Encourage acceptance of transformation by giving individuals control over the transition process.
Transforming Communities and Organizations: Harnessing the Power of Microconsignment
Introduction: The Microconsignment Model is a pioneering approach to introducing new products or ideas, particularly in communities or organizations that are resistant to change. Derived from renowned author Rick Warren's quotation, "Transformation is a process, and as life happens, there are tons of ups and downs. It's a journey of discovery - there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair," this strategy is a journey of smoother, more successful transformations.
The Problem: Consider the example of cookstoves, a beneficial product that faced challenges due to cost and people's reluctance to change their habits.
The Solution: Enter the MicroConsignment Model. Instead of directly selling the product, this strategy involved empowering local people to sell it on consignment and for profit. Key elements of this model are Empowerment, Peer-to-peer influence, and Co-optable resources.
- Empowerment: Giving people ownership and agency over the product and its promotion
- Peer-to-peer influence: People are more likely to adopt a new product if they see their peers using it
- Co-optable resources: Providing a product that people can take ownership of, then want to promote
Why it Works: This approach allows people to adopt the product on their terms, avoiding forced change and leveraging the power of social networks to drive transformation. With a small initial investment and a focus on a few early adopters, it's a cost-effective way to spread new ideas and technologies.
Broader Application: This approach is not limited to cookstoves—it can be applied to any situation where a new product, technology, or idea needs to be introduced. Examples include introducing new technologies like AI in businesses or adapting to new work models like hybrid work.
The Key Takeaway: To drive effective change, empower people to embrace it as a means to help them achieve their own goals.
A Resource that Empowers: A "co-optable resource" drives adoption through accessibility, ownership, and clear benefits. Make it accessible, optional, and readily recognizable for widespread adoption. This approach, proven by numerous examples, enables widespread adoption of new ideas and technologies while enabling organizations to scale effectively by empowering enthusiasts and sharing the burden of change.
Spreading Good Ideas: TED, a small conference with a mission to spread "ideas worth spreading," expanded its reach beyond its limited staff by launching TEDx. This program empowered local organizers to host their events, leading to a viral, peer-to-peer expansion and growing from a small number of events to hundreds worldwide.
Transforming Business: A large company needed to transition to cloud-based systems to meet customer demands, facing resistance due to business model and workforce changes. Instead of mandating the shift, the CIO created a support center for employees enthusiastic about cloud development. This enabled early adopters to successfully promote wider adoption through peer influence and bottom-line results, changing the company's business model and launching successful products within three years.
Adopting Factory Practices to Healthcare: A healthcare organization aimed to improve patient safety by introducing manufacturing-based quality methods to hospitals. Facing resistance, they provided "change kits" with easy-to-implement protocol guides to hospital advocates, enabling local promotion and widespread adoption, leading to a significant reduction in patient deaths.
People-Driven Change: Providing people with the tools to realize their existing beliefs drives widespread change. Change scales effectively by providing resources that empower individuals to champion initiatives they already support. This fosters a sense of ownership and success, leading to extensive adoption through peer influence, emphasizing empowerment over mandated change. Embrace this approach in various organizational transformations—start small, equip enthusiasts, and let them drive the transformation.
"Want people to embrace transformation? Allow them to own the change," said Greg Satell.
Enrichment Data:The Microconsignment Model is not widely established as a formal business model in mainstream literature but has been adapted in various development and SME contexts, particularly for introducing new products or services in resource-constrained environments. To apply the Microconsignment Model to introduce new technologies like AI in businesses, consider the following:
- Partnering with AI solution providers and treating AI as a consigned product while offering proof of value through a pay-per-use or pay-per-result model
- Reducing barriers to adoption by lowering risk for entrepreneurs and offering demonstrations and training as part of the consignment agreement
- Implementing flexible payment structures with success-based compensation and optional gradual ownership
- Ensuring ongoing support, technical support, and seamless integration with existing systems.
Considering potential challenges, careful definition of measurable outcomes, scalability, and customization needs are essential for success.
- In the realm of business, leadership can drive successful transformation by empowering employees to embrace change as they own the transition, replicating the approach of the Microconsignment Model that has proven effective in introducing new technologies like AI.
- To harness the power of microconsignment and foster widespread adoption of innovative ideas like AI in businesses, strategic partnerships can be formed with solution providers, employing a consignment model that offers proof of value through a pay-per-use or pay-per-result system, while reducing barriers to adoption with demonstrations, training, and flexible payment structures.
