Change Resistance or Apathy, More on Manipulation and Persuasion, Essays and Conversations With Susan Parente SPaMCAST 850

Several weeks ago I spent too much time in the middle of the night considering a scenario of apparent change resistance. I concluded that not everything that looks like resistance is what it appears.  Rather there was a bigger issue hiding in plain sight; the concept of change indifference/change apathy. As a change leader, the difference is not academic because it impacts how to address the issue. As organizations remold themselves to address the culture and pressures of the 2020s we need to find a path to empower organizations and to improve their craft while at the same time struggling with pressures to contain costs and grow. The solution cannot merely be messaging. 

We also have a visit from Susan Parente. We discuss manipulation and persuasion from the Not A Scrumdamentalist perspective. 

Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST!

Look at your to-do list and tell me your work intake process is perfectly balanced. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control! 

Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve).

Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE

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Do you want to test the water before spending part of your hard-earned paycheck? Jeremy Willets and I offer free 30-minute “office hours” sessions. In these sessions, we’ll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd

Re-read Saturday News

In Chapter 2 of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, the author takes a deep dive into the goals and mechanisms of development. The chapter begins by contrasting two common opposing views of the development process. The “I win, you lose” approach - highly competitive markets where the strong win through the expenditure of blood, sweat, and tears. This contrasts with a “win-win” model where development results from mutually beneficial transactions. Adam Smith described the later form of markets (I added The Wealth of Nations to my to-read list for 2025). The latter approach is conducive to leveraging ’ supportive activities such as social safety nets, political liberties, and social development. While probably imperfect, the comparison is between a laissez-faire and a managed market approach to development. The comparison is useful because it allows us to consider the clash between highly libertarian and more collective points of view on development and behavior. 

Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen:

Week 1: Context and Logistics

Week 2: Introduction and Preface

Week 3: The Perspective of Freedom

Week 4: The Ends and the Means of Development

 

Next SPaMCAST 

SPaMCAST 851 will feature our interview with Mike Paciello. We discussed digital accessibility. If the web is a ubiquitous tool then everyone needs to be able to interact with as little friction as possible. Today that is a dream but it does not have to be.