Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland reveals the formula for persuasion, why people make decisions, and how to use psychology to your advantage. Rory is the world’s leading advertising strategist. He spent almost four decades at the world's leading advertising agency studying why people behave the way they do and how to change that behavior. He explains why contrast drives choices and efficiency often destroys value, and how trust, friction, and design shape real-world behavior. Find out more: https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/rory-sutherland-2/ *Timestamps* 00:00 Introduction 01:31 AI and Decision Making 03:48 Are We Looking for Efficiency in the Wrong Place? 04:44 The Doorman Fallacy 08:54 The Best Way to Spend Your Marketing Budget 15:52 Ad Break 18:09 Cold Beer Thought Experiment 20:25 The Psychopath Detection Test 27:15 Brand Quake 29:21 Customer Value Thinking 34:28 Why Is Dyson So Effective at Marketing? 36:28 Ad Break 38:51 The Map is Not the Territory 39:27 The Problem with Shareholders 42:29 'Tech Bro' Decision Making 45:15 Warren Buffett’s Obsession 47:52 Why John Bragg Always Paid the Most 51:23 High Trust vs Low Trust Societies 58:45 What The Mad Men Era Teaches Us 1:03:59 The Danger of Bad Marketing 1:07:56 Copy Nothing 1:17:47 Navigating Cancel Culture 1:29:59 Signalling to Ourselves When We Purchase Something 1:39:06 Changing of Societal Norms 1:43:27 How to Write Good Copy 1:56:30 What Is Success for You? *Thank you to the sponsors for this episode:* Basecamp: Stop struggling, start making progress. Get somewhere with Basecamp. Sign up free at http://basecamp.com/knowledgeproject reMarkable: Get your paper tablet at https://www.reMarkable.com today .tech domains: Nothing says tech like being on .tech https://get.tech/ Shopify: https://shopify.com/knowledgeproject *Shane Parrish* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/ X: https://x.com/ShaneParrish LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ Books: https://fs.blog/books/ Website: https://fs.blog/ Newsletter: http://fs.blog/newsletter *The Knowledge Project* is a show featuring in-depth conversations with the top CEOs, investors, and business leaders to uncover the timeless principles that drive success. Learn more at https://fs.blog/podcast