What do drains and values have in common? Everything.

Changing behavior is a difficult thing. One has to look at how many people say they want to quit smoking, start exercising or lose weight. So it is not surprising that a gap exists between stated green intentions and actual behavior.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In the last EcoAlign’s Project Energy Code report, “Cracking the Green Code: Using A Values-Based Model to Improve Customer Communications and Marketing”, distinguished strategist and research psychologist John Marshall Roberts explains why values and beliefs are essential to fill the green gap between stated intentions and actual behavior. (http://www.jmarshallroberts.com).

As John said to me "imagine spinning a marble around a bathroom sink. At any given point it would be difficult to predict the marble’s exact location, because its movements are somewhat chaotic and random, fluctuating wildly based upon even the most minute textural gradients in the sink surface. In fact, even the most learned physicist would have a terrible time devising an equation that would predict this marble’s exact path. Yet, anyone with an ounce of common sense can easily predict where the marble will end up eventually—right down the drain."

A person’s core values shape behaviors on a daily basis like a gravitational force in the same way the drain shapes the path of the marble.

So, the question for marketers is not necessarily how to motivate people (predicting where the marble is going to be), but rather how to relate to people’s natural motivational flows (the drain).

With John, who just recently joined our firm, we developed an innovative marketing approach that leverages a values-based segmentation model he designed, compellingly articulated in his new book , "Igniting Inspiration”.

We are excited about this new methodology. Check the paper. You will not be disappointed.