"There is nothing more practical than a good theory.”
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin
About Change. Change is the process of going from what is to whatever comes next. Positive change is the process of going from what is to what’s better.
About Systems. Systems abound all around us -- often invisible, ever ubiquitous. There are social systems, political systems, systems of poverty and wealth. There are systems that are productive and unproductive. But systems have thing common: they wear down over time -- what physicists call entropy, or a state of randomness. Systems, it seems, eventually arrive at a stand-off -- where the “restraining forces” for the status quo vs. the “driving forces” for change neutralizing one another.
In a school, for example, an understaffed playground can fall into disrepair, a poorly taught class (in the form of a group) can lapse into mediocrity and individual students can drift into a state of apathy in the face of the debilitating dynamics of poverty.
Thought leaders Roger Martin and Sally Osberg call such systems “unproductive equilibria," While such systems may appear to be stable, they can actually be sitting at the cusp of change, and when change occurs, it can be rapid and extensive.
About Channels. It is the skillful changemaker who is able to pinpoint where and how systemic energy moves, The founder of social psychology, Kurt Lewin, showed that energy moves through what he called "channels" -- cause-and-effect pathways that connect intentions with results within "tension systems." Lewin showed that to effect change -- where the "driving forces" can outperform the "restraining forces" -- new channels can be introduced and/or existing channels can be unclogged.
Channels can take on many forms -- the roads we drive upon, the bridges we cross, the buildings where we work and learn. Time itself is perhaps the most powerful channel of all -- especially a school's daily schedule and its yearly calendar -- and the events that repeat themselves many times over.
About Leverage. A channel has a starting point and an ending point, as well as barriers and facilitators in between that affect the flow of energy. For the savvy changemaker, specific channels -- and the weak links within them -- are often where they can exert the most effective leverage -- the right amount force at the right place and at the right time. Thus, even a small nudge can make a big difference.
To make this abstract notion more accessible we turn to a metaphor Kurt Lewin, who showed how a few modest but well placed shovelfuls of dirt upstream could profoundly change the course of the Mississippi River downstream.
About Approaching Change. To complete this picture, successful changemakers know where to begin:
Systemic energy and the channels through which it flows -- that's the science behind changemaking. Knowing where and how to approach it, and applying just the right amount of leverage at the right place and right time-- that's the art of it all.
The skillful changemaker also knows intuitively that any state of equilibrium --no matter how unproductive and stable -- is not all powerful. And that when change does come, can be both rapid and extensive.
Here are the stories of some prominent social entrepreneurs who prove it.
About Systems. Systems abound all around us -- often invisible, ever ubiquitous. There are social systems, political systems, systems of poverty and wealth. There are systems that are productive and unproductive. But systems have thing common: they wear down over time -- what physicists call entropy, or a state of randomness. Systems, it seems, eventually arrive at a stand-off -- where the “restraining forces” for the status quo vs. the “driving forces” for change neutralizing one another.
In a school, for example, an understaffed playground can fall into disrepair, a poorly taught class (in the form of a group) can lapse into mediocrity and individual students can drift into a state of apathy in the face of the debilitating dynamics of poverty.
Thought leaders Roger Martin and Sally Osberg call such systems “unproductive equilibria," While such systems may appear to be stable, they can actually be sitting at the cusp of change, and when change occurs, it can be rapid and extensive.
About Channels. It is the skillful changemaker who is able to pinpoint where and how systemic energy moves, The founder of social psychology, Kurt Lewin, showed that energy moves through what he called "channels" -- cause-and-effect pathways that connect intentions with results within "tension systems." Lewin showed that to effect change -- where the "driving forces" can outperform the "restraining forces" -- new channels can be introduced and/or existing channels can be unclogged.
Channels can take on many forms -- the roads we drive upon, the bridges we cross, the buildings where we work and learn. Time itself is perhaps the most powerful channel of all -- especially a school's daily schedule and its yearly calendar -- and the events that repeat themselves many times over.
About Leverage. A channel has a starting point and an ending point, as well as barriers and facilitators in between that affect the flow of energy. For the savvy changemaker, specific channels -- and the weak links within them -- are often where they can exert the most effective leverage -- the right amount force at the right place and at the right time. Thus, even a small nudge can make a big difference.
To make this abstract notion more accessible we turn to a metaphor Kurt Lewin, who showed how a few modest but well placed shovelfuls of dirt upstream could profoundly change the course of the Mississippi River downstream.
About Approaching Change. To complete this picture, successful changemakers know where to begin:
- directly by going straight to the individuals and groups and situations in need of improvement;
- indirectly by working through situations that affect the behavior of groups and individuals;
- through and by means of groups themselves.
- and most potently, through various combinations of these approaches
Systemic energy and the channels through which it flows -- that's the science behind changemaking. Knowing where and how to approach it, and applying just the right amount of leverage at the right place and right time-- that's the art of it all.
The skillful changemaker also knows intuitively that any state of equilibrium --no matter how unproductive and stable -- is not all powerful. And that when change does come, can be both rapid and extensive.
Here are the stories of some prominent social entrepreneurs who prove it.