Our Promise

The So Smart Apps LLC influence code · adopted October 2, 2026

Purpose: We influence people only toward outcomes they would endorse later, with full knowledge of what we are doing and why. Persuasion is for helping people decide well, not for winning.

Red lines (we never)

1. Lie about, or hide, a material fact.
2. Use someone's fear, grief, loneliness or insecurity to get a yes.
3. Put time pressure on a money decision. If a deadline is real, we show how we know.
4. Make quitting, declining or cancelling harder than saying yes was.
5. Isolate someone from other advice, or push them to skip a second opinion.
6. Withhold information we would want if we were in their seat.

Six tests before we nudge

One red flag: rethink. Three or more: don't do it.

1. Transparency: would we state our goal out loud?
2. Benefit balance: who gains more, now and downstream?
3. Revocability: can they back out without penalty?
4. Informed consent: do they have the facts that matter?
5. Emotional pressure: does this lean on panic, guilt or vanity?
6. Identity alignment: would their own values endorse this if they saw everything?

Extra care

Extra care when: the consequence is large or hard to undo, we know far more than they do, they are stressed, grieving, lonely or tired, or a clock is running. Then we slow down, offer a cooling-off period and suggest a second opinion.

Techniques we use in the open

• Reciprocity (real value first)
• Social proof (true, relevant norms)
• Commitment (to goals people set themselves)
• Authority (real expertise, sources shown)
• Scarcity (only when real, with the reason)
• Liking (warmth and listening)
• Voice (people are heard before we answer)

Review

We reread this every quarter and fix what fell short.

Questions or concerns? Contact us at [email protected].