Real Change Happens

December 9, 2009 08:37:56

Posted By Ted Baumhauer

In his latest article Testing, Testing in the New Yorker Atul Gawande presents a model for taking on health care reform by linking it to the model the USDA used to improve farmers yields over a hundred years ago. In the early 1900’s 40% of a US family’s income went to buying food and it took about 50% of the US labor force to produce the food. It wasn’t a very efficient or effective system.

In other countries in similar situations the government went in and dictated how farming would be improved. In many of those cases disaster resulted and thousands starved. In the US with our strong sense of individualism a different method was used. In short, instead of telling the farmers how to farm one lone Extension Agent (Seaman Asahel Knapp) convinced one farmer (Walter C. Porter) in Texas to experiment with a mere 70 acres of cotton. When that little experiment yielded the farmer an extra $700 (that’s a lot in 1903!), despite the boll weevil blight that year, other farmers took notice and changed their methods.

Gawande makes a great argument but this method isn’t just about the health care debate. He has outlined a process that underlies all real change. A lot of folks in leadership positions believe they can mandate change from their position of power. That usually gets the opposition to circle the wagons and prepare for a fight. What the USDA knew, or stumbled upon, was A. change usually starts on the outside and B. we believe the results we get for ourselves. As Seaman Asahel Knapp said "What a man hears, he may doubt; what he sees, he may possibly doubt; but what he does himself, he cannot doubt."

When that first farmer was convinced other farmers took notice and wanted in on the new methods too. The change started out small as a pilot away from central headquarters and worked its way into common practice. What changes need to happen where you work? What can you do to put some small pilot programs in to practice to see what works? When you find some new practice that works spread the word.

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