Recently I saw Dan Heath give a talk on a book he and his brother Chip wrote, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. I was really impressed by his ability to take some pretty complex ideas and crunch them down to a simple image: a rider (our analytic side) on an elephant (our emotional side) going along a path (the environment that shapes our actions). It’s not too surprising he was so good at it; the Heath Brothers also wrote Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. So I reread Made to Stick and got inspired to take another stab at pulling together my core message.
What I learned: it’s still too early to pull it off. But I did get a bunch of useful bits & pieces out of trying. Here’s the messy-but-not-sticky result.
Intro
We’ve Tried It Their Way:
They Decide Our Community’s Direction behind Closed Doors While Pretending They Aren’t
3 vivid examples: energy, Wall Street, ____
That Hasn’t Worked out so Well
So Let’s Stop Pretending These Choices Aren’t Being Made.
This Time Let’s Try It Our Way
First Ask, What Kind of Community Do We Want to Live in?
Then Use 3 Principles to Nudge Reality Towards Our Vision/Values.
1) Checks & Balances
(or whatever I’m going to call it if C&B doesn’t work as Principal #1)
- Who gets to decide what kind of community we want to live in?
How do we ensure everyone gets a say? - Make It Sustainable:
You Haven’t Succeeded If It Isn’t Politically Sustainable
Example: Wall Street Reform: the second the reform was passed, Wall Street started assaulting it - Balance of Power = More Dynamic System
“Players over Policy”: instead of having to regulate every detail, create balance of power where players can adjust terms as the world changes - Balance of Power = Taking Responsibility
If activists have power, can’t just say, “all corporations are evil” or “all developers are evil” Have to come up with a positive vision — and deal with the compromises that struggling with reality inevitably create.
2) Stack the Odds in Favor of the Good Guys
- The core: what values do we want to embed into the economy?
- 2 pieces: Good Guys, Stacking the Odds
Who are the good guys? Aka, the Chamber of Commerce problem
Stacking the odds – unlike so-called “free market” approach, being open & honest about how & why we’re intervening - Stacking the Odds: requires a concrete vision
Example: “how will the Good Guys make payroll?” - Therefore, to Stack the Odds We Must Have Understand the Good Guys’s World
- Stacking is more flexible than “Command and Control,” which Just Says No (or Yes) – allow for more options than just requiring/outlawing behavior
- Stacking Forces Us to Take Responsibility
Can’t just say “all corporations are evil” — must have positive vision (that could actually work)
3) We Aren’t As Smart As We Think We Are
- Acknowledging our limits — and embracing that understanding
(making that weakness a strength) - To reduce risk, need plenty of feedback loops, pilot projects/iterations
- Unlike “free market fairy dust” approach — don’t assume it’ll all just work out
Example: “more savings will create more good jobs” — not what happend - Therefore, need to track & hold accountable
I’m going to put these pieces on low heat on a back burner of my brain for a few weeks and see if I can start getting them to blend — or get sticky.
