Incremental Change (Change, part 2)

In a previous post, I shared a framework that helps us consider change.  Here’s a summary: our paradigms (how we see things) shape our strategies (how we approach things), which in turn shape the actions we take (what we do), and it is our actions that determine our results and/or errors (what we get).

This simple model is helpful for considering change because it allows us to identify three kinds of change.  In this post, I will explore the most basic kind of change: changing our actions.

When we look at our results and are not pleased, we ask ourselves the basic question “What can/should I do differently?”  This is a good question because it recognizes that results are within our influence and that if we are not pleased with results, we should consider the actions we took that created the results we got.  After all, results will not change until and unless actions change – reminding us of the truth found in the old saying: “Doing what you’ve always done and expecting different results is insanity.”

When we change our actions, we change our results.  If we only change our actions (leaving strategy and paradigm unchanged), we experience incremental change.

In a church context, incremental change is often the first attempt at change.

Consider a church that has the following framework when it comes to evangelism:

Paradigm = we see things the way they really are and those who see things differently are wrong.

Strategy = we use argument and debate with non-Christians in order to prove our rightness and their wrongness.

Actions = we will use the church sign to share messages like “Turn or burn” or “Stop, drop & roll will not work in hell” or “God’s church, not Presbyterian.”

Results = our church members feel smugly superior and very few members of the community visit our church or convert to Christianity.

Honestly, I know plenty of churches whose members who would be just fine with these results (feeling smugly superior is a hard thing to let go of!), but let’s consider a church whose members truly want to see non-believers hear and respond to the good news.  Such a church might start not with a shift in paradigm, or even strategy, but with a shift in actions.  They might try wittier sayings on the church sign.  Or they might try renting billboards by the highway and putting messages similar to those on their own sign.  Or perhaps they try an electronic sign, bigger letters, or some variation of a more visible sign.  Or perhaps they try a whole new set of actions, such as confronting non-believers on the sidewalk or at public events through street preaching, handing out tracts, or going door-to-door.  The point here is that there is a whole range of actions that can flow from a strategy, but all actions that flow from a particular strategy end up being variations of the same, basic theme.

In many cases, incremental change is the appropriate level of change needed.  For instance, a church that gives away back-to-school items in order to be a good neighbor to the local elementary school could learn that students no longer use spiral bound composition books like the ones they’ve supplied for years.  An incremental improvement in the ministry would be to provide a more needed item instead – perhaps three ring binders.  Or a church that has been printing the words to worship songs in the bulletin could change to a projection system in order to get more people looking up during the worship service.  These are simple changes that create improved results without the need for changing strategy (or paradigm).

When working with individuals and organizations, I find it best to start with incremental change.  Why?  Because change is hard and the desire for deep change comes only from a motivation that is informed by the journey of having tried incremental change and found it lacking.  If incremental change is what is needed, then great.  If not, the need for deeper change often becomes evident.

I once consulted with a church whose members believed that if only their neighbors could get to know them, then their neighbors would like them and want to be a part of the church.  The church tried various actions: greeting their neighbors door-to-door invitations, surveys, flyers, mailers, block parties, etc.  After a couple of years of such efforts and a lot of incremental changes, the church members were finally able to consider that their strategy (“help the neighbors get to know us so they will find out how likable we are”) was flawed.  In fact, the church eventually learned that their neighbors did know them, but did not like them.  Talk about a revelation!  The point is that for many organizations and individuals, it is only after we have tried incremental change that we can be open to deeper change.

Next week we will look at a kind of change that is deeper and more difficult than incremental change.