Tip of the Week: Think Differently (It’s Time to Shift & Reset)

Written by: Brian Reich, author of SHIFT & RESET: STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING SERIOUS ISSUES IN A CONNECTED SOCIETY

There is an abundance of ideas and suggestions for how to address serious issues. There are new formulas and models, platforms and groups emerging to take on the challenges that exist in our society. But our tendency—and humans are creatures of habit—is to focus on the elements we can control. Too often, individuals return to what they know. Organizations repeat what they have done before. In the face of the serious issues that threaten every facet of our existence, which are growing worse by many accounts, we do not have the luxury of looking back or repeating what we have done before. If what we are doing isn’t working anymore, we have to do something different. Start by thinking differently.

We should be thinking bigger. What is the potential for technology and the Internet to redefine our culture, and what say do we want to have in that? What must be changed or adapted within our society to ensure that the solutions that are developed today—the ideas that emerge from the massive and frenetic coordination of people online or through connections that only recently became available—aren’t lost as we head into the future?

For starters, the discussion about addressing serious issues and solving complex problems should include more voices, provide more access to information, invite more collaboration. Fueled by technology, we all have the ability to learn or discuss whatever we believe is relevant, to produce and distribute information so that it reaches audiences any time, any place. With a more diverse (and deeply invested) audience, and through any device, we don’t have to rely on someone else’s channel or community to have an impact. Instead of a few companies, distributors, creators, and the like, there should be millions. We should experiment more, try different things, and be confident that the solutions we need will begin to emerge.

Of course, with the flourishing of ideas comes a responsibility to focus, prioritize, sacrifice, and learn. It is no longer sufficient for each sector in our society—government, media, education, business, philanthropy, and more—to operate separately and compete. Individuals and communities must do more than wait for direction or expect someone else to take responsibility for what they want to see happen. There is also a lot of bad content that overwhelms and distracts.

We must resist the desire to define or contain the new, emerging culture we live with too quickly or focus our attention on finding ways to marketing and monetize things before we can make sense of them. We try to prioritize stories and concepts because they fit better into an established system. We spend far too much time talking about business models and marketing strategies. We obsess about the most effective and compelling ways to push information, which day of the week to send an e-mail, or what hashtag will register the largest following. We are quick to launch a new activity but slow to embrace the lessons, good and bad, from organizations that have been operating for years. We discuss and scrutinize and criticize the experiments that fall short of our expectations, but don’t offer solutions or recommendations that might help for next time.

We should be looking to support and enhance, cultivate, and create a broader commitment to change and a larger vision of what is possible. If the outcomes seem easy to find, they probably aren’t the ones driving the important changes we need.

Everyone serves as a gatekeeper now, and each of us can be a storyteller. Every person with a blog or cell-phone-enabled camera can deliver change. Every person with a computer and an Internet connection can demonstrate their creativity and innovation to the world. It is happening every day. But how much time do we really spend listening to, and hearing from, our audience—what they want, what they value, and how we can help? How much time do you spend delivering on what your audience wants, instead of trying to compel them to accept that what you are doing is important? Do you know what they want? Have you asked? Did you listen to the answer?

I get asked all the time what one thing we should do. I don’t have an answer. There isn’t one. We don’t need a plan, a set of steps, or a list of policies—that’s too short term; we need to think bigger. We don’t need a model, a proven example, or a data set to work from—we have never done what we need to do now; there is nothing to copy or emulate. We don’t need a strategy or a road map, a report, or an event. And we certainly don’t need another tool, app or widget – not until we understand better how to use the incredible resources we have to drive meaningful, measurable action.

We need to change the way we think, act, and organize. We need to change the way we talk and listen. Everything we know—and how to apply it—must be reconsidered. We need to shift & reset.

[The post was adapted from Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society]

Bio

Brian Reich is senior vice president – global editor for Edelman, where he provides editorial vision and strategy for the company. He is well known for his expertise in new media, Web 2.0, social networks, mobile, community, ecommerce, brand marketing, cause branding, and more. Brian is the author of Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society (Wiley, 2011) and co-author of Media Rules!: Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect with and Keep Your Audience (Wiley, 2007). Learn more about Brian at www.shiftandreset.com.