Evolutionary Ideas
Unlocking ancient innovation to solve tomorrow’s challenges
By Sam Tatam
Jacket text
When faced with new challenges, it’s easy to feel our solutions need to be equally unprecedented. We think we need a revolution. But what if this is a big mistake?
In Evolutionary Ideas, Sam Tatam shows how behavioural science and evolutionary psychology can help us solve tomorrow’s challenges, not by divining something the world has never seen, but by borrowing from yesterday’s solutions – often in the most unexpected ways.
Just as millions of years of evolution have helped craft the wing and dorsal fin, thousands of engineers, designers, marketers and advertisers have toiled to solve many of the problems you face today. Over time, through intent, design, social learning and sheer luck, we have found what works.
Armed with an enhanced ability to see these patterns in human innovation, we can now systematically approach the creative process to develop more effective ideas more readily and rapidly.
In the same way Japanese engineers reduced bullet train noise by studying the evolved biology of the owl and kingfisher, today we can see how Disney improved the queueing experience in the same way Houston airport made arrivals feel faster (while making people walk further). We’ll learn how the chocolate at the bottom of a Cornetto ice cream can improve an Error 404 message, and what a bowl of M&Ms has in common with a canary in a coal mine.
These are Evolutionary Ideas.
Exploring five of the most critical challenges we face today, we learn how to ‘breed’ more effective solutions from those that have survived. The result is a dynamic and exciting way of solving problems and supercharging creativity – for anyone in any endeavour.
About the author
Sam Tatam is Global Head of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy. His passion is understanding human behaviour, and his experience comes from organisational/industrial psychology and advertising strategy.
From New York to Nairobi, Sam has led behaviour change projects across virtually every category and continent. Today, he leads a global team of talented psychologists and behavioural economists to develop interventions and shape the communications of some of the world's most influential brands and organisations.
Reviews
“A hothouse of fresh insights, ready to invade your brain and take a life on their own.”
“A provocative case for role of behavioural science in contemporary innovation.”
“This book is fabulous and fascinating, teeming with insights about the psychology of innovation, not least that most innovation is not revolutionary but evolutionary.”
“Sam Tatam connects theory with practical illustrations to make a case for the vital role of behavioural science in modern innovation. A wonderfully valuable book!”
Media coverage
From InsideBE:
Sam Tatam, the Global head of behavioral science at Ogilvy, tells us what inspired him to write his new book, Evolutionary Ideas, why such ideas are desperately needed in 2022, and what his book aims to do.
From Customer Think:
Sam Tatum argues that the conventional approach to innovation and problem-solving is heavily influenced by two myths. The first is that big problems need big solutions. In other words, we typically think that the more significant a problem or challenge is, the more expansive or “revolutionary” the solution needs to be.
From Virgin:
Evolutionary Ideas is full of fascinating facts: Did you know that flies perceive time four times slower than humans, while turtles perceive time twice as fast? Remember that next time you’re tempted to swat a fly – or even see a turtle floating along. But it’s also packed with lessons that can apply for pretty… Read more »
From Behavioral Scientist:
In his book, Evolutionary Ideas, Sam Tatam, global head of behavioral science at Ogilvy, points out how some of the best behavior change innovations—across billboards, tip jars, café walls, and supermarket shelves—aren’t built from scratch but are instead adaptations of psychological principles based on decades of research. One lesson Tatam draws from this observation is… Read more »
From Behavioral Scientist :
From the back cover: “In Evolutionary Ideas, Sam Tatam shows how behavioral science and evolutionary psychology can help us solve tomorrow’s challenges, not by divining something the world has never seen, but by borrowing from yesterday’s solutions—often in the most unexpected ways.”
From Event Psychology Podcast:
This episode features Sam Tatam, Global Principal and Head of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy Consulting, author of ‘Evolutionary Ideas’. A must-listen! We talk about the science of experiences, innovation as an evolutionary phenomenon, the role of tech, emotional metrics, clock time vs brain time, memory, and of course Nudgestock.
From RON IMMINK:
“Evolutionary Ideas: Unlocking ancient innovation to solve tomorrow’s challenges” got me when they mentioned biomimicry and TRIZ. Evolution is nature’s problem solver, and I do not think TRIZ receives the attention it deserves when we discuss and think about innovation. There are lots of existing patterns of problem-solving, and instead of focusing on the new… Read more »
From Modern Wisdom:
Sam Tatam is the Head of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy Growth & Innovation and an author. When it comes to solving modern problems, it turns out that evolution might have a lot of the answers. Rather than revolutionary ideas, evolutionary ideas and solutions that already exist in the animal kingdom can help us with all… Read more »
From The Marketing Book Podcast:
When faced with new challenges, it’s easy to feel our solutions need to be equally unprecedented. We think we need a revolution. But what if this is a big mistake? In Evolutionary Ideas, Sam Tatam shows how behavioral science and evolutionary psychology can help us solve tomorrow’s challenges, not by divining something the world has… Read more »
| Published: | 10/05/2022 |
|---|---|
| Pages: | 326 |
| Formats: | paperback - ISBN 9780857197870 ebook - ISBN 9780857197887 audio - ISBN 0000000000068 |
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