1.
How progress happens:
the down and dirty truth
March 19th 2009 Scott Berkun
O’Reilly Media Webcast www.scottberkun.com

2.
Hi. I’m Scott.
9 years @ MSFT (1994-2003)
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IE 1.0 -> 5.0, Windows, MSN
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Since 2003: Author / Speaker
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Bestsellers:
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Making things happen, (O’Reilly 2008)
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The myths of Innovation, (O’Reilly, 2007)
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www.scottberkun.com
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Blog, essays, podcasts, videos
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3.
There is no change until someone stakes their
reputation on doing something different
You can not make change without power

4.
How to understand any innovation:
▪ Ask any of the following questions
What did they risk?
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What mistakes did they make?
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How many failures did the endure?
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How much time did it take?
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If you want to be an innovator, take your
own inventory of what you are willing to do

5.
Agenda
▪ Change
▪ Tactics you should know
▪ Tactics you can use

6.
Move your mouse
to the other side of
your desk

7.
Move your desk

8.
We fear change
▪ We do not like Change because:
It creates work
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It requires thinking
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We have to talk and listen to each other
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It raises questions we’d prefer to avoid
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It puts us at risk of embarrassment / death
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9.
Maslow’s hierarchy

10.
Traditions protect against change
We codify rules and mythologize their origins
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Binds society together
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“I’ve always done X”
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“I was raised to do Y”
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“My family has done Z for generations”
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▪ Doing something solely because you’ve
done it before is less than smart

11.
Idea Killers (from The Myths of
Innovation)
We’ve tried that before
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We’ve never done that before
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That’s not how we do things here
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That’s not in our budget
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Customers will not like this (without asking)
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Management will never go for it
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Reference: http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2006/idea-killers-
ways-to-stop-ideas/

12.
We seek change when
▪ Confronted with failure
▪ Witness peers succeeding through other
means
▪ Are unhappy
▪ Are bored to tears
▪ Confidence in change is greater than
commitment to the status-quo

13.
A new scientific truth does not triumph by
convincing its opponents and making them see the
light, but rather because its opponents eventually
die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar
with it.
-Max Plank
Quoted by Kuhn,
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

14.
Agenda
▪ We fear change!
▪ Facts you should know
▪ Tactics you can use

15.
REVOLUTION

16.
POWER

17.
GRASS ROOTS

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Agenda
▪ We fear change!
▪ Facts you should know
▪ Tactics you can use

19.
How progress happens
▪ Power: What changes can you mandate?
▪ Persuasion: Whose support can you earn?
▪ Intuition: What can you anticipate?
▪ Case Study: Chester Carlson & XEROX

20.
Playbook for Individuals
Pilot
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Show success
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Find allies
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Ask for more resources, Stake reputation
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Repeat
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(Coup!)
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▪ Entrepreneurship is a similar process

21.
Playbook for managers
Pavlov lives! (We follow rewards)
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Hire for change (Age & Psychology)
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Accept some ideas you do not like
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Encourage interesting failures
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Only you can provide cover fire
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22.
Agenda
People make change, not technologies
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We fear change!
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Facts: Revolution, Power, Grass roots
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Tactics: Pilot & Repeat, Cover fire
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23.
Photo Credits
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/577019 - Parking meter
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93455043@N00/3106852634/ Laundromat
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shelleybrunt/2303234043/ - Change machine
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gauri_lama/2744830499/ - candy machines
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/840748 - cash register
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1140453 - Grass
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/793340 - Dandelion seeds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Conf_dead_chancellorsville.jpg dead soldiers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revolutions_and_rebellions - Reference
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/407416 - Cover arrow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Povoden_2002_hlasna_treban.jpg - Flood

24.
Questions?
Scott Berkun
www.scottberkun.com