What Really Drives Change

Photo: Priscilla Gyamfi via Unsplash

I recently watched the 2006 social satire film Idiocracy. It’s directed by Mike Judge, who brought us Office Space, King of the Hill, and Beavis and Butt-Head, so that gives you an idea what it’s like.

I won’t offer a recommendation or critic’s review, but as a foresight person I found the plot intriguing. The Netflix log line: “Unwittingly left hibernating for 500 years, two normal people wake to find human intelligence decreased – so much that they’re the smartest people alive.” Evident in the decline are anti-intellectualism, mass consumption, corporate greed, and corruption.

Is Idiocracy in our future? The movie takes it to extremes, but there are definitely signs showing today. So yes, maybe some version is possible, but so are plenty of other scenarios.

We know the past is different from the present and assume the future will be different than today. There are differences between generations and also in pre- and post-policy and at the beginning and end of a project.

Things change. We know that, but what causes the change? Is it emerging technologies? Fluctuating economic conditions? New business models? Government actions? Or other significant opportunities and disasters?

All these certainly present an opportunity for change. But for change to take hold there must be something else and that’s adoption fueled by values.

We want change because we don’t value the status quo and want something more. We value opportunity, growth, and expression. We’re excited by new adventures and relationships.

Values also resist change. Some people are comfortable with the known even if it’s unfulfilling. There’s perceived security in a steady paycheck and less pressure when someone else makes decisions for us.

Right or wrong, good or bad, our values, and the strength of our convictions, define what we stand for, what we’ll embrace or resist, and what we don’t care about. When presented with the possibility for change, our beliefs and biases determine if we’ll jump aboard, attempt to derail it, or look the other way.

Exploring near- or long-term futures, building, selling, buying, hiring, firing, advocating, and leading all involve change. Technology, policy, laws and regulations, culture, and such all play a role, but values are the underlying catalyst. If you want to understand change, understand the values at play.