science explained
  • Use-cases of behavioral science
  • Mindset: BeSci as a lens
  • Frameworks: BeSci as a tool
  • Methodology: BeSci as an approach
CH 3: Behaviorally Informed Change Management

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • What is Behaviorally Informed Change Management (BICM)?
  • Cultural change as behavioral change
  • Use-cases of behaviorally informed change management
CH 4: Evidence-Based Change Interventions

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • What are Evidence-Based Change Interventions (EBCIs)?
  • What is an intervention and what makes it evidence-based?
  • The role of evidence in selecting effective interventions
  • Experimentation, testing, and iteration
  • The emergence of a shared underlying framework

Part II: Eighteen Interventions for Six Change Areas

This part walks you through 18 step-by-step guides on applying Evidence-Based Change Interventions in a variety of areas.

CH 5: Planning and Risk Management

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Planning & risk management interventions
  • On biases in planning & risk management
  • Mitigating unseen risks with the Premortem
  • Reducing cost overruns with Reference-Class Forecasting
  • Using Whole System in the Room for strategic risk management in change
  • 3 Behavioral Breaks with step-by-step implementation guides
CH 6: Narrative and Communication

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Narrative and communication interventions
  • On biases in narrative and communication
  • Engaging storytelling with the Public Narrative
  • Tailoring and communicating your narrative with the 30-3-30-3
  • MINDSPACE: and evidence-based tool for communicating change
  • 3 Behavioral Breaks with step-by-step implementation guides
CH 7: Leadership Support

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Leadership support interventions
  • On biases in leadership support
  • Facilitating role-modeling (or anything else) with If-Then Plans
  • Re-anchoring for fact-based resource allocation
  • Prevent sunk costs with Gradual Escalation of Commitment
  • 3 Behavioral Breaks with step-by-step implementation guides
CH 8: Stakeholder Engagement

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Stakeholder engagement interventions
  • On biases in stakeholder engagement
  • Cultivating Psychological Safety in your culture
  • Understanding your stakeholders beyond the org chart with Organizational Network Analysis
  • Engaging resistance through constructive conflict: Red-Blue Team
  • 3 Behavioral Breaks with step-by-step implementation guides
CH 9: Measuring Change

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Measuring change interventions
  • On biases in measuring change
  • A behaviorally informed Change Measuring Toolkit
  • Shifting the Burden of Proof for more accurate reporting
  • A/B Testing interventions in your change initiative
  • 3 Behavioral Breaks with step-by-step implementation guides
CH 10: Learning and Development

What are some things you’ll find in this chapter?

  • Learning and development interventions
  • On biases in learning and development
  • Enhancing learning agility amid change with a Growth Mindset
  • Encourage empathy and shared learning with Go-to-Gemba
  • Integrating Developmental KPIs to prioritize and incentivize learning
  • 3 Behavioral Breaks with step-by-step implementation guides
Conclusion: Toward Behaviorally Informed Organizations

On how evidence-based and behaviorally informed change management will help organizations become more human-centric and effective.

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The Dynamics of Business Behavior book cover - written by Beirem Ben Barrah and Philip Jordanov