Bridging Human Behavior and Business Impact with Judy Bernstein
Judy Bernstein M.S., is an insights generator and strategic facilitator who helps organizations understand people and turn those insights into action and growth. As part of the Possibilities Team at Market Performance Group, she delivers human-centered understanding that drives brand strategy, marketing effectiveness, and innovation for leading consumer and healthcare brands.
Always eager to bridge intuition with science, she turned to our Behavioral Science in Business: Understanding People to Drive Results program to deepen her expertise and bring a more structured, evidence-based approach to her work. We spoke with Judy about how the program enhanced her understanding of behavior and its impact on innovation.
What inspired you to explore behavioral science more formally through this program?
My introduction to behavioral science came through studying Behavior Design with Stanford researcher BJ Fogg. His core model read like truth to me, and I was fortunate to continue learning as a member of the Fogg Behavior Model Expert Forum. A certificate in Behavioral Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a course on Dr. Robert Cialdini’s principles of persuasion—paired with a near-obsessive reading of his books Influence and Pre-Suasion—deepened my curiosity. By then, I was hooked. When behavioral scientist Scott Young suggested I complete Columbia’s Behavioral Science in Business program, I jumped at the chance—and I’m so glad I did.
How did the Full Cycle Approach to Applying Behavioral Science™ inform your research approach?
Designing and solving challenges together through the shared lens of the Full Cycle Approach to Applying Behavioral Science™ was both reinforcing and inspiring. For me, it was also a natural extension of my passion for collaboration and workshop design. I thrive on creating environments where people can uncover insights and generate ideas together, and this experience elevated that practice. Seeing firsthand how behavioral models could guide collective problem-solving delighted me and expanded my perspective on how workshops can become both more human-centered and more effective.
Have you integrated any behavioral frameworks from the classroom into your research or workshops?
My learning didn’t end with the program, nor did my connection to our lead instructor, Steve Martin, who remains a valued friend, colleague, and advisor. The program continues to influence my work as a designer of workshops and innovation experiences—whether I am enabling teams to shift perspectives, sparking creativity through deliberate structures, or grounding solutions in behavioral science. And just as my qualitative research continues to draw on my instinct for uncovering human dynamics and motivations, I now have a richer toolkit that allows me to design not only for insight but also for action and lasting impact.
What was it like engaging with a diverse group of program participants from different global regions and business fields?
It was exhilarating to engage with such a diverse group of participants from across industries and regions. Designing and solving challenges together through the shared lens of the Full Cycle Approach to Applying Behavioral Science™ was both reinforcing and inspiring.
What advice would you give to other executive leaders thinking about applying Behavioral Science in Business?
Intuiting what matters to people is powerful—but it’s only part of the equation. Behavioral Science helps us go beyond intuition by providing evidence-based frameworks to understand, predict, and influence behavior more systematically. For executive leaders, this program expands your toolkit exponentially—transforming instinct and experience into structured, science-informed strategies that drive meaningful, sustained change.
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