Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff

www.ted.com It may seem that big problems require big solutions, but ad man Rory Sutherland says many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers. To illustrate, he uses behavioral economics and hilarious examples.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

[@swedishnitro]

You can tell him from me that I really enjoyed his book, and more importantly, his bit at the end about 'the ministry of detail' and the no-cost/high impact is the focus of my entire PhD.

[@mailbox5ravi]

Your comment is 10 years old, not sure if you will read my comment... I am Curious to know more about your Research Topic / Project.

[@popstar10000]

he is my dad; I promise! he was really happy you said that. he says thanks!

[@eagletsar5700]

Your dad is awesome!

[@PrincipledUncertainty]

Really? Lucky you. Science dictates that you must be at least 75 per cent genius.

[@jeffmonk6359]

I would pay to hang out with your Dad for a week. HIs talks are the best things I have seen in a long time. 8 year ago...whoops. Nerco-post!

[@i_habeeb_rahman]

Do you know how awkward it is to see your same comment all over KZbin under your dad’s videos. Grow up daddy’s girl.

[@adame636]

@@i_habeeb_rahman hahaa you're replying to a comment from 9 years ago probably written by a young girl. Has another human being ever enjoyed your company?

[@chaotk15]

Chiming in from 2020: User Experience? I'm studying Game Design: UX and i'm loving Rory. Add Wifi, Improve the from, encourage community. Little things focused on how the user experiences the product/service

[@crudhousefull]

What he says is VERY significant. As a manager you are expected to 'spend' the alloted money and you often go for big budget options just to fill the gap. Sometimes of course there's a gap between what you want to do and the amount of money available...but a lot of the time it's the other way around...especially when there's a big budget. Very intelligent guy

[@nekopariah6306]

Detail. He said it himself, the fourth quadrant is detail.

[@MaxRoaldEckardt]

or pragmatism

[@hellalpha]

This talk is absolutely brilliant.

[@DocLovin]

The bottom right-hand corner are the Leverage Points. The examples he stated tended to be User Interface Design.

[@SashaRancic]

Talking about details: those people who edit these videos for KZbin should either lower the volume of the TED intro and outro (including the cartoon at the end), or boost the volume of the more important part - the lecture. Every time I watch a TED video on KZbin I have to correct the levels myself. If I set the level during the intro I find the lecture too quiet. I can't speak for others, but this really annoys me. Is it just me? p.s. Great lecture by the way.

[@stapleinmyfinger]

Talk was good and all but the animation at the end was priceless haha

[@AttentiontoDetail]

beautiful idea. thank you.

[@mike28110]

I don't know why, I love this guy lol.

[@Fmeson]

@rarrmonkey I think he was pretty clever not naming it actually. By posing it as a question viewers might continue to think about his speech and its message. He is in effect applying the very principle he is talking about.

[@lazygamerz]

That means you reach a short distance to get an easy to reach proportional gain. Its the mechanical thing he mentioned, fex 1:1 ratio (or some other ratio, minus some friction in the process, thermodynamics is king). What he is talking about fex, to get almost everyone to be organ donors, you don't have to do much, you just have an opt-out form when you take your drivers licence instead of an opt-in form (so "check the box if you don't want to be an organ donor in the event that (...)").

[@kumulumbus]

whatched the animation on the end, is great

[@antuntun]

brilliant lecture!

[@GraphitePen]

@flexcapacitor1 That is a very idealistic way to look at things in - trusting people to divulge the necessary info. I work in customer support and I find that most people will be aware of a problem but will not have a semblance of understanding of the cause or how to fix it. What is then required is someone asking the appropriate questions. This is where the main problem lies. Customer input is essential but it will many times point you away from the solution or even the problem itself.

[@vijayarya9528]

Thank you all very much

[@chuckmartin935]

This guy is the man. great ted ex speech. Hit the ball out of park!

[@ChaosmanOne]

Inspiration, genius, eureka, ingenuity...there are a TON of words that describe the fourth thing precisely because people are so attracted to it.

[@frasmus]

"Touché" might work. A touch is elemental. In fencing it conveys that you hit the target.

[@TheStepItUpQueen]

I agree - Do the small things first to grow your business.

[@ZerqTM]

8:30 i would love being able to see the balance before hand...

[@anaselghafari4146]

A name for those details he is talking about already exists: nudges (plural of a nudge: a gentle push meant to give a signal or direct attention). Thaler & Sunsteing have written a book about that. The title of the book: "nudge".

[@TeacherFabrice]

I would call that quadrant: CREATIVITY

[@frezzingaces]

I do believe the job of the "Chief of detail" is called the User Experience designer. Their job is to make sure the user/customer experience is consistant all the way through the buying/consuming/whatever process.

[@Alex-ps5ok]

Seems you were right… but also seems now that that title and the perceived value of it has pushed it into the high cost quadrant. Onto the next…

[@briansmobile1]

Call the ministry of detail Ygetarts. It sounds unheard of and complicated enough to be respected, but is simply strategy backwards. Very simple.

[@roidroid]

@Sporin47 agreed, my thought was "Art" as well.

[@weakmindedidiot]

The word is actually "elegant" ... An elegant solution... Elegant strategy... We use it in mathematics quite frequently.

[@zeffii]

fantastic talk! inspired by the small stuff :)

[@ShallowBeThyGames]

If they executives occasionally asked the guy who works for them, for minimum wage, how his job could be made easier, I'm sure they'd have better ideas than the people sitting around the board-room table. Obviously the obligatory "longer breaks" and "better looking co-workers" are par for course, but basically the big-guys should work WITH the little-guys. It's a two-way street too, the boss might get some astounding ideas, the workers are motivated too just by asking for their opinion...win-win

[@oayabacnhoj6855]

I love Canada for diamond shreddies

[@swedishnitro]

Very good!

[@kirby570]

@10Pups "Common Sense" is two words... But I agree with that statement nonetheless.

[@ayjay10016]

MINISTRY OF DETAIL is a fabulous fabulous idea however for staffing this ministry you have to head hunt those rare administrators who have the mental faculty of attention-to-detail. Another way to find such people is to add an input in the Annual Performance Reports Proformas which states this mental faculty on a scale of 1-10.

[@LudicrousTachyon]

@rarrmonkey I think the point was that there is no paid position for that 4th square.

[@WavyMinds]

@SashaRancic Ummm...I agree to some extent..especially the intro literally bumping you from your seat...and yea actually problem with sound in lectures is maybe due to when speakers move their head to see slides...the mic got less voice..just a guess...

[@GreningerProductions]

Invention or innovation, it can have a small cost and a large impact, it includes synergy, one might include the term tactical, or calculated, the scope is that of detail, rather than the greater scope of strategy. This leads to the interesting area of disruptive innovation research, such innovations overtake large organizations by means of cheaper processes and better products using newer technology. In the end the best term would be disruptive innovation research.

[@SE4GY7]

"HACKS" THATS THE NAME

[@Gerar2891]

Your dad is one of the few people in this world with a well developed common scence. If he his your dad give him my cheers

[@Elaina43]

PERKS practically inconsequential free stuff that adds inordinate value making an acronym out of this shouldn't be too difficult - but I couldn't do it... Pleasurable Extras Rewards Keepsake Stuff see? not good. But I still like the word.

[@marijandesin8226]

I have been baffled by up and down buttons the first time i came to heathrow.

[@lillielime]

@SashaRancic i completely agree with you!

[@leeelliott8611]

Always the little things that make a big difference

[@runawayjury]

Is it really that inconvenient to turn down the volume, and then up again?

[@roidroid]

the word he is looking for is "Art". example: while riding my bike yesterday i came across a dead parrot lying on the dirt on the side of a path near a school. I stopped my bike, took some sticks, and layed the sticks around the parrot like a photo frame. It took 10 seconds. It's going to confuse a lot of people who see it.

[@LOGOASSASSIN]

Rory my old mate/colleague, he smoked a pipe at work when he was a nobody. He still works at the same company and is now the big cheese.

[@SomethingSea1]

@Saerain Yeah, that part of it really confused me. Why the hell would you log in except to see what your balance is? Do you have enough money to pay for something that you want? No? Then it'll have to wait.

[@alexsv9310]

13 years have passed, but I thought it would be possible to borrow some thoughts for the article, and of course, I will indicate the source..

[@barakau]

Call it SSUL = Small Stuff Users Love... Then you can say.... What's the SSULUTION? 😅

[@KingRockets]

Cool, thought you were just trolling at first. Great Stuff.

[@smartbiz4u]

that think is called "Value Added" or Leverage

[@zarkoff45]

the name for that stuff. Well, "detail" is good. I like "micro-strategy" - or - "detail strategy" - psycho-strategy might be an entirely different and equally important thing. "Ingenuity" doesn't cut it because ingenuity can happen at the largest scales also.

[@aseri93]

What about "resolution"?

[@AZipp161]

At my company we call it, "Low Hanging Fruit"

[@sybre6259]

The fourth quadrant would be called 'willpower'. You only need that to do anything you want. Yes, and time, opportunity, etc., but with enough willpower you can find that as well.

[@PanacheFashion]

how many times did he say actually? i lost count..

[@BezBog]

That field is called product-service system design! :D

[@lilperv]

call the fourth quadrant "Activity" If I was Chairman of a Blue Chip company, I'd hire Rory as Director of Activity. He'd run everything bottom up and be twice as effective.

[@weppan]

The word you are looking for is, or is close to: Amelioration. I draw this conclusion by the bipolar logic. By the definition of axis, Strategy and trivia are each conterparts. The conterpart of Concultancy (defined as: High economical cost (individual driven) and commonly associated idéas) is someone with low economical cost (group driven) and has uncommon association idéas. otherwise a word like am-al-crea (good natured with a relation to creating) is needed.

[@scorpionkings]

I like to run my life under the kiss rule! It works great and I achieve my goals in doing so.

[@girlyvoice3210]

@EyeMonniker No its not important, not urgent.

[@rmvanroosendaal]

kicking ass. the fourth group is kicking ass.

[@popstar10000]

thats my dad :) im really proud :)

[@gojiack]

I'd call that word "Veritizing"... based on the name of Verity Lambert - the founding producer of the classic series of Doctor Who. If there's ONE show that showcased how you can create a ton of value with no budget - that's Doctor Who... the New Series also showcases why a bigger budget doesn't always mean better results as well. ^_^

[@happytailsspa]

I think the fourth quadrant should be called "Tweaklidge"-- Strategy's anti-particle... small tweaks and (hopefully) disproportionate results :-)

[@saerain]

The #1 reason I ever log into my bank account online is to check my balance. In fact, I can't recall ever logging in for anything else. There's nothing much else to do. To actually transfer money I have to use PayPal.

[@sunrainmisticon]

BRILLIANT!!! BRILLIANT!!!

[@lazygamerz]

He should read Dan Ariely's work. That we are incredibly irrational (but all believe we're rational) fits perfectly with this. Most of what we do, we do because we have close to zero actual insight into how our neurons came to do what we did (fex, I have no evidence from an MRI machine or other recording device to determine how I made the decision between 2 or 3 slices of bread, thus, neither answer is rationally correct (not accounting for the day-calorie requirement divided by kcal per slice).

[@n.gineer8102]

Genius, that’s what I’d put. The ability to see the solution others cannot.

[@bigtimedriller]

The bottom right quadrant may be called creative expression, but I like the 'low hanging fruit' comment also

[@popstar10000]

he is my dad. :) I like economics and phsycology, and I haven't even started secondary school yet! LOL

[@Tanzdez]

Name of that stuff in 4th quadrant: "Jugaad"

[@SSuperCuriouss]

"opportunia" (pl. of opportunitis) :P

[@photoallergic]

Rightfully so, he is a bright guy.

[@joeykimura]

same here

[@popstar10000]

I know :)

[@georgemcrae1682]

call it 'super stuff' :)

[@CharacterString]

Amplification.

[@XxmattitudexX]

its the butterfly effect when the smallest thing can have the biggest effect. i suppose butterfly efficency officer dosent sound to good for a job title but it is accurate to what he is describing

[@DavidSabine]

I think the fourth quadrant could be called "Creativity".

[@gabydewilde]

sophistication

[@TheChillBison]

I call that bottom-right quadrant "win-win."

[@moffattF]

Q4 suggestion butterflies

[@wodahsking]

It's called the Ministry of Efficiency

[@dirtydozen8988]

11:55 maybe a positive black swan?

[@MechVince]

Creativity, that is the fourth thing.

[@peperplanet]

I call the stuff creativity.

[@velara314]

rory, they desparately need that position. but that can be supplemented or complimented or substituted by another source. who? ...the customers and users of your products. they use the product every day and are completely qualified to tell you what they want. :) listen corporations (they won't read this), the answers have already been given to you. listen to and work with your customers. ask the people in the trenches what they notice, want and need. great speech!!!

[@popstar10000]

what do u mean? keep dreaming? see that picture? that is me and my dad, in our garden when i was younger, when he fell asleep with a bucket on his head.

[@Baronsamsam]

How about butterflies as a name for it. As in the butterfly effect

[@harshalbokil779]

The fourth thing is called "Jugaad" in India. And we see that every now and then, everywhere.

[@belliebum12]

4th quadrant... perspective-based decision making. That could probably be shortened a great deal.

[@crazzzik]

Ergonomics is the word. 99% of the times it is ergonomics that is lacking in certain areas of the finished project.

[@coolcut55]

Frugal Innovation is the 4th thing bro!!!

[@freddiepiano7106]

Call it: INGENUITY

[@Zaete0chan]

This is genius

[@palettelondon]

I believe that the advertising industry has become completely disconnected with what people want or think...

[@darkflib]

Hackers already name these types of solutions... 'elegance'

[@bobojr456]

it's called Ingenuity

[@soulsanctuarymusic1]

the forth section should just be called "insentive" or "ingenuity"

[@bukon90]

simplicity