Imagine this. You invite a friend over for dinner. While you're cooking, your friend push you out of the kitchen and says: "You're doing it wrong. Let me show you how to cook pasta properly!".

What do you do? There is a big change you tell your friend to fuck off!

I feel this is often how we try to make change happen within organization. Especially when it comes to making services more sustainable. Someone comes and tells everyone they've been doing it wrong and shows the proper way of doing things. Might be full of learning, but still people might tell you to go fuck off.

Now imagine this: that same friend invites you out for beers with a bunch of people to talk about cooking pasta (1). An Italian chef shows up, shares some tips, and then everyone talks about their own pasta tips. People share stories, ask questions, and laugh about their mistakes. When you leave that bar, you're more likely to try steal some of the ideas you heard. They might be from the chef, or just from another friend.

That's exactly what my mate Michel does for big cultural changes in the organization he works for. He brings people together to discuss existing practices. He mixes in such events experts from outside, people who are already doing the work internally, and total beginners. People share what works for them and discover new ideas through the conversation. They ask questions and even share their challenges.

Action question

When could you create an exchange moments in your organization? What would be the topic? Who would you invite to make it inspiring?

Footnotes

(1) I know I have weird passions in my life. But remember I have Italian origins.

The inspiration behind this principle

This principle is based on a conversation I had with Michel Sterckx, a project manager working on a big sustainability project for the Salvation Army in Switzerland. The conversation was in French:

Daniele's notes

• This is the first shitty draft of this principle

• This principle might one day make it in the fifth book in the "Service Design Principles" series that explores how to better serve humans and the planet.

• If you're curious about service design principles, you can get the four previous books in the series, with proofread principles and less grammatical creativity.

• Written with AI help: This principle draft is based on an audio note I took while walking that was transcribed and cleaned using Audiopen. I then reviewed and improved the text by hand.