Certainly, Galileo felt pressure from Cardinal Bellarmine and the Inquisition. However, new truths often emerge within the corporate organization. The death of truths are difficult to personally accept. We become enmeshed in our visions and dreams. We hold onto “”old truths” too long, even when rational outsiders would see only an unreasonable persistence. In some ways, we look for the comfort of the familiar to reduce our fears–whether it’s a child embracing a blanket or teddy bear or an adult clinging to an outmoded business practice. We resist change.

If you could embrace one new truth, what would it be? What old truth would you have to let go?

1. A person’s decision to quit smoking is significantly influenced by their network–not only the people they know but also 2nd and 3rd degree connections that they don’t know.
2. A single person quitting creates ripples–increasing the chance that someone two steps removed will quit by almost one third.
3. Surprisingly, entire groups of smokers within a network quit essentially at the same time.

I’m going to extrapolate well-beyond smoking here. Let’s say you’re a leader (exec or manager) who needs to implement change within an organization. Maybe you’re launching a new process or implementing a new system.

An organization’s social networks cuts across departments, roles, and levels. It also includes outside relationships (vendors, professional colleagues, friends, etc.) These social networks create influence that will either accelerate or limit behavior change.

1. If you are going to implement change, then you must actively foster connections between people who have already experienced success (say in the pilot) and the general population who will be asked to change.
2. If people resist change, don’t marginalize them to the periphery. They’ll build an “outsider” mindset and stick with other late-adopters. Instead, actively connect them to people who went through the change and found success. Weave them back into the group.
3. When you isolate people, you make it harder for them to embrace change.

Obviously, there are some people who will never adopt change (even when it’s in their best interest). See David Maister’s recent book Strategy and the Fat Smoker where he discusses the difficulty of persuading people to change “before the heart attack comes.”

We know what to do, we know why we should do it, and we know how to do it. Yet most businesses and individuals don’t do what’s good for them . . . . [the interesting question becomes] why don’t we do it?”

If you’re going to lead change within your organization, be sure to consider the power embedded within social networks within your organization. They can either accelerate or limit change. Also, take a look at books such as Dr. Robert Cialdini’s classic Influence: Science and Practice as well as David Maister’s work Strategy and the Fat Smoker.

]]> http://aha-moments.com/2008/05/the-power-of-social-networks/feed/ 0 http://aha-moments.com/2006/05/how-myths-limit-our-individual-and-corporate-potential/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-myths-limit-our-individual-and-corporate-potential http://aha-moments.com/2006/05/how-myths-limit-our-individual-and-corporate-potential/#comments Mon, 15 May 2006 18:45:41 +0000 Bill Sherman http://aha-moments.com/staging/?p=5 Although we use stories to describe our individual and corporate capabilities, we need to make sure that they remain fresh. Otherwise, these very stories can decay into myths that only describe “what we were.” Myths affect us in four unhealthy ways:

• Narrow our perspective–When people and companies become successful, they are eager to talk about their success stories. However, these stories create a comfort zone. Over time, these stories can narrow their willingness to recognize opportunities outside of that comfort zone.
• Erode our confidence–We sometimes recognize opportunities, but think that we won’t be able to act upon them. So, myths can not only limit our ability to perceive opportunities, they can become obstacles to an aha-moment that changes our behavior. When we become trapped in our myths, we limit our potential. “That’s not my specialty. I can’t do that.” It’s always good to know your own limits (and stay within them). However, when we fall victim to myths, we consciously avoid risks that would draw us anywhere beyond our narrow comfort zone.
• Promote stagnancy–We become comfortable telling myths about ourselves and our companies. We willingly continue to tell these myths to our colleagues, our clients and the whole marketplace. Meanwhile, the world continues to change. Our once-fresh solutions lose their relevance to clients, but we blissfully continue to tell our myths.
• Limit how others see us–We may become so successful telling our myths that others refuse to think about us any other way. Individuals may be passed-over for projects or roles. Companies that suffer from myths may have difficulty persuading clients to allow them into new projects away from their core myth. Companies may even find difficulty translating their past successes into new markets and segments.

If you want to locate more aha-moments in your life, you must become sensitive to the stories that you tell about yourself and your company. Ask yourself–Is this story still true and relevant? Has it become a myth?

Myths are the out-dated stories that we tell ourselves and others. We all create stories about ourselves and our companies each day. These stories to showcase our capablities, share our experiences, and even describe our limitations. We use these stories as ways to shape corporate brands and personal brands. However, the danger occurs when people tell and retell these stories without any reflection. Over time, stories can accrete into thick layers of sediment, like peat in a bog.

• Myths = “what we were”
• Stories = “what we are”
• Goals = “what we will become”

Stories that were once truly accurate and relevant slowly decay into myths. These myths preserve the rough semblance of a true story, but myths have lost touch with reality and limit opportunities for growth. Instead of a living story, myths become the bog-mummies of corporate and personal branding.

How can we locate more aha-moments in our lives? We need to move past the obstacles that can get in our way and prevent us from recognizing and acting on opportunities.