Why is it so hard to change institutions?
I wrote an article on “how to change institutions” back in the early 1980s and I just put it online without the cartoons that were originally in it.
The thinking I have done recently on the subject is that the inertia of an organization is a structural reality of all forms of human activity. It’s the way things are.
We want to wake up in the world tomorrow that is pretty much like the world we woke up in today. We want our grocery store to be where it was, our car to start our computer to behave the way we’ve learned to expect it to behave and so on….. The same is true for corporations, bridge clubs, street addresses and telephones. We demand inertia in the human world.
The process of making changes in Japan, a truly cooperative-self examining culture, is called nemawashi. The word refers to a tree transplanting. The tree is dug to the roots, wrapped and left in place. It is then taken out of the hole and left in place near the hole. A week or more later it is moved to the new site and placed next to the hole, where it waits again until it is put in the hole.
Corporate change, in Japan, takes place the same way. Agreement is reached on the necessity for change. There is a waiting period for consensus. Planning then begin for implementing the change. Again, there is waiting for consensus on the details. Finally, the change is carried out. In the end, agreement is further sought on the suitability of the outcome.
Inherent human desire for status quo is accepted, honored and respected with nemawashi.
