Jul 2, 2026 · 1 hr 9 min · 12 segments
In the final episode of our Robert Cialdini series, we explore the extraordinary legacy of one of behavioral science's most influential thinkers. We revisit the seven Principles of Influence through…
Robert CialdiniGuest
Todd RogersGuest
Katy MilkmanGuest
Betsy Levy PaluckGuest
Dan PinkGuest
Steve MartinGuest
Doug KenrickGuestDan GertzikovGuest
Guy KawasakiGuest
Steve NeubergGuest
Marcus BrauerGuest
Alex LaskeyGuestDan YatesGuest
Noah GoldsteinGuest
Angela DuckworthGuest
Adam GrantGuestBrian AhernGuest
Daniel KahnemanGuestPicture millions of them streaming into homes across California, then spreading to Oregon, Washington, Texas, 40 states.
A dozen countries, tens of millions of homes, all of these bills showing the same simple thing: how your energy usage compares to your neighbors.
That small comparison, that subtle nudge helped people change their behavior in measurable ways.
Opower, the company that got all this started, was inspired by the research of Dr. Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University.
Since Opower's inception in 2007, the company has scaled this fantastic idea to help consumers around the world save enough electricity to power the Hoover Dam for a decade.
And like so much of Dr. Cialdini's work, the idea starts in the real world, and then after the research has been done, it circles back in a way that quietly reshapes behavior, one utility bill at a time, one door hanger at a time, one decision at a time.
[upbeat music] Welcome to the third and final episode of the Behavioral Groove series on the work of Robert Cialdini, the man who insisted that influence should work in the real world.
In this episode, we'll begin by revisiting Opower from the perspective of the downstream impact it had on all sorts of for-profit and non-profit organizations.
In part two of this episode, we'll walk through the seven principles of influence again, but this time we'll do it with an eye toward some of the clever business applications of those principles.
And in part three of this episode, we'll explore the impact of Dr. Robert Cialdini.
We'll hear from the voices of the researchers and practitioners whose work has been shaped by Cialdini's ideas and who are carrying it forward.
We'll cover what happens to ideas that are so great that they keep spreading long after the original study is published.
Which raises a fascinating question: What happens to an idea when it's so effective that it keeps finding new applications long after the original study is done?
[upbeat music] As we said earlier, Opower generated real-world transformational change.
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Picture millions of them streaming into homes across California, then spreading to Oregon, Washington, Texas, 40 states.
A dozen countries, tens of millions of homes, all of these bills showing the same simple thing: how your energy usage compares to your neighbors.
That small comparison, that subtle nudge helped people change their behavior in measurable ways.
Opower, the company that got all this started, was inspired by the research of Dr. Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University.
Since Opower's inception in 2007, the company has scaled this fantastic idea to help consumers around the world save enough electricity to power the Hoover Dam for a decade.
And like so much of Dr. Cialdini's work, the idea starts in the real world, and then after the research has been done, it circles back in a way that quietly reshapes behavior, one utility bill at a time, one door hanger at a time, one decision at a time.
[upbeat music] Welcome to the third and final episode of the Behavioral Groove series on the work of Robert Cialdini, the man who insisted that influence should work in the real world.
In this episode, we'll begin by revisiting Opower from the perspective of the downstream impact it had on all sorts of for-profit and non-profit organizations.
In part two of this episode, we'll walk through the seven principles of influence again, but this time we'll do it with an eye toward some of the clever business applications of those principles.
And in part three of this episode, we'll explore the impact of Dr. Robert Cialdini.
We'll hear from the voices of the researchers and practitioners whose work has been shaped by Cialdini's ideas and who are carrying it forward.
We'll cover what happens to ideas that are so great that they keep spreading long after the original study is published.
Which raises a fascinating question: What happens to an idea when it's so effective that it keeps finding new applications long after the original study is done?
[upbeat music] As we said earlier, Opower generated real-world transformational change.