Look at almost any social advertising campaign to combat risk behaviour that springs to mind and the chances are you’ll see a determined, challenged, perhaps optimistic but just as likely, put-upon individual fighting their way out of their addiction or fundamentally unhealthy behaviour. Alone.

It’s not easy changing established (often addictive) behaviours, particularly if they form part of a social and cultural norm. In socially deprived communities the norm, for instance, is to smoke, drink and participate in the range of risk behaviours that are damaging to their health and wellbeing.   Recent thinking and research on the power of social networks shows us that alternative approach might be available – one that draws on the collective and supportive power of the group and signifi cant others and highlights the role that health partners can play as providers of valuable support,  incentives and encouragement.  In short, the more we connect and support each other, the more our actions will add up to create something that is more than the sum of our individual efforts.

We know it’s bad for us, but we do it. If we know it’s bad for us why do we do it?

Competing theories of risk behaviour have attempted multiple explanations as to why we engage in risk behaviour. Broadly, individuals who engage in risk behaviour act in pursuit of what they ‘need’ (relief from discomfort) or ‘want’ (pleasure/ satisfaction). Risk behaviour and a lack of impetus for change are often justified in the following ways:

• I like or need what I am doing too much- addiction/self medication theory learning theory

• I am not convinced about the benefit of change – cognitive dissonance, decision theory, health belief model

• Everyone else is doing it – social learning theory

• I will do it later – cognitive dissonance, theory of planned behaviour

• It will be too difficult to change motivation theory

What can the theories tell us about creating practical action?  Theories of behaviour change teach us that risky behaviour is a multi axle problem, influenced by an individual’s sense of self, their surroundings and their vision of their future. Through analysis of these theories consistencies emerge that show that three factors are needed for positive change to emerge:

1.Create an acceptance among the target group that they are at personal risk: To estimate personal risk realistically individuals need a standard against which they can assess their chance of being harmed by their behaviour. Despite this, people cannot make statistical assessments of risk. Thus, individuals rely on cognitive frameworks that permit quick judgements and often result in poor cost-benefit analysis. We need to overcome the belief that: “Telling me that something is bad for me, whilst important, won’t necessarily make me change.”

2.  Make the target group believe that “quitting” or changing behaviour is not socially unacceptable:  Frameworks of risk are frequently based on the cultural norms and learned behaviour. Individuals may selectively attend, distort or even resist information if it is seen to conflict with personal perceptions and behaviours. We need to make the target audience overcome the belief that: “Everyone else is doing it, and I ‘enjoy’ my life, so I won’t be interested in listening, let alone changing my behaviour.

3. Be motivated enough to commit to the first steps towards behaviour change:  Whilst social definitions of risk behaviour are important, risk behaviour has a strong relationship to life trauma, mental well-being and an individual’s motivations to change. They need to move on from the belief that “I am depressed about my past, present or future, I may lack the self confidence to change, or not see the point.”

The challenge of improving health and well-being in those who are most at risk:  The challenge for the improving health in groups where health and well being is poor, is that the factors needed to tackle risk may be absent. There may be little understanding of the risks, social norms reinforce behaviour (smoking, for instance) and there may be little motivation to change (low self esteem).

Further, where low self esteem exists, the tendency to engage in risk behaviour is higher. So, this demographic is actually constantly fuelling its own cycle of behaviour.

The power of more than one – using new thinking to tackle some age old problems:   There is clear evidence that the influence of the group: peers, family, friends and the workplace has a significant impact on an individual’s attitude towards risk behaviours.- the key challenge is to build the belief that changing behaviour and being healthier is both achievable AND desirable and the way to do this is to speak to groups not individuals

It is all about creating momentum: It is not until people can see the positive benefits of behaviour change in their own peer group that it will become appealing. To use an analogy, changing behaviour is like starting a Mexican wave. If no one starts it, it will never happen. It takes a huge amount of self-confidence for the first person to stand up and lift their arms. If he/she doesn’t have that self-confidence, but has agreed with his friends that they will support him and follow suit, then he is more likely to stand up and the chances of the Mexican wave succeeding are far greater. As shown by the Rogers Adoption Curve, a certain number of ‘Innovators’ are needed to change any behaviour. As the innovators set an example in a group, those who have not contemplated change are forced to re-evaluate their own behaviour. We would argue that to be an innovator you need support, and it is much easier to be a group of innovators, than one person alone.

Growth Champions provides a distinct, informed perspective on how leading companies have been able to create, build and sustain growth to win the innovation battle. Drawing on a mixture of insights, research, interviews, anecdotes, and examples, it has been written to help business leaders to learn from the masters of innovation and understand the key lessons that really make a difference as they venture into the future.

Growth is a priority for most organizations but many fail to achieve their ambitions. What is it about successful growth that is such a challenge? Who are the companies that consistently deliver sustainable growth and what makes them so special? What can others learn from these organizations so that they too can improve their success rates and better realize their growth ambitions? ‘Growth Champions’ answers these questions by looking through multiple lenses, highlighting the best companies, identifying the key elements that drive success and presenting all of this in a high-impact, engaging and accessible manner.

The new Growth Champions book is published by Wiley and available from all good booksellers including Amazon- we hope you find it interesting and helpful.  If it is, and you would like discuss any of the case studies in the book or have a cup of tea with anyone in the network, do get in touch we would love to chat more!

Visual Thinking

What would really help this blog post would clearly be the very title itself. It might help me describe more easily what visual thinking is and how it can be used to solve complicated communication conundrums.

But seeing as this a blog post, then I will use the power of words to communicate the beautiful idea behind visual thinking…So here goes.

Visual thinking is a concept that enables users to understand and relate to complicated processes and journeys that words simply cannot do justice. Common outputs of visual thinking are usually that of illustrations designed to help the user navigate or process through information without confusion. In simple terms, it is the ‘bigger picture’ in picture form.

Imagine a business strategy written over something like 112 pages in black and white text with no visual cues to help you imagine what this plan might actually look like one day. It’s probably going to look quite boring. Laborious to read and tiresome to follow too.

It’s not uncommon that visualising that bigger picture can sometimes be difficult for a business. It’s easy to become immersed in daily routines and processes, so that’s why visualising a strategy or a vision can be hard.

So, this is where an illustration can help turn that strategy in something a touch more exciting. It’s designed to be easy to follow and cohesive to understand. Whether the output is indeed in illustrative format or an interactive journey that tells a story or vision, our technique of portraying these ideas ensure that your idea has meaning and clarity – for all to understand.

Ok. Now you might be thinking, ‘sounds good, but I’m not convinced’, which is a perfectly reasonable response seeing as this is just a short description of what visual thinking is, or could be to you.

Oh the irony. Visual thinking needs some visual thinking to explain itself.

I guess it’s difficult to do a concept like this any justice, so if you’d like to hear more about this idea, then please do get in touch.

Alternatively, have you got a great ideas or visions of your own but are finding it hard communicate? Try us, and our solution just might help.

Stuart

It reminded me of a second interesting piece on the merits of human versus machine driven solutions, a Rory Sutherland column in Campaign magazine from a few months ago, viewable here (but sadly subscription only).  It argues that for all the benefits of rational data driven solutions, humans often respond best to a slightly more vague, heuristic approach.

The report was written in collaboration with Bondy Consulting, and argues that it is time to put the human touch back into business to thrive and that a short term penny pinching response to economic challenges can be counterproductive – human benefits and insights, sometimes even as simple as a free coffee, count more than ever in these times

You can read the article on the Sunday Times website here and the full report is available to download here.

James Alexander, one of our Partners, led the session which provoked interesting discussion and lively debate around the following key issues.

What do we mean by innovation?

Feedback from the discussion was that innovation must be positive and useful. Some leaned towards innovation being an adaption, others suggested it must be a game changer. The majority of attendees expressed the opinion that innovation meant small continuous improvement to simplify processes, increase service efficiency, control costs, reduce risk or improve effectiveness of working.  In short, the focus was on incremental change: Evolution not Revolution.

What are the enablers and barriers?

Enablers to innovation were considered to be  the need to gain stakeholder support, the necessity to develop a company culture that encourages creativity and new ideas, the demand for positive feedback and clear communication and the desire within corporates to collaborate with and learn from other industries and cultures.

The barriers to innovation were fear of change, lack of recognition or appreciation for people who drive change, corporate silos, complacency and corporate inertia.

What relevance does innovation have for real estate services?

This discussion centred around the requirement for real estate to be proactive, flexible, agile and aligned with corporate strategy.  The need for accurate and accessible lease data is considered key.  Real time monitoring of occupancy, hot desking and flexible working are growing trends.   It was felt that innovation within service providers should be to get better, faster and more efficient.
Concluding comments – An innovation and being innovative are not necessarily the same thing! It is about capturing the positive benefits of and sharing them for a positive sum gain.

The event was a huge success and was attended by representatives from many of C&W’s corporate clients such as Unilever, BT, Jaguar Landrover and Vodafone to a name but a few.   Feedback from clients who attended the event was positive, with the request for further events to be held to delve deeper into the topics of workplace management, use of space and lease admin technology.

It was great to be involved in such an enthusiastic debate and we’re sure it will spark some innovative ideas in how businesses  can better use and control the physical space they occupy – an important part of any successful growth strategy.