Culture - Intertwingled: Information Changes Everything - page 96

We've examined four ways of changing - information, architecture, behavior, leadership - while
saving the best for last. Synthesis is how we combine these elements into a holistic plan. None of
them stands alone. One way is the wrong way to change culture. To overcome resistance, we
must engage on multiple fronts. Marc Rettig offers a model for parallel thinking which builds
upon William Gibson's insight that “The future exists today. It's just unevenly distributed.” Ret-
tig tells us to identify the seeds around us that hold the promise of a better tomorrow. cxxviii If we
show progress on multiple fronts by nurturing seeds into sprouts and helping people connect
the dots, we can create momentum for change.
Figure 4-12. Marc Rettig's seeds and sprouts.
In the 1990s, researchers proved the efficacy of this sort of approach by applying the concept of
“positive deviance” to the stubborn problem of malnutrition in Vietnam. First, they enlisted vil-
lagers to help identify unusually well-nourished children. Then, using ethnographic methods,
they learned these families were collecting foods considered inappropriate for children (sweet
potato greens, shrimp, crab). Also, contrary to cultural norms, these “positive deviants” were
feeding their kids three to four times a day, and washing their hands before and after each meal.
A nutrition program based on these insights was created, and it worked. In two years, malnutri-
tion fell by 85 percent. As the researchers explain, the approach leads to success because it starts
with locally grown seeds.
Positive deviant behavior is an uncommon practice that confers advantage to the people who practice it
compared with the rest of the community. Such behaviors are likely to be affordable, acceptable, and sus-
tainable as they are already practiced by at risk people, they do not conflict with local culture, and they
work. cxxix
I'm reminded of a project for Hewlett-Packard in which we discovered an example of positive
deviance. We were asked to redesign the information architecture of the @hp employee portal.
The existing system was the end result of a centralized, top-down redesign that failed to meet