Starting

where and how to begin

A Framework

• Diffusion of innovations model [Rogers2003]
• Steps are:
  1. Knowledge: person becomes aware of a potential change
  2. Persuasion: they form a positive or negative attitude
  3. Decision: they choose to implement, ignore, or oppose
  4. Implementation: they follow through
  5. Confirmation: the change is normalized or abandoned
• Key points:
  • People can and will drop out at any stage
  • Facts aren't enough to persuade: people want numbers, but believe stories
  • Most people neither support nor oppose most innovations
  • Most changes eventually languish even if they aren't officially abandoned

There are other frameworks for thinking about organizational change. For example, the one presented in [Heath2010] analyzes it in terms of the conflict between our rational side, our emotional side, and our circumstances.

What to Do First

• Use existing social ties
  • Successful movements are built on pre-existing relationships [Beckerman2022]
  • If people you trust tell you to give up or change direction, do it
• Start with something small
  • Less intimidating
  • Gives you a chance to build skills and community
  • Less damaging to your reputation if you abandon or retract
• Pick something that is already widely supported
  • Improves odds of success
  • Makes you appear mainstream rather than radical
• Pick something that is immediately useful
  • Remember, most innovations languish or are met with passive resistance [Scott1987]

Avoid premature commitment to metrics, and more importantly, to target values for those metrics. It is more useful to agree on who will be responsible for evaluating the success of the change, which can also be a way to make someone an ally.

Who to Convince First

• Taken from [Manns2015]
• A Connector is someone who knows everyone
  • Help you spread the word
  • Will expect you to listen to others in turn (exchange of social capital)
• A Guru is someone whose expertise in some domain is widely respected
  • "If Toby likes it, it must be good"
• An Innovator is someone who is constantly trying new things
  • Least persuasive of the three because they are known to abandon most of the things they try
• Note: do not attempt to convince Decision Owners first
  • "We think" is more persuasive than "I think"
  • And "we" usually have better ideas