Nichols Village
Amplifying Positive Deviance
In our consulting we believe that we can and will find the solutions to business problems within the organization in which we work. Often we may need to bring in an outside expert to show how others are doing work, but essentially companies have the solution at hand. Its just not acted upon, for a variety of reasons!
Have you ever heard of the approach or tool called Amplifying the Positive Deviant, which was created by Jerry Sternin? Jerry and his wife, Monique, worked for the Save the Children Foundation in Vietnam during the 1990s. It was their job to help save starving children in the country’s villages. Within six months, they adopted a radical approach to making change. Now, positive deviance is being applied around the world to change behavior in a variety of other social and organizational situations, such as the spread of AIDS in the Third World and ethnic conflicts in Africa. (To learn more about the Sternin’s application, read the Fast Company December 2000 article at http://www.fastcompany.com/online/41/sternin.html)
Times of change present perfect opportunity to apply this tool. First, it’s important in your role as a leader that you are clear about the, transformation, “contextual shift,” culture change, or vision you are moving toward. Next you’ll want to observe those “positive deviants.” These are people, tools or processes in the organization that are moving in the same direction as your vision, goal, or change initiative that you are making happen.
Discover what the successful behaviors are, the mindsets, the results that support these “deviants.” What is it that makes them work so well? What’s in place that made these results possible? Then find ways to amplify, announce, and spread the word of their results. Best practices are an excellent opportunity to demonstrate this. Other ways to amplify these positive deviants may be stories in the company newsletter, on the intranet, on announcements to key stakeholders and customers, or even at the usual off-sites. It doesn’t have to be on such a large or visible scale, as it is also effective in staff meetings and conversations with colleagues and managers. Additionally, this is a great opportunity to support and give visibility to your women colleagues.
The key is to find multiple ways to amplify the positive deviants and keep providing opportunities for others to build new behaviors, results, “context shifts” that move the organization in the desired direction. Sternin says, ” … find small, successful but ‘deviant’ practices that are already working in the organization and amplify them. Maybe, just maybe, the answer is already alive in the organization—and change comes when YOU find it.”
Go and fine the deviants making things work in your business or even your industry.
Enjoy
About the Author
Graeme Nichol Arcturus Advisors (http://www.arcturusadvisors.com)works with business leaders and their teams to close the gap between great strategies and mediocre results. (Newsletter arcturusadvisor@aweber.com)
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Conan The Barbarian (2011) … |
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Conan The Barbarian (2011) $14.99 … |
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Run For The Sun $19.98 An author (Richard Widmark) and a magazine writer (Jane Greer) crash in the Mexican jungle and find themselves the subject of a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a wanted war criminal (Peter Van Eyck) and a British traitor (Trevor Howard).This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.This disc is expected to play back in DVD Vid… |
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Village in a Valley (Beverley Nichols’s Allways Trilogy) $13.66 This reprint of the third book in Nichols’s Allways trilogy contains a new foreword by Bryan Connon, Beverley Nichols’s biographer. Set in the English countryside, the hilarious memoir is as much about the author’s love for plants as it is about the village in which he lived. The depictions of flowers and ornamentals â “A single one of those gloxinias would be an event in Allways … I should… |
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The Empanada Brotherhood $17.99 It’s Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, when ex-patriots, artists, and colorful bums are kings. A tiny stand selling empanadas near the corner of Bleecker and MacDougal streets is the center of the action for the shy narrator, an aspiring writer just out of college. At the stand he falls in with a crowd of kooky outcasts from Argentina who introduce him to their raucous adventures, melodramatic… |
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American Blood $4.95 … |
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Nichols Village Hotel $109.99 Nichols Village Hotel is located in Clarks Summit and local attractions include Steamtown National Historic Site. Regional points of interest also include Sno Mountain Ski Area. Hotel Features. Nichols Village Hotel’s restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A bar/lounge is open for drinks. Room service is available during limited hours. A complimentary hot and cold buffet breakfast is served each morning. Recreational amenities include an indoor pool, a spa tub, a sauna, and a fitness facility. The property’s full service health spa has body treatments, facials, and beauty services. This 3 star property has a 24 hour business center and offers small meeting rooms and audio visual equipment. Complimentary wireless and wired high speed Internet access is available in public areas. This Clarks Summit property has event space consisting of banquet facilities and conference/meeting rooms. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include barbecue grills and a grocery/convenience store. Guestrooms. 116 air conditioned guestrooms at Nichols Village Hotel feature coffee/tea makers and complimentary weekday newspapers. Furnishings include desks and ergonomic chairs. Bathrooms feature shower/tub combinations, complimentary toiletries, and hair dryers. Wireless Internet access is complimentary. Guestrooms offer phones with voice mail, as well as free local calls (restrictions may apply). 32 inch LCD televisions have satellite channels and pay movies. Also included are blackout drapes/curtains and irons/ironing boards. Guests may request microwaves and wake up calls. Housekeeping is available daily. Notifications:Advanced reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. Notifications:Advanced reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. |
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The Goula village of Bon $39.99 Michael Nichols The Goula village of Bon – Photographic Print |
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Village Weaverbird Hangs from its Nest in Loango National Park $39.99 Michael Nichols Village Weaverbird Hangs from its Nest in Loango National Park – Photographic Print |
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Barbara Nichols $19.99 Barbara Nichols – Photo |
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Joy Nichols $7.99 Joy Nichols – Photo |
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Rachel Nichols $7.99 Rachel Nichols – Photo |
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The Village $174.99 The Village – Framed Art Print |
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Village $39.99 Didier Lourenco Village – Giclee Print |
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A Village $34.99 Egon Schiele A Village – Giclee Print |
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John Nichols, engraved by Woolnoth $49.99 John Nichols, engraved by Woolnoth – Giclee Print |