Слайд 1How Change Happens
The Openlab Change Model
Openlab Workshop
http://openlabworkshop.wikispaces.com
Washington, DC. December 1-2,
2015
Michael Peter Edson @mpedson
CLIR/Open Knowledge
Слайд 2Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs)
have some of the most important
missions in society *
Put the tools of knowledge creation into more hands
Share the joy and meaning of artistic and cultural exploration
Deepen engagement with the challenges that face our species
* These slides apply to all cultural/memory/knowledge institutions - - and many other kinds of organizations as well
Слайд 3And technology provides
GLAMs with new opportunities to dramatically
increase the scale and
Слайд 4…But change is hard, and GLAMs struggle to
recognize and exploit these
Слайд 5Some institutions struggle to experiment and
begin the process of digital engagement.
Слайд 6Others struggle to innovate and
begin the process of digital transformation.
Слайд 7And others struggle to sustain innovation
and deepen the impact of their
programs.
Слайд 8Everyone struggles with disruption and change.
Слайд 9We’re often told that change takes time,
and that things will be
different
a little farther down the road.
But how much farther? Can we do something now
to make change happen faster?
Слайд 10It’s difficult to predict what will drive change in an industry—or
even in a single office—
but some patterns seem clear.
Слайд 11Pattern #1: Change flows
Pattern #2: Top-down and bottom-up
Pattern #3: Labs are
an under-utilized resource
Pattern #4: Think big, start small, move fast
Pattern #5: Use the power of conveners
The Openlab Change Model
Слайд 12Pattern #1: Change flows
Change doesn’t happen at the same time across
an entire industry, it flows across the landscape
from organization to organization.
Слайд 13New ideas can come from anywhere.
Слайд 14And new ideas take root and grow when organizations can see
them, understand them,
and take action on them.
We’ve heard about this.
We understand this.
We can do this.
We can test this.
We can adapt this.
We can see the effects of this.
We have a sense of urgency.
Слайд 15Innovative organizations are prepared to see, understand, and act upon new
ideas
quickly, without a lot of outside help.
We’ve heard about this.
We understand this.
We can do this.
We can test this.
We can adapt this.
We can see the effects of this.
We have a sense of urgency.
Слайд 16We’ve heard about this.
We understand this.
We can do this.
We can test
this.
We can adapt this.
We can see the effects of this.
We have a sense of urgency.
They can see, understand, and act
because they have these capabilities.
Слайд 17Early adopters are influenced by the successes and failures of the
innovators.
Early adopters need time to gain confidence and develop the skill and resources to act.
We’ve heard about this.
We understand this.
We can do this.
We can test this.
We can adapt this.
We can see the effects of this.
We have a sense of urgency.
Слайд 18Early majority organizations follow the early adopters. They need even more
time, support,
and resources before they will take action.
We’ve heard about this.
We understand this.
We can do this.
We can test this.
We can adapt this.
We can see the effects of this.
We have a sense of urgency.
Слайд 19Once you get the innovators, early adopters, and early majority on
board you’ve got critical mass, and change across an entire industry is possible.
Слайд 20This is called an innovation adoption curve…
C H A N G
E
Слайд 21This is called an innovation adoption curve…
And it’s a well studied
Слайд 22
It’s not perfect, but it seems to explain GLAMs
(and a lot
of other industries) pretty well.
C H A N G E
Слайд 23Each group differs in its ability to see,
understand, and act upon
new ideas.
Social connections with colleagues—We’ve heard about this
In-house knowledge and resources—We understand this and can do it
Idea fits with needs & systems—We can adapt this to our needs
Idea is conducive to prototyping—We can test this and see the results
A sense of urgency—this is perhaps the most critical factor!
Слайд 24It’s important to work across the entire spectrum to prepare each
group for the arrival of new ideas according to their needs and abilities.
C H A N G E
Develop social connections with colleagues | Build in-house knowledge and capacity
Foster a sense of urgency
Слайд 25This is not about the size of an organization.
It’s about the
organization’s readiness to see, understand, and act upon ideas in their own context.
Слайд 26To accelerate change using this model, first
figure out how far an
idea has moved
across the curve from left to right.
Stuck here
Слайд 27Stuck here
Then work to help the next cohort of organizations build
the awareness, capacity, and sense of urgency necessary to put the idea into action.
Apply
Resources
Here
Not
Here
(yet)
Слайд 28Sometimes this area is called the chasm because it’s notoriously difficult
to get new ideas seen, understood, and acted upon by the early majority…
Слайд 29But once you cross the chasm you’ve got half
of all organizations
on board and ongoing
adoption is more likely.
Слайд 30Recommendation
Use the innovation adoption model to invest
resources where they’ll have the
greatest impact.
Increase everyone’s ability to see, understand,
and act upon new ideas that are meaningful to their mission, context, and capacity.
Focus energy on driving change across the landscape.
Слайд 31Pattern #2: Top-down and bottom-up
Слайд 32Change is easier when the people
at the top are leading it.
Слайд 33But in this day-and-age it’s not enough
to just lead from
the top: leaders and innovators
are everywhere.
Слайд 34Many visionaries and change makers are mid-career managers and practitioners: it’s
easy for them
to become isolated in small organizations,
or lost within large ones.
Слайд 35Often, the best people are among our ‘audience’—
people who work outside
our institutions, volunteering their time and expertise for the greater good.
Слайд 36And many smart creatives* are trapped
at the bottom of organizations, with
no
recognition, visibility, or resources.
* A term used by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg in How Google Works (2015)
Слайд 37Even directors and their boards need support.
Слайд 38To drive change across an industry, individuals
at all levels need to
be recognized, trained,
and empowered to lead.
Слайд 39Recommendation
To drive change, focus attention on the top (including board and
donors), and middle, and bottom of organizations, as well as non-staff participants.
At each level, consistently recognize and celebrate
the kinds of behaviors and outcomes
you want to see more of.
Spread news of success, and pattern the behavior of top performers, whoever and wherever they are.
Train and communicate relentlessly at all levels,
in small groups and at scale.
Слайд 40Pattern #3: Labs are an
under-utilized resource
Слайд 41There are over 70 “labs”
in the cultural industries.
Слайд 42These labs are vital, creative, and innovative,
but they tend to work
in isolation.
Слайд 43…And this undermines our ability to solve big problems and spread
new ideas.
Слайд 44In addition, the cutting edge work of labs is not always
useful to the small and mid-sized institutions that serve millions of communities.
Слайд 45Recommendation
Bring labs together to network and
collaborate on shared goals.
Establish annual challenge/stretch
goals
for the network of labs.
Establish lab programs that directly serve
the needs of small and mid-sized organizations—
and raise the bar for established innovators.
Слайд 46Pattern #4:
Think big, start small, move fast
Слайд 47Big goals are important.
Society needs us to be successful, at
scale.
But how do big things get done?
Слайд 48Big things are rarely achieved in one giant step,
but small, incremental
steps don’t necessarily
add up to big results either.
Слайд 49…And while patience is a virtue and some things do take
time, much of our work is overly cautious, tentative, and slow.
Слайд 50Sometimes big goals are easier to accomplish than small ones. Big
goals force you to re-think what is possible, and big thinking attracts the kinds of communities you need to succeed.
Слайд 51“Work on stuff that matters,” said Tim O’Reilly.
Do that, but do
it now…
http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/work-on-stuff-that-matters-fir.html
Слайд 52Break big goals into small, manageable pieces. Short-term, achievable goals aligned
towards a big vision create a sense of urgency and accelerate learning.
Слайд 53But beware of incrementalism—small steps
that feel like progress, but don’t add
up
to something bigger.
Слайд 54Speed—speed of decision making, speed of execution, speed of learning—is critical.
Слайд 55Recommendation
“Work on stuff that matters.”
Break large, ambitious goals into smaller
sub-projects, and
execute them with speed.
Beware of incrementalism.
More on Think big, start small, move fast
http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/think-big-start-small-move-fast
Слайд 56Pattern #5:
Use the power of conveners
Слайд 57What should we work on? What’s important?
What is even possible?
Слайд 58Conveners—organizations and individuals who bring people together around certain ideas—have a
lot of power to set the agenda and drive change.
Слайд 59But many established conveners are tied down with preexisting relationships, business
models, and constituents that are wary of change.
Слайд 60New conveners are always emerging, but many struggle to reach established
audiences at scale.
Слайд 61New kinds of conveners are needed who have the authority and
reach of established organizations, and the freedom and agility necessary to experiment and drive change.
Слайд 62Recommendation
Build on the convening power and authority of established organizations.
Create new
workgroups far enough inside established organizations to have reach and legitimacy, but far enough outside to have operational autonomy and the freedom to experiment.
Use the power of conveners to set an agenda and support change over the long term.
Слайд 63Pattern #1: Change flows
Pattern #2: Top-down and bottom-up
Pattern #3: Labs are
an under-utilized resource
Pattern #4: Think big, start small, move fast
Pattern #5: Use the power of conveners
The Openlab Change Model
Слайд 64Thank you!
Some pictograms © Khoon Lay Gan, via: http://www.123rf.com/profile_leremy
(others are remix/mashup
by @mpedson)
The Openlab Workshop: http://openlabworkshop.wikispaces.com