Great idea, but…

Users will change their habits when the pain of their current situation is greater than their perceived pain of adopting a possible solution.

–Pip Coburn The Change Function

Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships, that is why good ideas are always initially resisted.

– Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody

Pip Coburn’s quote captures the most common reason good ideas fail. The pain of our current situation simply isn’t great enough for us to accept the pain it will take to change that situation. Yet, even when a rational analysis of a situation makes it clear that a change is essential, great ideas are frequently not adopted. The key to understanding Coburn’s point, and to implementing great ideas, lies somewhat hidden in Coburn’s quote, specifically the word “perceived.”

Our perceptions of both our current pain, the pain of change, and the benefits of implementing a new idea are all distorted by human nature. We underestimate the pain of our current situation, overestimate the pain of changing that situation, and underestimate the future benefit. We also often completely miss the effect a good idea has on the balance of power in an organization.

We underestimate the pain of our current situation

It is human nature to become as comfortable as we can with our current situation, even when it is dysfunctional (that doesn’t stop us from complaining, but we do become accustomed to whatever our current situation is). Over time, we become used to our situation, adapt to it, and make it work for us as well as we can. The result is that we may perceive our current situation as being better than it really is.

We overestimate the pain of adopting a new idea

The perceived pain of nearly any change is elevated because it is largely unknown and because we either have direct experience with or have heard horror stories about previous changes. Given the success rate of implementing change of nearly any type, this is not an unreasonable reaction, but even so, we still tend to overestimate the pain of change.

We underestimate the benefits of implementing new ideas

Humans tend to ignore long-term benefits in favor of short-term comfort. That’s one reason most of us exercise too little, eat too much, and take up habits like smoking. We know the consequences, but that doesn’t stop us. Dan Ariely’s new book, The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, is worth checking out if you’re curious about what a scientist has to say about the question of why we act this way.

However, regardless of why we act this way, we do, and that has an impact on our perceptions about change. The further out the benefit, the stronger it will need to be for us to act.

We misunderstand the impact a new idea has on personal power

Finally, we come to the question of power. Accepting someone’s idea gives that person power and increases his or her standing relative to others in the organization. Any shift in power creates losers, and those losers will feel the urge to resist. If there is just one “parent” to an idea, then there are lots of “losers” who will perceive the cost of change as including a reduction in their power.

In practical terms, if you keep hearing about something as “Mary’s idea” or “Fred’s idea,” then you know there will be resistance based on power. If Mary’s idea is accepted, that increases Mary’s power, and if it’s rejected, it reduces Mary’s power. While power may not be a true zero-sum game, it’s close enough in some organizations that there will be people who at least subconsciously will want to reject Mary’s idea because it will reduce her power relative to their power.

What’s a manager to do?

The net result of these effect is that the perceived benefits of any new idea must be greater than they logically ought to be, and the perceived pain of adopting that new idea needs to be lower than it logically ought to be. Pure logic will not guarantee the success of most good ideas (even a lot of brilliant ideas). You need to “round up” when calculating perceived pain and “round down” when calculating perceived benefit.

The earlier you can show benefits from adopting a new idea, the better. Near-term improvement, even in small increments, will be more effective than big, but longer-term improvements. Even benefits that are peripheral to the change can be effective. For example, consider deploying new equipment to handle a new application earlier than strictly needed; the power of giving a techie a new toy should never be underestimated.

Heed the words of President Harry Truman, who said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Even if the idea is yours, spread the credit around; incorporate ideas from others and give them full credit. Get away from saying “me” and “I” and aim for “us” and “we.”

To quote another president, John F. Kennedy, “Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan.” If the project succeeds, everyone will take credit, so why not give them some ahead of time? You will gain advocates and increase your chance of success. Beside, you’ll probably get some great ideas along the way.