Chapter 1.1 Marketing Adapt in the moment When rafting in rapid waters, you do not try to steer in a straight line. One needs to nimbly and constantly change Habits & innovation For most people–except maybe a course to maneuver around the unexpected rocks that few pioneers–innovating is perfectly might tear the boat apart. Just like that, today’s market is counterintuitive. Why would we put our not about linear travel from A to Z with fixed stopovers and faith in something if we are not 100% sure it will even work, right? One of the reasons for this a predictable end station. Rather it is about the flexibility reserve towards the new is that our brain always tries to be as ‘lazy’ as possible. Perfectly to choose the right direction at the right time all the while understandable: it takes up no less than 25% of our body’s energy.4 navigating a gazillion little forks in the road. So if our brain can transform something into a habit, it will. Habits are governed in the very So how can agile marketing help you, to be well… more center of our brain—the basal ganglia—which creates routines by means of a habit loop. agile? First of all, it helps one plan, but in a much more This loop always comes in the same format: a cue (e.g. a business owner asks us for a mini- 13 iterative and adaptive manner. It teaches us to chop product-website), a routine (e.g. you have a template ready for that, so you use it) and a up big plans or projects into little chunks. It allows us to reward (e.g. the business user is happy that you were able to work quickly because of that experiment in a safe environment. It tells us to stay critical template.). Our brain creates these habits out of sheer efficiency: they automate certain about how we work and to keep reinventing ourselves. And 5 thoughts or movements so our brain needs to ‘think’ less. This kind of cognitive efficiency is, it frees us from the dictatorship of perfection. unfortunately, the arch enemy of innovation.