Changing Minds in Organizations
In the practice of organizational change, we are trying to get people to change their minds about how they are currently acting and adopt a new behavior. Well-known Harvard Professor Howard Gardner, in his book Changing Minds, offers seven “Rs” for getting people to change their minds.
- Reason. It has to be rational and make sense.
- Research. It should be based on research that people accept.
- Resonance. It needs to align to their personal goals and situation.
- Representational re-description. The same information presented different ways is more convincing.
- Resources and Rewards. There needs to be sufficient resources to get the new task done, and sufficient rewards, or benefit, to doing it.
- Resistances. The concerns, both imagined and real, must be dealt with.
- Real World Events. The overall context and situation can affect the viability of the change. For example, during wars or recessions, people will have their focus elsewhere