Change Agents

Today's change agent entry is inspired by the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis who is credited with coining the phrase:

Sunlight is the best disinfectant

and is a guiding principle in the benefits of openness and transparency in everything from politics to customer service.

Having lived in Japan for a couple of years and subsequently taking two years of college Japanese, I have a bit of a soft spot for all things Japanese.

I cheered when Takeru Kobayashi decimated the previous world record for eating hot dogs.

So this year when his name started bubbling up in my news filters, I naturally started following the developing story. It seems that Nathans Famous, the Coney Island hot dog company who has been holding a hot dog eating competition on and off since 1916 somewhere along the line out-sourced its marketing to something called "Major League Eating", which from everything I can gather is a shell for-profit corporation trying to not only capitalize on someone else's future colon-cancer, but hell-bent on forming a monopolistic death grip on what used to be a common and free competition held at every county fare (such as pie eating contests etc)

While the spin doctors like Richard Shea of MLE have been trying to shift the blame to Takeru for having a "contract dispute", further trying to use FUD tactics and character assassination by painting him as an unstable individual, reading Takeru's account is a lot more authentic and genuine.

We may never know the full story, since there are always three sides (yours, mine, and the truth) -- what is evident from the public information is that MLE wants to control Takeru and bar him from competing in any non-MLE sponsored event. Period. The irony is not lost on me: On Independence Day someone wants to keep someone from being independent.

Lets translate that:

A for-profit corporation, who's only value-add is providing promotional support in exchange for gathering fee's from advertisers, wants to enslave a human being who's primary means of income is from winning eating contests and barring that individual from competing in any competition that it isn't deriving some economic benefit from.

As far as I can tell, Major League Eating is exhibiting all the classic signs of rent-seeking (from WikiPedia):

"rent seeking occurs when an individual, organization or firm seeks to earn income by capturing economic rent through manipulation or exploitation of the economic or political environment, rather than by earning profits through economic transactions and the production of added wealth."

If anything this suggests that there is an opportunity here for someone to form the "World Eating Federation" a non-profit who's primary motivator is to funnel its revenues in to providing stock to food-shelves or sustainable agriculture in developing nations. Karmically that would help balance things out.

What I've discovered in my little ranting missives on Facebook is that merely mentioning "Nathans Famous" in my updates, its automatically showing up on their facebook page. How amazing cool is that as a lever for change agents to pull? Its not full sunshine, but more like a laser pointer.

Today's Big Idea is this: In social-networks, use and distribute laser-pointers to illuminate bad behavior.

In open source, Eric S. Raymond extols that "with enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow" -- an application of what Justice Brandeis means when he says "sunlight is the best disinfectant"

Who are you guys and what are you doing here distracting me? The Big Idea Blog is written by David Duccini & David Walbridge

There are various versions of today's Big Idea Blog title, attributed to Archimedes the third century Greek inventor (and mathematician, engineer, physicist and astronomer) -- the most consistent accurate translation I can find on having a lever is:

"If I had a firm enough place to stand, I could move the world"

The version that comes to mind most often goes something like "With a big enough lever, I could move the world".

Big Ideas are like that: Once grasped they have the power to leverage change and levers need pivot points. That's where change agents come in -- we identify the pivot points.

In order to effect change you have to understand a little human psychology. What motivates people to change their minds and positions on usually deeply held convictions? It turns out, less than you'd think!

If you're following my tweets or we're LinkedIN you'll know that I've recently been reading "Influencer: The Power to Change Anything" on my B&N Nook -- the highlight feature is working great! (Attention Change Agents of the World: Read this book next! In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest you stop reading whatever you're reading now and go buy/download this and read it right now. It's that important.)

Among the very high number of really big ideas in this book, chief among them is the concept that in order to understand successful outcomes, there are certain vital behaviors (inputs not outputs) that must be identified first -- usually found by looking for positive deviance. These behaviors above all else help explain success versus failures in just about any context. From understanding why the women in one impoverished sub-saharan village have figured out how to filter their drinking water in their dresses to avoid Guinea worm infections and the next village over doesn't -- to radically changing the lives of hardened convicts from repeat offenders to productive, and most of all, happy citizens.

The key to changing just about any behavior, including in ourselves, comes down to two very simple questions. Change one or both of these, and you have a lever to move the world!

Ask or get someone to answer the following when it comes to making a change from where they are, to where they need to be:

1. Will it be worth it?
2. Can I (they) do it?

If the answer to one or ideally both is "YES" 90% of your work is done. Yes, it's really that simple. Weave a compelling story (not a set of facts, figures, or a scared-straight shock approach) and you'll create a vicarious human experience that allows its participants the safe distance of watching while at the same time projecting themselves into the situation.

An example from MBA-land that set out to test memory recall -- the experiment divided a group of students into three sections and presented the same information in three modes; in one, the students were given a set of facts and figures, in the second group, a power point presentation was made from the same data, and in the third, the students we're told the information in form of a story about a struggling winemaker trying to make ends meet. Which do you think had the highest recall even six months later? The students who had heard the story about the struggling winemaker reported having thought about it periodically often as analogous to some other situation they were a part of. The vicarious story gave them a hint of the situated context.

That's academic of course, and as my former business partner Jon used to quote from the Simpsons, "in theory, communism works...in theory....". So lets look for real world, big ROI from using these ideas. The authors recount case after case of positive change from getting a factory union to understand the threat of outsourcing, to turning the tide on the spread of AIDS in Thailand, to encouraging hundreds of thousands of people in Mexico to pour into the streets in search of free literacy material, to changing century's old deeply held traditions on encouraging young women in India to marry at far too early ages. In each case, the power of the narrative combined with the vicarious experience enabled people to realize that whatever change was desired/required -- It was worth it and they could do it!

In each one of these examples (and millions more around you everyday) the critical element is the change agent at the pivot point. People don't spontaneously change deeply held beliefs or traditions on their own. The change agent alone cannot pull the lever by him or herself -- in fact I would argue they don't pull the lever at all (or certainly not by themselves.) They enlist the power of other influencers, primarily people recognized as thought or opinion leaders embedded within the culture itself. These are the people that are consistently looked to as an authoritative source of knowledge and information (also know as a subject matter expert). And it's not authority alone that earns them their position.

In order to be a thought leader, two simple conditions must be evident:

1. Are you recognized as having a deep knowledge of the given subject?
2. Do people trust your motives?

I doubt most managers would get two check marks here from their teams. Notice it's called thought leadership, not thought management. (see my previous post on The Difference between Managing and Leading)

The change agent finds the thought leaders and, if they are able to convince them that the change will be worth it, and more importantly that they can do it, they now have the fulcrum for their lever.

The formula is simple:

1. Find the big idea to be your lever. 2. Convince the thought leaders in your village that its worth it and they can do it. 3. Move your world.

Today's Big Idea is this: When it comes to the change needed, ask/answer two simple questions -- 1. Will it be worth it? 2. Can you do it?

Scaling up is easy -- as the shampoo bottles encourage you: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Who are you guys and what are you doing here distracting me? The Big Idea Blog is written by David Duccini & David Walbridge

Few nomadic tribes have written histories let alone any kind of permanent art: Books and statues are heavy.

There is a general sentiment that as a culture, we peaked sometime in the Renaissance, that golden era of art, philosophy, literature and postal delivery up to six times per day in some areas. The band Devo introduced us to the idea that maybe we were de-evolving, a point I'd like to consider in today's post.

In our modern world, we have replaced our hunting and gathering activities with analogs. We travel far from home in search of sustenance (work) -- we are constantly on the move to make sure we have a stream and store of supplies in lean times. If you live paycheck to paycheck you know this better than most. And credit cards only help compound your problem.

Instead of gathering together to share our experiences with our tribe, we become more isolated, replacing story telling with television and other media that has increasingly become mobile. Are we so bored (or boring?) that we need to constantly distract ourselves? I'm sure we all know someone who feels the need to fill every silence with a sound. Does the never ending stream of media serve the same purpose? Could you survive, mentally, if you were shipwrecked on a deserted island?

The science historian James Burke probably best known for his Connections series on BBC was able to show in compelling ways how amazingly interconnected and simultaneously brittle our modern world has become. Take the simple plow for instance (as Burke does in the first episode) -- its invention, he argues, is the trigger effect that allowed us to leap forward out of hunting and gathering.

Fast forward to today. There is little argument that the Internet is as culturally relevant as the plow was thousands of years ago. It has fundamentally transformed inter-personal communications and commerce. As a platform its enabling effects on the Knowledge Worker through so-called Web 2.0 technologies is changing the dynamics of the old business hierarchies and the balance of power. Command-and-control management is rapidly being replaced by a collaborative (and often ad-hoc) Communities of Practice, evolving eventually into Centers of Excellence. The old Guilds are coming into fashion again as a viable means of transferring tacit as well as explicit knowledge.

Corporate America is at tipping point. On insanity:

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

Remind you of any company you work for? If it doesn't work for them and you know it, what makes you think it will work for you?

Today's Big Idea: If you feel like you are stuck, stop hunting and gathering. It might just be time to pick up a plow.

Working smarter is possible and it may just be your own personal tipping point.

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As some of you have heard, I was recently RIF'd.

For those of you not up on your corporate biz-speak, RIF or Reduction In Force is the politically sensitive way of eliminating people.

Now a days, you don't actually "fire" people, you just tell them that their jobs have been eliminated. It's very much like the scene in the movie Office Space when they discover that Milton was still getting a pay check - they just fixed "the glitch".

I was ultimately fired by a robot. A "Mark-5" model to be specific.

Let me explain.

The "Mark-5" model of robot is a highly specialized machine that has been designed from the ground up to, well, grind down. If it was fully human, you might call it a social climber, the Mark-5 robot only knows how to climb corporate ladders by viewing the world through spreadsheets -- in other words all of its actions are based on "running-the-numbers" and verifying the output satisfies the borg collective it is a part of.

The Mark-5 that took me out has a highly evolved processing unit, thanks to its exhibiting what can best be described as Asperger's Syndrome where in humans, its described as:

The lack of demonstrated empathy is possibly the most dysfunctional aspect of Asperger syndrome. Individuals with AS experience difficulties in basic elements of social interaction, which may include a failure to develop friendships or to seek shared enjoyments or achievements with others (for example, showing others objects of interest), a lack of social or emotional reciprocity, and impaired nonverbal behaviors in areas such as eye contact, facial expression, posture, and gesture.

Unlike those with autism, people with AS are not usually withdrawn around others; they approach others, even if awkwardly. For example, a person with AS may engage in a one-sided, long-winded speech about a favorite topic, while misunderstanding or not recognizing the listener's feelings or reactions, such as a need for privacy or haste to leave. This social awkwardness has been called "active but odd". This failure to react appropriately to social interaction may appear as disregard for other people's feelings, and may come across as insensitive.

AS is no laughing matter. And thanks to all sorts of really good medications, most people with AS live rich and fulfilling lives!

But I'm talking about a robot here that doesn't even know its a robot. And to some extent, is a more credible concern than asteroids hitting the earth or a zombie attack.

The Mark-5 robots are easy to spot. Look for the following conditions:

1. Upper Middle Management -- usually fully exhibit The Peter Principle in that they have reached that level of incompetence faster than anyone else.
2. Glassy Eye Stare -- its not so much that they don't blink or don't make eye contact they do but with their minimal processing units, the world to them looks very much like The Scanner Darkly and they have to constantly scan for "friend or foe". The default is always "foe".
3. No "sense" of humor. No point in even trying.
4. OCD tendencies-- usually rigidly fastidious and an unhealthy fascination with working out as its the only way they can discharge the undecipherable customs and rituals of the humans they are in charge of herding. See Replicant.

The good news is that once you've identified the robot, remediation can begin almost immediately because once you've realized that they are robots all their patterns of behavior become transparently clear. They become predictable. You'll know what they are going to do WAY before they have calculated it themselves. In fact they are wholly incapable of surprise. Only errors in processing.

I believe in coincidences as should you. They frequently describe the state of the world in the simplest way possible.

However, I put more "faith" if you will in cause and effect. When you become really good at seeing patterns, you have the ever so slight advantage of being able to reasonably guess what effect will come from what cause. And since all effects become causes that feed into yet more effects, it is like surfing a wave.

It's no coincidence I wore blue jeans and my Superman T-shirt to work on Tuesday...