WCFL/WMRL Book Club Meeting #1 Minutes

The WCFL/WMRL staff book club met for the first time today from 12:00-1:00PM in the B/C meeting room to discuss the first part of the book, Switch: How to change things when change is hard, by Dan and Chip Heath. Here are some of the highlights from that meeting. Those in attendance and those who are participating but couldn't attend today's session are encouraged to add comments that elaborate on any of the issues noted below.

A-Ha Moments

• The idea that will power is limited; it doesn't mean we are lazy; and it's nice to know that we aren't alone in this feeling (everyone experiences this from time to time)
• The examples illustrated in the book are true (i.e. BP, the Brazilian Railroad, the Vietnamese children)
• It's refreshing to know that in order to make a change we don't have to address everything. We just have to make baby steps--Like with the 1% milk example.
• Challenge: would the 1% milk campaign have worked in other locations such as California which is vastly different from West Virginia? Or would they have experienced decision paralysis because of soy vs organic vs 1% vs no milk at all. What do you all think?
• Several folks brought up an outside example. Jamie Oliver tried to revamp the quality of food that was served in schools as a way of getting West Virginians to improve their diet and at first he failed miserably - as the group deduced, it was probably because of his approach. He started out by coming in as this expert and the notion of why wouldn't anyone not listen to him? FAIL. But try, try again he did and was more successful with his food revolution which appealed to several individuals' elephants. He brought in truckloads of fat in order to illustrate just how unhealthy the food was that was being served at the schools. He showed people a mortuary where there were coffins for obese people, specially designed hearses that are equipped to fit the over sized coffins, and the issues people encountered when trying to transport these coffins. (To those who shared this story, please help me clarify this example a little better!)
• It was interesting to read about the Brazilian railroad's goals as they seemed to be contrary to what the norm is (quick fixes vs. long term fixes).
• A couple parallels were drawn between this section of the book and the renovation of the Hagerstown branch library. Why tear it down and rebuild when it seems like we could simply re-purpose/recycle what we already have access to and only make small additions to the portions of the building that need them.
• Another parallel was made between this section and the Longmeadow shopping center. One one side of the street is a rundown strip mall but instead of renovating it, a newer shopping center was built on the other side. Is this the best use of Hagerstown resources?
  
• One reader interpreted the first section of Switch in political terms where the Rider is President Obama, the people are the elephant, but the problem with the political process is the path. For example, the health care debate. The President more or less charged congress with figuring out a way for all Americans to have health care but he didn't outline the steps to get there. He didn't script the critical moves which seems to have lead to paralysis in the face of ambiguity.

Real-World Example (to be carried through the next 3 book club meetings)

Problem: Dirty dishes are left in the sink in the staff lounge on a daily basis. How do we change staff behavior so that each person washes his/her dirty dishes rather than leaving them in the sink?

Goal (postcard view): There will be no dirty dishes left in the sink or on the counters. They will be washed and placed in the drainer to dry and then put away in the cupboards.

Why do people not wash their dishes?

• Time
• "I don't do dishes"
• Monkey see, monkey do
• "It's not my job" or "It's someone else's job"
• Plan on doing it later and then forget (or maybe they don't)
  
• Water doesn't get hot enough
• The soap isn't the kind that softens my hands
• I'm a sponge user and there are no sponges (vice versa w/wash cloths)
  
• Someone else always washes my dishes so, I figured it was ok
• There are no consequences for leaving the dirty dishes in the sink
  

Why do some people wash their dishes (and in some cases, wash others' dishes)? These are the bright spots:

• A sense of personal/professional responsibility
• It's the right thing to do
• Courtesy
• Reducing health issues (bugs, germs, etc)

How are we going to change behaviors?

• Modify the environment by providing a dishwasher
• Modify the environment by providing a sponge/soap combo gadget
• Take the dishes/silverware away thereby causing staff to provide their own dishes/silverware. The idea behind this is that people will be more responsible with their own personal belongings than with community belongings.
• Reinstate housekeeping committee?
• Build this topic into the ethics discussion at staff day (ethics) and use in conjunction with the move to Phoenix Color/North Pointe/Susquehanna
  
• Make an xtranormal.com video in order to communicate and motivate
• Advertise: Will work for dish money. Either pay me to do your dirty dishes or do them yourself for free!

To be continued on Oct. 14, 2010