HealthRally Motivation!

Esther Dyson sheds some light on what we are up to at HealthRally in her piece Health Care's Frequent Flyers:

Then there’s HealthRally, which uses insights from behavioral economics to motivate people to achieve their own health and wellness goals. The basic insight is that owing something to your friends is a far more powerful incentive than getting something for yourself.

The user signs up and recruits friends and family to sponsor a reward of their choice for a specified goal. (We can imagine a wish-list revenue opportunity here, where vendors can offer specific motivational products or services.) From then on, the sponsors have an implicit right to check on the user’s progress, offering support or criticism far more compelling than any stranger could. It’s relatively easy to fail on your own, but if your friends have put up real money, it’s much harder.

While the service is currently designed for individuals, companies could also use HealthRally to enhance their corporate wellness programs. By providing matching financial rewards, for example, a company could leverage its employees’ natural support networks and provide a valuable boost to the pot.

Esther recently shared with me that she was able to motivate herself to floss each night by allowing herself to cut five minutes off her morning swim she does each day. Now that's creative motivation!