{"id":87,"date":"2011-02-28T16:25:52","date_gmt":"2011-02-28T22:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/?p=87"},"modified":"2011-02-28T16:25:52","modified_gmt":"2011-02-28T22:25:52","slug":"big-change-is-created-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/2011\/02\/big-change-is-created-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Big change is created how?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Small steps photo taken by Frank Starmer in Thailand<\/p><\/div>\n

I’m ready to take a break from the supply\/demand discussion, at least for a while.\u00c2\u00a0 As I’ve been thinking about it I find that other work I’m doing is refracted through the lens of that discussion.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

One such item is an article that Russell Willis Taylor\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>recommended to me and I’m passing it along to all of you.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s called No Big Deal<\/a>, by Thanassis Cambanis,\u00c2\u00a0and was published in January in the Boston Globe.\u00c2\u00a0 Cambanis writes about the\u00c2\u00a0Columbia University economist Scott Barrett<\/a> whose research looks at the history of\u00c2\u00a0success or failure in resolving large-scale global problems — problems that cannot be\u00c2\u00a0solved by the efforts of any\u00c2\u00a0single nation.<\/p>\n

Barrett’s research shows that modest and incremental efforts have resulted in lasting change in instances where global, comprehensive agreement cannot be reached.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Barrett’s analysis of a century of human problem-solving concludes that holding out for the negotiation of \u00c2\u00a0“grand bargains” is tactically less promising than working on a “piecemeal approach” (Cambanis’ language in quotes).<\/p>\n

This roughly parallels my own experiences in implementing change — that little steps add up to big steps, and it’s faster, to boot.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Consistent momentum in small steps is nearly always easier than sweeping change in grand gestures.\u00c2\u00a0 People and systems are also less stressed by incremental change than by sweeping change, and we can see the evidence of this in politics, business, nonprofits and in our personal lives.\u00c2\u00a0 Neuroscience tells us that the brain experiences change as pain.\u00c2\u00a0 The leader’s challenge is bring about the necessary change while being mindful of ways to minimize pain and therefore resistance. \u00c2\u00a0(See The Neuroscience of Leadership <\/a>by David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz\u00c2\u00a0to read more about this.\u00c2\u00a0 The site requires free registration.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, while it is interesting to think about a grand re-drafting of the systems in place that inhibit the fullest expression of the arts and culture, research points us in a different direction.\u00c2\u00a0 We will get about the work faster and be met with less resistance if we plunge in and begin the work in little but persistent steps.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 If applied to the national conversation we are having about the relevance and vibrancy of the nonprofit cultural sector, we can look to the incremental steps that artists and organizations are taking now that will add up to sweeping change in the coming years.\u00c2\u00a0 I would argue that changes in interactivity with audiences, in fresh approaches to\u00c2\u00a0community engagement, in the re-thinking of\u00c2\u00a0organizational structures, in the use of digital tools, and in the processes of artmaking\u00c2\u00a0all are proceeding creatively and\u00c2\u00a0effectively within our sector, and that these many small steps are adding up to big change.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you see this, too?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m ready to take a break from the supply\/demand discussion, at least for a while.\u00c2\u00a0 As I’ve been thinking about it I find that other work I’m doing is refracted through the lens of that discussion.\u00c2\u00a0 One such item is an article that Russell Willis Taylor\u00c2\u00a0recommended to me and I’m passing it along to all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-87","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/speaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}