The Overton Window, Diffusion, and a Poem.
Recently a coworker asked me how to best spur some innovation. Her direct reports have been a little slow to warm to a new process improvement she's crafted. Slow? Nay- resistant.
At any rate, I gave her what I thought was darn good advice: Get four or five of your most loyal folks, and ask them to simply try this new process for a week. At the end of the week, find out what their experience was like. Then- ask them to share this with their peers two ways: 1) face to face, and 2) in her monthly staff meetings.
Tom Peters talks a lot about the value of story-telling. In his brief book on Leadership (review coming one day soon.) Stories, or, as he calls them frequently, demos, illustrate the best of what we do. They help involve people see what's happening, and also can support, persuade, and even convince.
I've been reading a bit lately about the Everett Rogers theory of diffusion. I got really interested about this concept after reading William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition (review coming one day soon, I'm sure) about a “coolhunter” and the commoditization of cool. According to Rogers, adopters of a new idea, technology, et cetera fall into the following camps:
• Innovators (2.5%)
• Early Adopters (13.5%)
• Early Majority (34%)
• Late Majority (34%)
• Laggards (16%)
The percentages indicate where on a bell curve they fall. In my world, the innovators generally get mired in bureaucratic red tape and fall prey to the mind-numbing and soul-destroying compliant types. Seeking forgiveness, not permission, they wind up on a short list. And not in a good way. In my bureaucratic jungle, it’s not worth it to be on the leading edge.
Far better to be an Early Adopter. Dipping a toe into the pool of innovation- finding out what is coming down the pike, and digging into it. That’s a much, much easier way to live. But I digress. This is a concept that has gotten some focus lately in political circles. Titled the Overton Window it’s a good discussion on how political theory gets moved in America by think tanks and such.
He outlines them as follows:
• Unthinkable
• Radical
• Acceptable
• Sensible
• Popular
• Policy
Anyway, none of these chaps have expressed it as well as did Alexander Pope.
Vice is a monster of such frightful mien,
As to be hated is but to be seen.
Yet seen too oft, familiar with his face,
First we endure, then pity, then embrace.
The last line of his poem is awfully insightful. Whether it’s business innovation or social mores, it’s adoption is the same…
Recently a coworker asked me how to best spur some innovation. Her direct reports have been a little slow to warm to a new process improvement she's crafted. Slow? Nay- resistant.
At any rate, I gave her what I thought was darn good advice: Get four or five of your most loyal folks, and ask them to simply try this new process for a week. At the end of the week, find out what their experience was like. Then- ask them to share this with their peers two ways: 1) face to face, and 2) in her monthly staff meetings.
Tom Peters talks a lot about the value of story-telling. In his brief book on Leadership (review coming one day soon.) Stories, or, as he calls them frequently, demos, illustrate the best of what we do. They help involve people see what's happening, and also can support, persuade, and even convince.
I've been reading a bit lately about the Everett Rogers theory of diffusion. I got really interested about this concept after reading William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition (review coming one day soon, I'm sure) about a “coolhunter” and the commoditization of cool. According to Rogers, adopters of a new idea, technology, et cetera fall into the following camps:
• Innovators (2.5%)
• Early Adopters (13.5%)
• Early Majority (34%)
• Late Majority (34%)
• Laggards (16%)
The percentages indicate where on a bell curve they fall. In my world, the innovators generally get mired in bureaucratic red tape and fall prey to the mind-numbing and soul-destroying compliant types. Seeking forgiveness, not permission, they wind up on a short list. And not in a good way. In my bureaucratic jungle, it’s not worth it to be on the leading edge.
Far better to be an Early Adopter. Dipping a toe into the pool of innovation- finding out what is coming down the pike, and digging into it. That’s a much, much easier way to live. But I digress. This is a concept that has gotten some focus lately in political circles. Titled the Overton Window it’s a good discussion on how political theory gets moved in America by think tanks and such.
He outlines them as follows:
• Unthinkable
• Radical
• Acceptable
• Sensible
• Popular
• Policy
Anyway, none of these chaps have expressed it as well as did Alexander Pope.
Vice is a monster of such frightful mien,
As to be hated is but to be seen.
Yet seen too oft, familiar with his face,
First we endure, then pity, then embrace.
The last line of his poem is awfully insightful. Whether it’s business innovation or social mores, it’s adoption is the same…
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