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| Abanico en el mar by Ollui Samall Zeld / CC BY 2.0 |
I am an engineer! We engineers love well-crafted solutions.
Most of us studied Operations Research:
we are excited by finding the optimal solution to problems and we like to fix
all at once and even design future-proof solutions.
Sounds great to feel so powerful, doesn´t it?
But why is it so difficult to solve problems when they
involve human beings?
Why can’t we make things happen even when the solution and
the benefits appear so obvious even without analysis?
For instance:
Why can’t people simply quit smoking?
Why don’t most of us parents manage to get their teen-ager
son to clean up his room?
Or why don’t we simply manage to increase the test automation
level in our team?
Don´t they look like much simpler problems than many
technical issues we face every day?
When it comes to challenges involving people, the issue is
that human beings are not as nice creatures or as beautiful systems as the ones
addressable by mathematical sciences, such as mathematical modeling,
statistical analysis, or mathematical optimization.
God could have done a much better engineering work! Too many
bugs J
- We are the least rational creature on earth: we are driven by emotions and gut feelings at least as much as by rationality, but feelings take the lead many times
- When the rational parts takes the lead instead, we usually got stuck in analysis paralysis
- We are reluctant to change: we like our current way of doing things
- We are programmed to save as much energy as possible: changing our routines requires effort
- We are blinded by cognitive biases: we interpret the reality not for what it is, but by comparing it with the maps we have been creating in our brain since we were born
- We are addicted to the now and not very much used to accept delayed gratifications
So how can we ever achieve anything with such a flawed
baseline system?
Imagine when you have multiple individuals together forming
a team or even a bigger constellation: an organization!
Still surprised that up to 70% of all change initiatives
fails? Can we ever succeed?
The good news is that human beings have also great
properties and very effective strengths to use as leverages.
People are able to go straight to the point if they feel
that the goal is clear and within reach and can be moved by incredibly powerful
intrinsic motivators if they perceive the goal as meaningful and desirable.
All successful football coaches, for instance, know the
trick very well.
How many times have you heard a journalist asking about
possibilities of a team to win the championship?
And what was the answer from the coach every time? “We want to play one match at a time”.
Good coaches do not ask their team to focus on the ultimate
goal, but establish goals which are within immediate reach and clear criteria
for their players to know when they have fulfilled those goals: by playing and
possibly winning one match at a time, they get into the habit of winning and
eventually win the championship.
Cheap and Dan Heath report in their book “Switch” that
psychologist Karl Weick, in a paper called "Small Wins: Redefining the
Scale of Social Problems," said: A
small win reduces importance ('this is no big deal') , reduces demands ('that's
all that needs to be done'), and raises perceived skill levels ('I can do at
least that')." All three of these factors will tend to make change easier
and more self-sustaining.
That´s why the Lean concept of Continuous Improvement (or
Kaizen) is so effective and resonates so much with the way we as humans are
wired: consistently taking baby steps in the right directions makes big goals appear
more feasible to achieve.
However, being social systems classified as Complex Adaptive
Systems, usually it´s not a smooth path of small wins. More probably it will be about taking one
step forward and two steps back, then three more steps forward and then five
steps to the side.
Nevertheless, by taking the vision of what we ultimately want
to achieve well defined and in sight and, by coupling Hansei with Kaizen,
meaning practicing Continuous Reflection at every step, we are much more well
equipped to achieve anything.
Instead, when a task is too big, the effect on human brain
is overwhelmingly scary.
The book “Switch” reports also that Alcoholics Anonymous challenges recovering alcoholics to get through "one
day at a time". To an alcoholic, going a lifetime without another drink sounds
impossible, but going 24 hours sounds doable.
Small targets lead to small victories, and small victories
can trigger a positive spiral of behavior.
Human brain has no trouble achieving baby steps, and as it
does, something else happens.
With each step, you feel less scared and less
reluctant, because things are working.
With each step, your brain starts
feeling the change.
A journey that probably started with anxiety and skepticism
evolves slowly, toward a feeling of confidence and pride.
And at the same time
the change is happening, you as a person grow.
