Changing Systems is Easier Than Changing People

I HAD A RECENT experience that caused me to see more clearly the benefit of altering systems in order to get the results we want.

Everyone in our household, myself included, has been asked to put our dirty dishes into the dishwasher. To say we havent been very good about it would be an understatement of monumental proportion.

I will only say this in our defense: If we knew that the dishes in the dishwasher were dirty, we would sometimes add any dishes we used to the partially full appliance. But most of the time we didnt look to see what the status of the dishes in the dishwasher was.

My wife was understandably frustrated with the fact that she was the one who most often emptied the dishwasher and our dirty dishes usually ended up in the sink. The action she took had surprising results at least to me.

She made a two-sided sign and clipped it to the dishwasher. One side says, "Dishes are Dirty . . . Go Ahead, Fill Me Up." The other side says "Dishes are Clean . . .Go Ahead, Empty Me."

I know it wouldnt have taken much for us all to look inside this wonderful appliance to see if the dishes were dirty or not. You may even have some judgment as to how we "should" have done this. But the fact remains that we did not. But when Dawn made it easier for us all to take this step, we started to do it on a regular basis.

Even though we might want to, we really cant change people. People have to change on their own. The best we can do is influence by making requests, providing incentives and having consequences. The old clichй, "You can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink," is true. However, you can take steps to make the horse thirsty. And you can make someone "want" to do something or else you can make it easier for them to do something.

Think about this in your job or your business. Where can you make changes to the system that results in a positive change in peoples behavior?

Theres no question about it. Changing systems is infinitely easier than changing people.

About the author:

Michael Angier is the founder and president of Success Net, publishers of SUCCESS STRATEGIES and SUCCESS DIGEST. Success Net is a worldwide association committed to helping people become more knowledgeable, productive and effective. Their mission is to inform, inspire and empower people to be their best personally and professionally.

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