We Have Always Done It That Way

We’ve been fortunate enough to have been discovered by some interesting people across the pond in the UK. David Wilcox left a comment on a post and has been talking up our book on some blogs he’s writing related to an interesting project for supporting innovation in nonprofit organizations over there. We also were mentioned by Tim Davies in a blog for an organization that focuses on youth participation and organizational change.

It’s encouraging to see what we wrote spurring interesting conversations among people we have never met. That was what we were shooting for.

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
No Comments »

Sloan Management Review has a nice article about the positive impact of resource constraints. It reminded me of a story that Frans Johansson (author of the Medici Effect) told at the Great Ideas conference a few years ago. He compared Apple’s unsuccessful attempt at a PDA with the Newton (on which they spent millions) compared to then 3Com’s incredibly successful Palm Pilot (budget: $400,000). Why did they only spend $400,000, Johansson asks? Because that’s all they had.

From the Sloan article:

The heightened innovativeness of such “constraints-driven” solutions comes from team members’ tendencies, under the circumstances, to look for alternatives beyond “how things are normally done,” write C. Page Moreau and Darren W. Dahl in a 2005 Journal of Consumer Research article.

So remember, if you budget gets cut, it doesn’t mean you have to do LESS than what you used to do””you just have to do something differently than you used to do it.

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
2 Comments »

The folks at Acronym seem to be in an “Always Done It That Way” mood lately. From the last two posts:

But you could take the time to sit down and say, “What fossils are there in our structure and processes that we can dig up and evolve beyond?” I bet you’ll be surprised at where they’re buried.
Lisa Junker

Tells me that too much reward is given for meeting the status quo and not enough emphasis is being placed on finding creative or innovative solutions to the many needs that are constantly evolving around us.
Scott Briscoe

Tags: The Way We Execute, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
No Comments »

Seth Godin has a nice post about business’ resistance to change. I particularly like the last two paragraphs:

Business as usual is almost always lousy marketing, because there isn’t a lot of room for growth. The opportunities kick in when an external force requires a brand new story, when consumers are choosing to pay attention because they’ve got no other choice.

It’s easy to argue against change. It disheartens shareholders and even employees. But external change is the most likely lever of growth, because it puts you back on the agenda of attention.

Although it raises a question for me: do associations really want growth?

Tags: The Way We Lead, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
No Comments »

Every few months a discussion pops up on the ASAE Executive Section listserve about how to get young people onto the Board. Some even consider creating a permanent slot for a single young leader to occupy.

This really misses the point entirely. This is not a structural governance problem. It is a recruitment problem.

A Board that is heavily loaded with people who have been around the association for decades has failed to recruit new blood. Creating a token slot for a young person will get you just that: a person who will be discounted from the start because they are a token to diversity. Fundamentally changing your recruitment practices to identify leadership candidates throughout the membership will provide a more diverse array of candidates and most likely find some leaders you would never have known about.

To get better leaders you need to become a better recruiter.

Tags: The Way We Involve Others, The Way We Lead by David
1 Comment »

Kare Anderson makes reference in her blog to Howard Raiffa, a renowned theorist on decision making who has written about a series of psychological traps that lure us into making bad decisions. One of those traps is the “Status Quo Trap,” so I couldn’t help but reproduce what Anderson said about that trap here on this blog:

The Status-Quo Trap
We instinctively stay with what seems familiar. Thus we look for decisions that involve the least change.

For example, when radically new products are introduced they are made to look like an existing and familiar product. The first cars looked like horseless carriages. The first online newspapers and magazines had formats much like their print counterparts.

To protect our egos from damage we avoid acting to change the status quo, even in the face of early warnings that demonstrate that change will be safer. We look for reasons to do nothing.

For example, in one experiment, a group of people were randomly given one of two gifts of approximately the same value, half received a mug, the other half got a large, Swiss chocolate bar. They were told that they could easily exchange the gift they received for the other gift. While you might expect that about half would have wanted to make the exchange, only one in ten actually did. The power of status quo kicked in within minutes of receiving an object.

Other experiments have shown that the more choices you are given, the more pull the status quo has. Why? Because more choices involve more effort while selecting the status quo avoids the stress of making a choice

In business, the sins of commission (doing something) tend to be punished much more severely than sins of omission (doing nothing). In all parts of life, people want to avoid rocking the boat.

What can you do? Think of your goals first, when preparing to make a decision, then review how they are served by the status quo as compared by a change. Look at each possible change, one at a time, so as to not overwhelm yourself and then instinctively want to “stay safe” and unchanged.

Never think of the status quo as your only alternative. Ask yourself whether you would choose the status quo, if, in fact, it weren’t the status quo.

Avoid the natural tendency of exaggerating the effort or cost or emotional reaction of others or for yourself if you change from the status quo.

Remember that the desirability of the status quo may change over time. When considering a change, look at possible future situations. If you have several alternatives that are superior to the status quo, avoid the natural tendency to fall back upon the status quo because you are having a hard time choosing between the other alternatives.

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
2 Comments »