I’m back in the office today after four inspiring days at PopTech. For those who don’t know or haven’t been, PopTech is an assembly of some of the leading minds driving change around the world… assembled together in Camden, Maine for four days of immersive sharing, learning, and connecting. From musicians to artists, to educators and scientists, to behavioral economists and journalists, to the experimental mayor of Braddock, Penn., all of the presenters are pushing the boundaries of their respective disciplines in new and creative ways. These are truly some of the most brilliant people in the world doing some of the most important work on the planet. I was humbled to be sitting anywhere near them.

As the conference went along, I kept coming back to a fairly simple question, “Are we innovating for the needs of the environment, business, art, public policy, etc., or are we innovating for the needs of human beings?” One could argue that the two are one and the same. But to me, the former requires a deep knowledge of the issue and a creative approach to its challenges. The latter—innovating for the needs of human beings—requires a deeper understanding of us. Of what it will take to get people—real human beings—and in many cases, lots of them—to change.

All of the presenters’ brilliant work requires us to change. To change our perspectives, to change our beliefs of what is possible, to change our behaviors. And it’s tough to get us to change. We go for the default option. And too often the default, seemingly innocuous choices we make carry with them terrible repercussions.

Many of the PopTech presenters shared alarming statistics detailing some of these repercussions. Did you know:

• It takes 700 gallons of water to make one cotton T-shirt? 
• 150K Cattle produce as much waste (untreated) as the population of Chicago? 
• Education employs 100K people in California, only 40% of whom are teachers?
• A vegan in a Hummer has a smaller carbon footprint than a meat eater in a Prius?
• When high school students get less than 8 hours of sleep their rate of depression doubles?
• Cardiovascular disease kills more people in the U.S. than all other diseases put together… yet 95% of cardiovascular disease is preventable?

But if you only experience an issue in statistics, it’s impossible to engage in it. It’s impossible to feel it. Few have changed as the result of a statistic. 

Rather, it’s emotion that creates action. We are not rational beings that see a better alternative and naturally adopt it. We make bad choices, we behave irrationally (even predictably so as Dan Ariely suggests), we don’t feel the personal imperative or benefit to change and so we don’t change. 

While I am truly inspired by what I heard and experienced at PopTech, I am also struck by how much change is required for many of the proposed solutions to scale. I’m worried that many of the solutions won’t become realized as they don’t fully account for the alternative, the default, the subconscious choices we make every day.

Perhaps then, the biggest challenge is to better understand human beings. To understand not only that people need to change, but how they will or why they won’t.

7 Responses to “Reflections from PopTech on Scaling Change”

1. Nelson Merchan-Cely says:

   October 27, 2009 at 12:00 am

   As a free lance writer for the Hispanic community in the Treasure Coast, FL with three different columns, Opinion 700 words, In Spanish and Art & Culture 1.500 in El Hispano, a 45.000 issues weekly newspaper, I am ready to promote what I consider good for our community.

   So please e-mail what you know about the subject and I will be very pleased to translate and let them know what is best for them to do.

   By the way that’s what I normaly do, but with your ideas and knowledge they will learn many more things they are not aware of happen in this universe.

   God bless.

   Nelson
2. Nelson Merchan-Cely says:

   October 27, 2009 at 12:04 am

   Your cooperation is very much appreciated.
   Being in contact with so many intelligent people, through you, I can help my community more positively.
3. Halley Suitt says:

   October 27, 2009 at 5:59 am

   Very interesting piece and I particularly like what you say at the end, “Perhaps then, the biggest challenge is to better understand human beings. To understand not only that people need to change, but how they will or why they won’t.”

   Another great conference like PopTech is TED. I hope PopTech is presenting their speakers on video the way TED has been doing for a few years. This will help solve the need you mention — the need for change. Getting all these great ideas out there on YouTube is a great way to make people think and change.

   Here’s a link to Will Wright at TED showing his game SPORE which will help us play out scenarios on fictional planets where global warming or other environmental issues happen in minutes instead of centuries. I’ll bet you’ve seen it already. Not only does it help us understand human beings, it lets you build them, and then see how their changing planet affects and changes them.
4. Halley Suitt says:

   October 27, 2009 at 6:05 am

   Whoops — that link didn’t show up.

   Here’s the link again:
5. J A Ginsburg says:

   October 27, 2009 at 11:31 am

   Hello Bill,

   I was at PopTech, too, and, like you, have been typing away, trying to figure out what just happened! As I began to reflect, several themes began to emerge. In terms of scalability, there were several ideas I think could be able to go the distance and really begin to move the dial re climate change. I know that’s only one of many issues, but it’s a pretty key one. Anyway, just in case you’re interested in my PopTech 2009 Take-Aways… http://tinyurl.com/yztuso2
6. Bill Alberti says:

   October 27, 2009 at 11:59 am

   J A,

   Read your blog post. Great detail and distillation of it all. Still intellectually recovering from all that happened at PopTech and your post made the memories rush back over me.

   To your theme in your post, “The most effective way to trigger change is to provide a better alternative to the status quo.” In theory, I totally agree and there were great alternatives presented. I just worry that a better way won’t catch on unless people don’t just rationally process it as better, but emotionally experience why they need to change. Remember Chris Jordan’s photo diary of birds dying on Midway Atoll? http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11 It made me (and I think lots of others) FEEL the need to be less wasteful…to emotionally experience what has always been a rational argument (i.e., recycle, consume less, etc.) If we can’t figure out how to get people to emotionally experience the need, I worry that people won’t act en masse…

   -Bill
7. J A Ginsburg says:

   November 1, 2009 at 5:43 pm

   Hi Bill,

   Sorry it’s taken a few days to respond – I caught a cold I’m fairly sure on the plane home…

   I think we’re actually in agreement. Part and parcel of “a better way” is to engage on an emotional as well as a rational level – to spark imagination and hope.

   The latter is in all too short supply. Not only are the issues braided and overwhelming, but getting more urgent by the day.

   It’s funny that you mention Chris Jordan’s photographs of the “dead-by-plastic” albatross chicks on Midway Atoll. That presentation really stuck with me as well. I just put together a grouping of about a dozen on the aggregator, http://www.TrackerNews,net, anchored by his slide show. (TrackerNews is a bit unusual – links are grouped for contextual relevance, so research papers next to news stories next to videos next to websites, etc. – The site changes regularly, so in a few days, that link will take you to a very different page! But everything goes into a searchable database. There is actually a lot more going on with the site, but the surface is fun…).

   I was really surprised to learn that in the first decade of the 21st century, as much plastic will have been produced as in the entire 20th century. Less wasteful won’t even get us back to square one.

   On the encouraging side, there are some very intrepid marine biologists working on schemes to clean up and recycle and mess. I am in awe…

   - Janet