A 24 year-old legislator is hiding in the attic waiting for the mob to disband. It’s the end of his political career but the beginning of his legacy. Harry T Burns, from Tennessee tipped the balance by voting yes on the right for women to vote. August 26 1920, the nineteenth amendment was passed granting women in the US the right to vote.
This was disruptive stuff, and as we know here in the western states we’re sort of into disruption. So on some level it’s not surprising to learn that the first states to allow women voters were western states, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Colorado.
It’s nice to think that men of the west were much more open minded but it turns out that it was more the equivalent of a political pick up line. At a time when the male/female gender ratio in Wyoming was 6:1, being pro-suffrage was an incentive for more women to move out west.
So what can we learn when rolling out a new product, disruptive technology or another workplace change?
- It’s not easy: There will be detractors for whom the status quo works just fine.
- Self-interest trumps moral high ground: You can’t always count on people to intrinsically value the larger benefits of your eco-friendly gizmo or new rota system. Also it’s important to uncover what exactly those self-interests are, both the spoken and unspoken.
- Influencers: Who are they and what do they need/fear/want?
- The power incentives: How to align incentives is an important strategic skill to master. As Business Designers we develop an interest for economics as well as business. Since aligning incentives requires some real integrative thinking. We coach business owners to develop the skill.