We don’t rise to strategy. We fall to the system.
That’s the reason your people aren’t doing what you asked. Not because they’re lazy. Not because they don’t care. Because the system hasn’t been designed to support the behaviour you want.
This is where COM-B comes in. It’s the missing link between smart strategy and actual follow-through.
If your transformation depends on human behaviour, COM-B belongs at the centre.
At Aster, we use COM-B to identify behavioural blind spots before they cost you time, budget, or boardroom credibility.
What is COM-B?
COM-B stands for Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation – the three conditions that must be present for any behaviour to occur.
- Capability: Do they have the skills and bandwidth?
- Opportunity: Does the environment help or hinder?
- Motivation: Do they want to – or does something else win?
Most change efforts ignore at least one. That’s why they fail.
COM-B isn’t theory. It’s a tool. And it’s the first step in every Behavioural Strategy Audit we run.
Curious where your initiative breaks down? You can book a COM-B Diagnostic Call today.
Motivation Isn’t a Mood
Too many organisations treat motivation like a comms issue. It’s not.
In COM-B, motivation is both:
- Reflective: “I know why this matters.”
- Automatic: “I feel like doing it.”
Both are needed. One wins the meeting. The other wins behaviour.
Our audits test both – and show you what’s working emotionally, not just rationally.
This Isn’t Just for Ops. It’s Boardroom Material.
COM-B helps leaders:
- Pre-empt resistance before it starts.
- Reduce friction in adoption, change, and compliance.
- See where incentives, messaging, and systems don’t align.
You don’t need more persuasion. You need better behavioural design.
Every strategy fails at the point of human friction. We help you see it before it costs you.
Let’s Make This Practical
Here’s how COM-B fits into your next initiative:
- Map the behaviour you want.
- Use our audit to test COM-B conditions.
- Adjust systems, messaging, tools and incentives.
- Deploy a solution designed for real people.
You get strategy that behaves how it’s supposed to. And people who do, too.
Let’s talk. We’ll run a fast, sharp behavioural scan on your change programme – and show you where things will break.
