Book Review: Shift and Reset

The pace of technological change in our society is exciting and dizzying for organizations. Every person has a different opinion about social media and the rapidly increasing amount of information available on the Internet: what do organizations need to do in this new environment? How is the relationship between organizations and consumers affected? What do the changes mean for cause-based organizations?

Although every expert has a different opinion about the direction these changes are pushing us, everyone can agree that things are changing fast. Brian Reich’s Shift and Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society reflects the urgency to change for organizations; you don’t have time to wait a year or two to see how the changes manifest themselves. We talked to Brian last week and asked him some questions. He focused his vast knowledge on problems facing social entrepreneurs:

What does it mean for a business to shift and reset?

Shifting and resetting are two separate parts.

To shift, businesses really need to acknowledge that what they’re doing isn’t working anymore, the way we approach addressing serious issues, the way we approach business, the way we communicate, the way we educate and mobilize audiences, pretty much everything has changed as a result of the massive and disruptive influence that the internet and technology are having on society.

Once you do that you start to realize that our organizations aren’t really well positioned to do that work. You have to break down your own structure and rebuild it. The resetting part is about the function, the approach, the organizational plan for how we go about dealing with serious issues.

What factors in our society are forcing businesses to shift and reset?

We live in a connected society, which presents both opportunities and challenges. Thanks to the internet and technology and all the emerging media platforms out there, the speed at which information travels is much greater, the access to diverse peoples and diverse points of view, not to mention data, is so much greater than it was a couple of years ago that I don’t think we really know what is going on. I think we’re focusing on the wrong things, and that necessitates this need to shift and reset. The connected society creates the need for this hugs change but it also creates opportunity. Now that we’re connected we have the ability to apply intelligence and pursue solutions in ways that we never had available to us before.

Why is it so hard for some businesses to embrace the changes that you argue are so necessary?

As my chemistry teacher in high school used to say, it’s easier to sit on a couch than it is to go running. Change is difficult, and it’s made difficult because the things that we reward as success in our society today are not necessarily in all cases indicating that we’re not getting the job done. If you’re looking at a business for example, one of the only metrics for success is did that organization make money? Most of these major corporations who are raising money and large organizations that are addressing serious issues, they’re still bringing in the dollars. When you take a larger view, however, when you start to say, “is my job just to raise money or is my job to eradicate hunger? Is my job to run a successful business or is my job to build equal relationships with individuals so when a new challenge comes along or a new opportunity presents itself we’re able to do more with that opportunity than the simple transactional one that we had before.” Some of these things like money are lagging indicators, and if we’re still making money, why should we change? Well, because change happens quickly, and if we’re not in a position to adapt quickly the likelihood that we recover if things shifted under our feet are very small, and things are shifting all the time.

What lessons from corporations can nonprofits and social entrepreneurs apply to their own organizations?

Nonprofit is a tax status, not a way of operating or a mindset. The whole idea of social entrepreneurship, the whole idea of triple bottom lines, is the idea that you can have an impact on society and still be a successful organization. Until organizations of all stripes start to recognize that the metrics of success are changing and more complicated, and that there are still hard metrics you’re going to have to apply to any situation, we’re going to be in trouble. One of the key lessons any organization needs to take from business is the discipline of operation. Social entrepreneurs need to measure everything they do against the goals they’re trying to achieve in the same way a corporation measures everything it does by it’s bottom line. Another lesson they can take from the market is that if you’re failing, get out of the way. It’s a tough lesson, but we have a lot of organizations that are failing and yet are given a pass because they’re doing “good.” They’re not doing good unless they’re accomplishing their mission.

How can I make my network feel connected to my mission if my mission is just to sell a product?

First of all I wouldn’t disparage yourself and think that selling a product is not as worthy a task as clothing the naked underprivileged children in the developing world. We all have a role to play and we all have things we need to accomplish and in a connected society, selling a product has an influence on the way people think and act on a larger scale. Don’t undersell the importance of the value of even the simplest of activities. I think the most important thing you can do in any organization is humanize and personalize the activity that you’re asking people to take in the context of their lives. You have to make me understand how your product fits into my life, how it makes my life easier. You need to help teach me and support me in the effort to purchase that product, to use that product, to repair the product if it fails, because my expectations are going to be set by whatever you say. You really have to personalize the experience of buying your product. Much of what I talk about in the book is creating content and a lot of your job is to make people see how your product fits into the patterns that already exist in their lives in a valuable role. For me, that’s about explaining, it’s about teaching, it’s about providing the context between whatever you’re selling and whatever else is happening in the world.

If I shift and reset, will there be growing pains?

Yes, and that would probably be the number one reason why most people do not try to shift and reset. But I think if you can go beyond that and shift your thinking, almost anything is going to be possible. If you have the right mindset, you can actually look at those growing pains as opportunities to grow and experiment and try new things. You have to say that if what I was doing wasn’t working, so almost anything is going to be better, and I’m probably going to make mistakes, but I’m going to take the next step and embrace the growing pains.

The thrust of Shift and Reset will resonate strongly with anyone thinking about starting a venture on StartSomeGood. If you have more questions for Brian you can reach him on Twitter: @brianreich. Also, check out his website, shiftandreset.com.