The Change Curve

To help a friend, I was searching for a better image of the 'change curve' than the one I first used here in 2009.  Back then they were surprisingly tough to find online. Now there are tons of them, adapted to countless different scenarios. This would seem to suggest that a vast number of people have got beyond the 'depression' phase since then ;-)

At any rate, here's a useful overview of various models that help make sense of change, based on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's five stages of grief, care of Warwick University.

I've posted a few of the better images from the pile that turned up.

When Will Control Truly Shift To The Consumer?

For those engaged in the process of empowering consumers, 2012 is already a fascinating year. So it was timely that a bunch of us met at Ctrl Shift's "Explorer's Club" to try to map the timeline for when 'customer relationship management' truly inverts and firms finally acknowledge their customers control them. 

The output of the session is being converted into an 'infographic' that will be available as a reference soon. In the meantime, here's an excellent drawing that Joel Cooper produced during the session to reflect the various themes:

Does Occupation Work?

Much is being written about Occupy Wall Street and similar expressions of mass dissatisfaction about our financial system. In particular, many are giving advice on more practical alternatives to occupation, which misses the point:

"Occupy Wall Street is [a] leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants."

In other words, this is what people do when their faith in all the immediately practical alternatives is exhausted. 

But why? Does mass occupation 'work'? I mean, is Egypt now a better place? Wouldn't it be better to withdraw completely and assume the foetal position under your duvet? 

 

While I don't believe these protests have any causal connection with the changes that are democratising the financial markets, they are critical insofar as they represent a peak in our society's dissatisfaction with its financial institutions. I mean, this is not intended to shock or wake people up, like a strike or a noisy protest march, or an attempt to get the attention of law-makers outside Parliament. Quite the reverse: pitching your tent in the beating heart of a giant city is a sign of utter confidence that every rushing passerby, every person who reads the paper or watches the evening news will understand exactly why you're there.

For this reason, such occupations are a sign that the majority of us have rounded the change curve. It means we've moved beyond 'shock' at how broken things are, through 'denial' and beyond 'anger and blame' - even though that appears to be what all the signs are about. Those people wouldn't be there if they instinctively sense that we all understand the world has changed for the worse. That something has to be done. In fact, the reason they're gathering is to figure out what is to be done.

Ironically enough, these occupations mean we're moving on.

Strike All You Like: The World Has Changed

Change Curve

I've never really understood strikes. And, given the timing of the current round in the UK, I suspect those who go on strike may not either. But I think this lot are a good sign.

It means the strikers and those who empathise (many private sector pensioners, for example) have moved on from the initial shock of discovering there is no money to fund generous pensions.

And they have moved through denial that this means their own pensions.

And they have reached the phase of fear and anger about the fact that the world isn't as the same as they thought it was when they decided to do whatever job it is they've decided not to do on Thursday.

Next stop: depression.

And then maybe acceptance and a measure of understanding. After all, it's a feature of our existence that we become complacent, vulnerable to change, and blame everyone else for any misfortune when change arrives. Our defences against disaster weaken over time.

And, finally, planning how to move forward into a very different future.

It's that fundamental.

Because we aren't talking about mistreatment of a colleague, or any other point of principle. The current round of strikes is all about venting collective anger, though not in the Greek style. Yet.

And anger on this scale means the whole world has changed, not just your own lot.

So, all power to the strikers, I say. In fact, let's all get out there on Thursday and have a bloody good shout. And, Hell, why not spend Friday drowning our sorrows?

On the weekend we can all indulge in a little critical thought.

And on Monday, we can plan how to move on.