Here’s one way to deal with things : show them a clip from the film Apollo 13. Specifically, the bit where the crew on board the lunar module are facing imminent suffocation due to a faulty air filter, so the scientists on the ground are forced to make a ‘square peg fit a round hole’ with whatever is available to the astronauts. I showed the clip to one client team I was working with, who were all blockers and no action. Before watching the clip the team was fatalistically resigned to business as usual. They didn’t like it, but they accepted it. Business as usual was a six month requirement gathering phase leading to a £1.5m bet on an unproven concept. After watching the clip, they built a working proof of concept within two hours, a fully fledged beta test within 6 weeks and ended up with an award-winning product that delights customers and is incredibly valuable to the business.

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But in a social age, this kind of purpose isn’t enough. The problem comes down to a simple preposition. Most leaders think of purpose as a purpose for. But what is needed is a purpose with. Customers are no longer just consumers; they’re co-creators. They aren’t just passive members of an audience; they are active members of a community. They want to be a part of something; to belong; to influence; to engage. It’s not enough that they feel good about your purpose. They want it to be their purpose too. They don’t want to be at the other end of your for. They want to be right there with you. Purpose needs to be shared.

"This is the question that Todd Rogers and I explore in our paper, “Persistence: How Treatment Effects Persist After Interventions Stop”, published in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. We propose a framework for understanding how and when interventions may lead to persistent behavior change. Specifically, we identify four “pathways”, or features of interventions, that may explain why some interventions are successful at generating persistent behavior changes. These pathways include (1) habit formation, (2) changing what or how people think, (3) changing future costs, and (4) external reinforcement"

The results suggest that short-term campaigns have a limited effect and a more prolonged approach should be considered.

The "AI Commons" is a worldwide portal devoted to the fullest sharing of academic resources and practical tools on Appreciative Inquiry and the rapidly growing discipline of positive change.

WSJ Pepper and Salt cartoon

Participatory Process Design Guide for Strategic Sustainable Development

A reference guide to help you effectively plan, build, and launch a successful new media project. Each section contains a quick-read guide and includes case studies from seasoned veterans.

Kraft now generates the equivalent of 1.1 billion ad impressions a year and a four-times-better return on investment through content-marketing than through even targeted advertising.