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Is the Butterfly Effect the antidote to the Broken Windows Theory?

Last week, I wrote about the Broken Windows Theory; in effect, it means that an environment that is not maintained (hence, filled with minor crimes, like broken windows) sends a signal that it is not monitored, which, in turn, leads to the occurrence of larger offenses or issues because no one is watching.

I started thinking about how to stop that chain of events that occurs, specifically about one of the lessons I listed: Fix the small things before they become big things. And then I remembered the Butterfly Effect. What is it? I won’t bore you with the history or the theory or the concerns over cause-and-effect or predictability, but I’ll get to the heart of the matter: a small change or a small action at one point can lead to larger changes down the line.

Maybe they are both theories on the same side of the coin, or maybe the Butterfly Effect is the antidote to Broken Windows.

When I shared my Broken Windows post on Google+, Dan Oestreich commented:

Years ago, when I worked in an HR Department, we started from a lot of “broken windows” in the systems and processes that were being used. As a consequence, there were many people trying to get around these systems, generate one-off solutions to complicated compensation and selection questions, and generally display a lot of hostility and disrespect for the function. 

Luckily, some very good managers were hired who understood the principle clearly. We started with little stuff, clearing up the application process, making life easier and more consistent for managers, collaborating with employees on setting new policies — essentially repairing those windows one at a time. And how-about-that, pretty soon the efforts to subvert the system dissipated. No more last-minute attempts by managers to fire somebody late Friday or efforts to pay someone inequitably because they’d become a favorite. Broken Windows Theory applies in many interesting ways!

I think his solution to Broken Windows exemplifies the Butterfly Effect. Fixing the little things kept the big things from happening. Fixing the little things showed that neither the little things nor the bigger things are acceptable. More importantly, hiring some good managers led to decisions and actions that resulted in future improvements.

My response:

One of my next posts is on the Butterfly Effect, and I think it’s what you describe and an excellent way to fix the windows. Start small, let others see how those small things can make a big difference, which helps to create buy-in, and as a result, starts to get everyone excited about doing things to improve processes, etc.

The interesting thing about the Butterfly Effect, too, is that there is a component of it that refers to going back in time to change or correct something so that, in modern times, it is no longer an issue. Well, Marty McFly, since we don’t have any time machines, perhaps we can just figure out how to fix things now so that they don’t continue into the future.

What’s a good place to start? I think it depends on the issue(s). Regardless of the issue, though, there are some fundamentals we can work from:

• Strong, honest, transparent, and trustworthy leadership is necessary.
• Hire the right people. Put the right people in place. Look at Dan’s story. It took the right people to effect change in that organization.
• Hiring is important but so is the onboarding process.
• Create employee and customer journey maps.
• And just as important, create process maps. Understand the underlying processes, rules, policies, systems – anything else that could contribute to the root cause.
• Since I’ve mentioned it, root cause analysis is a must.
• Get your facts straight. Listen to employees and customers. In order to do that, you must make sure your VOC program is designed and executed on properly.

Those are all big things, but when the foundation is solid, it’s easier to identify those things that can have a greater impact down the line or in the future.

The list could go on and on, but you start to see how one thing leads to another leads to another. You can start to see how the Butterfly Effect applies just in the fundamentals. For example, by hiring the right person today, you could avert a customer experience disaster tomorrow. It’s really pretty powerful stuff and makes you sit back a moment and think: What am I doing today that will have a negative or positive impact on my business in the future?

Each smallest act of kindness reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of this good echo. Because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage, years later, and far away. Likewise, each small meanness, each expression of hatred, each act of evil. -Dean Koontz, From the Corner of His Eye

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