Tipping the System over into Change Why do some ideas, trends and social behaviours cross a threshold and spread like wildfire? The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell explores just how such change occurs and how little things can make a big difference. When systems seem immovable and unchangeable, he argues, with the slightest push, in just the right place, they can be tipped over into change. For organi- sations concerned with trying to bring about social change, it is a fascinating book containing a wealth of insights, including case studies, into what really works. Three Types of People Gladwell offers a new take on what makes social change happen. He identifies three types of people who are largely responsible for creating what he terms social epidemics. They are connectors, mavens and salesmen. These are peo- ple with particular and rare sets of social gifts. Changing the System Connectors are the kind of people who know everyone, with the extraordinary knack of making Making the message stick friends and acquaintances. They make connections across bound- Gladwell highlights what he terms the ‘stickiness of the message’as aries and Gladwell’s research shows they have literally hundreds of another key element in making change. By this he means making people as acquaintances. small adjustments to your message in order to make it stick or catch the imagination. The more personal and practical the message, the Mavens are people who know lots of information. Maven comes more memorable it will be. This was the success of Eddie Hobbs to from the Yiddish word meaning one who accumulates knowledge. focus on the breakdown of personal take home pay and offer little In Ireland, a more pejorative term is ‘anorak’, not the coat, but a ways of increasing it. person who knows lots of seemingly useless information about a particular issue or area. Mavens are connoisseurs who obsess about Gladwell cites Sesame Street, the children’s TV educational details, but willingly share their information in a helpful way. programme, as an example of stickiness. It is one of the most Mavens, however, are not persuaders. researched and evaluated TV programme ever. The producers were relentless in evaluating what was it that caught and kept children’s attention and made them focus on the literacy aspects. They Persuasion falls to the salesmen who have the skills to persuade us continuously adjusted their programme in line with the feedback, when we are unconvinced. This often occurs at the level the making it the success it is today. Testing institutions about the mes- subliminal and intuitive messages we pick up from them. sage and how the message is being received is crucial to making the message stick. These three groups of people, by word of mouth alone, can cause social change to occur. The key is to identify these kinds of people in the areas The Tipping Point is really pertinent to the community and where your organisation is trying to provoke change. Probably voluntary sector as the sector increasingly invests resources in successful social activists and organisations have elements of all three. advocacy and campaigning to bring about social and systemic Think of the success of the makepovertyhistory campaign, where change. Gladwell argues that large resources are not necessarily overseas development and trade tipped over into the mainstream via needed, that change can happen by word of mouth, and that small rock and pop culture, with Bob Geldof, as persuader, Bono as changes to the message can make a big difference. The challenge communicator and the economist Jeffery Sachs, as maven, and would seem to be to reach those few special people who hold so many more with similar attributes within the various NGO organi- much social power. As Gladwell says: sations that also drove this campaign. “There are exceptional people out there (and they do not have to be In the recent furore over the TV programme Rip off Ireland, Eddie rock stars) who are capable of starting social epidemics. All you Hobbs displayed characteristics of all three types. His previous TV have to do is find them. The lesson of stickiness is the same. There is show, Show me the money, gave him the public recognition of an a simple way to package information that, under the right circum- expert or maven, someone whom the public trusts to offer advice on stances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it”. budgeting. His new show presented facts gleaned from various reports already in the public domain, to argue how we are being David Rose is director of the Presentation Centre. ripped off. But the statistics were communicated a very accessible and persuasive manner. The message stuck. Page 8
No.4 Winter 2005 CENTREPOINT Newsletter of the Presentation Centre for Policy and Systemic Change 37 - 39 Terenure Road West, Dublin 6W. Tel: 01 492 7097 Fax: 01 492 6423 Web: www.presentation.ie Email: info@presentation.ie Wake up to learning in the 21st Century By Stephen Heppell Prof Stephen Heppell invites us to re-think learning and to get in the way of their learning less than the schooling in a new era. formal written method. Examples from Australia and New Zealand All around the world governments, parents, companies and others are looking to learning as a way to make progress in the 21st In New Zealand a school in Christchurch has a design life of just century. For most of them new technology is seen as the high- five years; it was largely designed by the children in it; when they tech key to unlock new learning potential. Unfortunately, in some have left, a new school will be designed around the next group’s cases this leads to the fairly dismal prospect of a room full of chil- needs and ideas. It’s cheap enough to do; the shop was completed dren drill- and-practicing their way through screensfull of multi- by shop fitters. In Tasmania when a school burned down the ple choice questions with frenetic mouse-clicks. But this kind of community, parents and children were delighted; it had been an “factory learning” is really only a cyber version of schools from awful place to learn and teach in, so they were determined to do the 19th century: teachers or computers “deliver” the curriculum, better. Their new school is full of group work, small “learning wisdom is “received”, and learning is passive. But as everyone group” spaces for the whole community, places to exhibit their reading this will know, that passive role doesn’t make for successes, and much else.. memorable learning. Nearer Home Best learning experiences In the UK’s Surrey commuter belt a tiny school for less than 10 Think back to your own best ever learning experience; chances are it students uses technology to join up with other learners and shows will have involved making or doing something, working with others, that there is now no lower limit for school size. And the with a real sense of personal progress because it was remarkable Notschool charity takes hundreds of children pretty tough too. You had some kind of audience for what you had excluded from school and, supporting their learning at home, learned. Probably, there was a teacher, or coach, or perhaps connects them to a global computer network with countless grandparent involved and they were really passionate about experts passionate about their learning. And there are countless whatever it was you were learning; often they were a bit eccentric too! more examples to show that computers plus imagination can add up to a whole new delightful learning experience. Many of our Examples from Thailand and Hong Kong lives have been changed by new communication technologies. Well, the good news is that learning in the 21st century can be just We use phones for messaging, to talk, to capture pictures, and as memorable too, for some of those same reasons. Little by even to swap newsworthy video clips (as we saw during the little, around the world, new learning experiences are being tragic July London bombings). Communities from football fans to created using new technology in creative, ingenious ways that extended families have been reconnected by mobile phones. For are seductive, engaging and tremendous fun for everyone. learning, this helps to put the community right back at the heart of What examples are there? In Thailand community learning our lifelong learning journey. centres are opening on the top floor of shopping malls, offering challenges for families and groups of children, One thing is for sure; you just from video and music making, to story telling and ani- might have to revise your own mation. Even the bookshelves teeter high above the “best ever learning experience”. ground,needing a climbing frame to reach the Watch this space! highest shelves! In Hong Kong children are exploring tough science experiments at 9 Prof Stephen Heppell is the or 10 that children don’t reach in former Director of Ultralab, Ireland until 14! Why? Because the internationally recognised they write up their learning technology experiments with video research centre. cameras and this turns out
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