Destiny Stands in Need of Us

“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, none more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.”

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

What if you were given the choice: change or die? We’re talking about your own life or death. What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure - say, your doctor - said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act? Could you change when change really matters, when it matters most?

If you’re like most Americans, you wouldn’t change. Don’t believe it? Here are the scientifically determined odds delivered by Dr. Edward Miller, Dean of the Medical School and CEO of the hospital at Johns Hopkins University: Nine to one against you.  Dr. Miller says that about 600,000 people have surgical heart bypasses every year and 1.3 million heart patients have angioplasties. In a book with the arresting title, "Change or Die," he posits that many people could avoid the return of pain and the need to repeat surgery if they would switch to healthier lifestyles. Yet, two years after coronary artery bypass grafting, 90% of the patients haven’t made the requisite changes.

Changing the behavior of people regarding health care isn’t the only big challenge. It’s the most important challenge for businesses trying to compete in this turbulent world. Just ask some of the car companies in Detroit, who were trying to rescue their businesses from turning into a total wreck. All too often, people and organizations don’t see the need for change. They don’t correctly identify what to do, or how to successfully navigate a plan. Businesses don’t. School systems don’t. Congress doesn’t. Nations don’t. Even the Jewish Federation doesn't.

Influencing Emotions

John Kotter, the author of many books including "Leading Change", recently wrote a charming little parable about a penguin colony called, "Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions". Not really about global warming, it popularized his academic research into an accessible fable of transformational change. He cogently makes the case that to cope with new technologies or competitive or demographic forces, we have to fundamentally alter not only structure, management, culture and thought processes, but also influence emotions.

Harvard Professor Howard Gardner developed the paradigm of seven intelligences. He says that if change is difficult for an individual, how much more so for a large group or an institution. Gardiner offers the advice that if we want to successfully institute meaningful change, the story we tell must be easy to identify with, emotionally resonant and evocative of positive experience.

Our iceberg here in Greater New Haven may not be melting but we must institute systemic change if we are to progress from stasis to a thriving community. We know with a certainty that our education system needs to educate our children better, but we are paralyzed beyond the renovations of the bricks and mortar of our schools to tackle the issues of how to affectively and effectively educate the next generation of our children. Folks, New Haven is where James Comer developed a model of education used around the nation. We can continue in his footsteps.  I grew up in New Haven. I remember when Hillhouse High School was one of the 20 premier high schools in the country. Maybe we are the "supermen" that filmmaker David Guggenheim says that school children are waiting for.

“Destiny Stands in Need of Us”

I can’t predict what the market will do, or when we will recover from the recession. I don’t have a clue when the unemployment rate will begin to go down. But I am “bullish” about education in the 21st century and especially in our own community. The old story asserts that resistance to change is a fact of life. Maybe so, but life is boundlessly, endlessly creative, offering new possibilities to expand our capacities. I have always found philosopher Martin Buber’s statement that “destiny stands in need of us” to be powerfully compelling and deeply motivating.

Responses for New Times

Yes, we need new responses for new times, new visions and greater courage.  The good news is that we have already started with the conference led by Rich Harwood. The good news is that United Way brought a diverse group of dedicated people to beging the conversation. The good news is that we are looking outward as a result of a day well spent. We will find the leadership, the resources, the reservoir of positivism and the resolve to reinforce the emotional underpinnings for substantive change. Together we are up to the task of preparing for the future.  Now to take the next step.

- Sydney Perry

CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven