Change From Within

Benjamin Ellis — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:29:02 +0000

We want to change things, it is in our very nature to want change. But change isn’t an easy thing. Managing change is so complex that you can take whole degree courses in it. That said, there are some fundamental principles that unlock it.

Argue to The New from The Old

Too often change makers expect people to jump from A to B on the basis that “B is better for all of these reasons about B”. From marketing materials to social innovators, from business managers to parents, that’s what you see. Here’s the thing: That kind of approach is highly unlikely to create change.

Switching to the new approach requires starting from the existing one. Many of the social media advocates I meet and debate with describe a wonderful utopia of conversation and information flow, based on its use. It’s great. However I don’t know of a single business that can “jump” to that spot. Whilst social media will definitely change the way that businesses interact with customers, and even how intellectual property is managed, businesses have to operate within today’s legal frameworks. As the old joke goes, ”Well, if I was going to there, I wouldn’t be starting from here.”

You Must Get There From Here

I’m absolutely not saying that new methods shouldn’t be persued. Quite the opposite. They have to be, but within today’s frameworks. That means the transition isn’t always smooth. Ask David Schlesinger of Reuters. Recently he broke a news story via the Twitter service, posting it before it had hit the Reuter’s wire (see the story on Silicon Alley Insider - although David’s own post explains more):

I’ve been tweeting from the World Economic Forum, using the microblogging platform Twitter to discuss the mundane (describing crepuscular darkness of the Swiss Alps at 5 a.m.) or the interesting (live tweeting from presentations). Is it journalism? Is it dangerous? Is it embarrassing that my tweets even beat the Reuters newswire? Am I destroying Reuters standards by encouraging tweeting or blogging?

(These aren’t rhetorical questions – I’ve been challenged by many people who would answer those questions as No, Yes, Yes, and Yes! I answer them as Yes, Potentially, No and No.)

Although the example is based on twitter and journalism, it applies across many domains, and David illustrates it well. Effective change pushes at the barriers of the existing system. It doesn’t ignore them. It tests them, validates them, and then expands them where they are found wanting.

That kind of change is adaptive. It promotes growth. If you aren’t adaptating and changing, growing, then be sure that others are. Very soon you’ll be left behind. As David puts it:

If I don’t beat the Reuters wire with a live tweet because I deliberately hold back, someone else will. If I don’t beat the Reuters wire because I’m slow or inattentive, someone else will.

Taking No Risks Is The Best Way to Guarantee Failure

Several times a week I have conversations with businesses terrified about using social media, “what happens if we let something out via a blog by accident?” It’s a valid concern, especially for a listed business (if you are in any doubt read the SEC rules on Selective Disclosure - nothing like a multi-million dollar fine to focus the mind). Business do have to operate within today’s legal frameworks. However, many of the “barriers” that traditional businesses market and communicate under are not really barriers at all. If they are tested, they will be found wanting. The old rule was: “Appear great.” The new rule is: “Be great.” Actually, it isn’t a new rule, it is just one which mass media allowed to be bent for a while. Social media (generally) makes things more transparent. Are you ready for people to see inside?

The Best Way to Look Great is to Be Great – One Step at a Time

Here is the rub: This applies at the personal level too. Let’s say I want to be fantastically fit and wonderfully organised. It’s easy to see the benefits of the new system. The “position B” looks like a great place to be. I read the fitness books. I read the books on being organised. And what happens? Well, nothing of course. That’s not how you change from A to B. Start with A, find the boundaries and push them.

Maybe you don’t feel you can be organised? find a place where you almost are – a routine that exists already – and build from that. Every Saturday morning I drive the kids to a class, where I wait for them to finish. It was the perfect place to plan in a weekly review, looking back at my diary and planning the next week. I was there already, I just needed to push. I know I’m not going to make it out to a gym, but I know that I can choose to walk. Walk up the stairs. Get off the train a stop early (see this lovely post on the London Underground Tube Diary). Then I might even be ready to run too.

Habitual Habits

Habitual Habits

Benjamin Ellis — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:21:49 +0000

Habits are curious things, studying them has been insightful and enjoyable. We are all creatures of habit, apparently. There is a lot of focus on breaking habits, but not much on making habits. Habits can be a problem, but they can also be a positive tool. Good reviewing habits are a key part of Getting Things Done. Good communication habits are key to effective presentation and to communication. Generally, it is a good habit to review your habits. They are formed for a reason, but can persist long after that reason has become irrelevant.Habit change is about introducing or removing choice. Habits free up the thinking part of the brain. As an example, in the early days of driving, everything is a conscious effort, which can be very exhausting. For the experienced driver, most of the driving is done ‘out of habit’, there is little conscious thought required. So an experienced driver finds it easy to have a conversation while driving. I am gradually building more habits to ‘automate’ day to day work and free up my brain for more creative thinking.

Habits are behaviours that slip past our conscious decision making processes. This can make them dangerous, but it is also a key to breaking them. To break a habit, force a conscious choice and make it a manageable one. Identify situations that support the habit you are trying to break and avoid them where possible or create a new competing habit. A competing habit is one that makes the old habit impossible, or at least forces a conscious choice to do it. For example, to break a snoozing habit, hitting the snooze button on the alarm and falling back to sleep, move the alarm far enough away that you have to get out of bed to hit it. If you loose the evening to TV watching, but would rather spend it studying, take the TV power cord to work and leave it there. You get the idea. Make the habit difficult, if not impossible. I’ve been having hours of fun with this one.

Creating a habit involves repetition and positive feedback. Starting means removing or limiting choice, until the habit is formed. Tell a friend about the new habit you are planning and tell them them to ask you how it is going, surrender some choices. There don’t seem to be any real shortcuts to creating new habits, it is just hardwork and discipline. Don’t try to add too many habits at once. Better to develop one and succeed, than go for four and fail.

My main focus in recent times has been on creating good habits. A change of work routine has created an ideal opportunity to change my habits. Good habits can be more important than good goals. Goals are an end, good habits can be the means.

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