Minimal Action. Maximum Impact.
Carmen López Hernández
CEO at Carmen López | LEADERSHIP & STRESS EXPERT: Do you want to succeed as a leader? Do you need to reduce your stress?| PSYCHOLOGIST | Executive Psychologist | Human Resources Consultant🌐 German-English-Spanish.
"The flutter of a butterfly's wings can be felt on the other side of the world." This Chinese proverb describes a physical phenomenon where a small action can trigger a massive effect through amplification. But it’s not just a physical phenomenon. It happens in the economy when a small movement in the stock market causes panic, leading to a stock price crash. It also occurs socially when a piece of clothing becomes a best-seller because a famous person wears it.
The butterfly effect is the dream of any company that wants to change its culture. The CEO asks: In a dysfunctional culture, can something be done to achieve maximum impact with minimal effort? The answer: Yes, it can. Let me explain how.
In the 1980s, crime rates in New York City were astronomical. Riding the subway was frightening, and the moment you descended the stairs, the environment was desolate: Graffiti on walls and trains, people jumping turnstiles without paying, violent gangs roaming freely...
The city hadn't been able to solve the crime problem until two criminologists, James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, proposed a new approach. According to them, crime doesn’t turn a public space into a dirty, neglected, and devalued place. It’s exactly the opposite: A dirty, neglected, and devalued public space invites crime. Simply by changing the environment, crime would decrease. Their proposal was to harshly punish two small crimes: Graffiti and fare evasion.
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Many experienced police officers and politicians laughed at them: Did they want to divert police resources to chase graffiti while there were murders every day? They reached a compromise to test the theory: They would try it on just the number seven line. If it worked, they’d expand. If not, they’d stop. Orders were given to clean all the graffiti and arrest anyone who didn’t pay the fare on line 7. Then it expanded to other lines. The same policy was applied at the street level: Minor crimes became the main target for the police. Littering, for example, was pursued and punished.
The result: Violent crimes dropped by half in the 1990s. Murders decreased by more than 60%. This is the butterfly effect in cultural action: If you punish littering, fewer murders are committed. A small intervention. A gigantic change.
Why did Wilson and Kelling's proposal work? Because people consciously and subconsciously observe the environment to deduce appropriate behavior. If you get on a train in Switzerland, you automatically lower your voice because people, in general, keep quiet or speak softly. Similarly, you wouldn't think of drinking alcohol at work or wearing jeans to the Oscars. The environment modulates your behavior. Graffiti and fare evasion signaled that rules in that environment weren’t followed, inviting more serious crimes.
Returning to cultural change in a company: How can a small change improve the culture? Interventions can vary and depend on the circumstances, but I can give you a powerful example: Fire the most dysfunctional person the moment they cross the line. Even if they’re your best engineer. Even if they’re your best salesperson. That act will send a very clear message to the other hundred employees, provoking maximum effect with minimal effort. One person is fired. A hundred people change their behavior. The butterfly effect in action.
Carmen López. Business Psychologist.
Managing Director of Sustainability at Standard Carbon
6moI'm a big fan of your creative approach, this article no less so. You're correct in assuming that the right environment will create the most creative and productive ambience. The examples you gave however used punishment to reach that goal. I believe that reward is more effective and can sometimes be used. Instead of punishing the latecomer, give a bonus to the early bird. That which is created from love is far more powerful than that which is prompted by fear. The same as your articles, they always bring me a smile. Almost all your reactions are from people with a smile. Keep writing and make more butterflies.
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6moAgain a very insightful post, Carmen. What can I say, we live in societies, and hence we are clearly influenced by our environment. Find really impacting the example that you point out, in a big city, and with something like crime, that seems to be difficult to control the way it was handled. Can only agree that leading by example combined with some messages delivered to the organisation, as you suggest, can have a bigger than we expect impact and influence in the company we work for. Especially when you have a leading role. Creating the right environment to allow people to contribute their best, within a clear framework, strategy and purpose, should be our main goal. And, as you say, there is no need for revolutionary changes, start by small things, many, and the final result will be amazing.