Canadian Government Executive - Volume 26 - Issue 03

May/June 2020 // Canadian Government Executive / 25 As a catalyst, in such situations you must help them to under- stand inaction is not as costless as it seems. It has its own down- sides. Another approach – when the attachment to the status quo is very strong – is to burn the ships, as explorer Hernan Cortes did when he worried his crewmight mutiny, returning to Cuba rather than following his incursion into Mexico. Car manufacturers do this when they stop making replacement parts for older vehicles. Berger notes that Dominic Cummings, the Vote Leave strate- gist in Britain’s Brexit referendum, was aware of loss aversion and knew he had to overcome the status quo preference to win. So he flipped the equation, making it seem like leaving was the status quo with the slogan “let’s take back control.” The third obstacle to consider is distance: If the new informa- tion you provide is within the recipients’ zone of acceptance, they’re willing to listen. But if it falls too far away, in the region of rejection, your communication will be ignored or rejected. A study of 1,500 Twitter users found that when exposed to op- posing viewpoints it didn’t make them more understanding and moderate, accepting some of the other argument, as was expect- ed. “Exposure to opposing views did change minds, but in the op- posite direction,” Berger reports. Republicans became more con- servative, developing more extreme views, and Liberals similarly shifted to the left. Berger offers three solutions. The first is to find the moveable middle – the equivalent of swing voters in political elections, who are open to facts and arguments. When people aren’t in the middle – the distance to accepting your proposal is further – you need to ask for less. Dial down the size of your initial request so it falls within their zone of acceptance. Finally you can find an “unsticking point,” switching to another dimension where there’s already agreement and building on that connection. Campaigners for transgender rights try to get people to think of discrimination they have faced and pivot back to transgender rights. Change often involve uncertainty – the fourth roadblock that can stymie our efforts to go in new directions. Will your new idea, program, or service be as good as the old one? The uncertainty might make them less interested in changing or even halt their decision-making entirely. “It’s hard to know for sure, and this un- certainty makes people hit the pause button, halting action. To overcome this barrier, catalysts make things easier to try,” he says. Everett Rogers, in his classic book Diffusion of Innovations , cited five attributes that explain the variance in how quickly things are adopted. The most important factor was “trialability” – the ease with which something can be tested or experimented with on a web http://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/author/harveys/ limited basis. You have seen the power of trialability when you opt for Dropbox’s free storage package or similar “freemium” computer offerings. You give it a test run. Similarly, try to reduce the up-front cost of signing on to your new ideas and programs. The fifth obstacle might be called “the translation problem.” When people get a recommendation they try to figure out – to translate – what it means for them. Somebody might suggest a new movie to you, and that requires you to figure out how it ap- plies to you, given your own tastes. Greater numbers – more peo- ple recommending the movie – may tip the balance. So when trying to propose change, look for reinforcements – cor- roborating evidence. “Multiple sources saying or doing the same thing solves the translation problem,” says Berger. Those multiple sources should not come from the same group or vantage point; that may make them seem redundant. And, of course, remember that not all sources are equal – some carry more weight. What might it be in this case? This may seem like pushing – an argumentative approach. But as with all of his suggestions, it’s softer, making the case by al- lowing the other person to come to their own conclusion. Cajol- ing and applying pressure – often our go-to techniques -- doesn’t work. You need to become a catalyst. H arvey S chachter is a writer, specializing in management and business issues. He writes three weekly columns for the Globe and Mail and The Leader’s Bookshelf column for Canadian Government Executive, and a regular column and features for Kingston Life magazine. Harvey was editor of the 2004 book Memos to the Prime Minister: What Canada Can Be in the 21st Century. He was the ghostwriter on The Three Pillars of Pub- lic Management by Ole Ingstrup and Paul Crookall, and editor of Getting Clients, Keeping Clients by Dan Richards. The Leader’s Bookshelf Change often involve uncertainty – the fourth roadblock that can stymie our efforts to go in new directions. Will your new idea, program, or service be as good as the old one? The uncertainty might make them less interested in changing or even halt their decision-making entirely.