As our nation and industry continue to work through some big challenges, it's normal to get mired in what got us here. That's great for avoiding the same mistakes going forward but does little to spawn positive, immediate improvement. In their new book "Switch", Chip Heath and Dan Heath offer a road map to overcoming insurmountable ostacles, sooner rather than later. Take their story about Jerry Sternin:
Jerry's employer, Save the Children foundation, sent him to Vietnam in 1990 to develop a program to fight malnutrition. Once there, he found were the common issues attributed to malnutrition: widespread poverty, poor sanitation, unclean water and lack of education about sound health practices. Separately, each could take years to overcome; combined, it could take decades. In Jerry's case, the government gave him six months to make a difference and offered very little support.
Rather than tackle the Herculean tasks, Jerry took a different approach by asking this question: Were there any kids who were healthy and thriving despite such poor conditions? To find out, he visited fourteen villages and found a handful of healthy kids whose defied the conditions. He began to document what these families did differently from the others. His findings– minor changes in diet patterns and sanitation habits– were not only simple but also readily available to to all families in the village. They shared their findings throughout the village and within six months, 65% of the children were better nourished. Soon, other villages adopted the program and now over 2.2 million people in 265 Vietnamese villages have been postively impacted.
The lesson: we face some enormous challenges going forward, most of which are beyond our individual control. However, if we each make an effort to find things (however simple or small) that are working and replicate them, collectively we can move the mountain. Think of it as finding the bright spots and going towards the light!
"Switch" goes on sale February 16th. For a sneak preview, check out this month's issue of Fast Company.
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The Talon Group
Bob Piper, Rodney Hall, Tony Cleveland & Jean Mason
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