# The Human Element  ## Metadata - Author: [[Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal]] - Full Title: The Human Element - Category: #books ## Highlights ###### ID 833136821 > the reason a bullet is able to fly with pinpoint precision over a great distance is because a bullet has been optimized to reduce the principal friction operating against it – drag. ([Location 385](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=385)) - Note: Your ideas have drag, too. How do you plan to reduce drag? ## New highlights added February 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM ###### ID 852653914 > It is called The Law of Attraction. It is the belief that the best (and perhaps only) way to convince people to embrace a new idea is to heighten the appeal of the idea itself. ([Location 406](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=406)) ###### ID 852653915 > Frictions are the psychological forces that oppose change. Frictions create drag on innovation. And though they are rarely considered, overcoming these Frictions is essential for creating change. ([Location 413](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=413)) - Note: What are the frictions with my ideas? trad view of PD and learning amd development ###### ID 852653916 > Inertia. The powerful desire to stick with what we know, despite the limitations. Inertia explains why, when attempting to change behavior, you should always give people multiple options, and why, at least when it comes to sports, Americans are socialists and Europeans are capitalists. ([Location 457](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=457)) ###### ID 852653917 > Effort. The energy (real and perceived) needed to make change happen. ([Location 460](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=460)) ###### ID 852653918 > Emotion. The unintended negative emotions created by the very change we seek to make. ([Location 462](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=462)) ###### ID 852653919 > Reactance. The impulse to resist being changed. ([Location 465](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=465)) ###### ID 852653920 > “Imagine you run a nonprofit that gives social support to children in hospitals. Your organization encourages people to send “hero cards” – letters of support to hospitalized children. Currently, 18 percent of people who are asked to volunteer to write a hero card do so. You want to increase those numbers. How would you do it?” ([Location 474](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=474)) - Note: I would give them a stamped envelope with the card ###### ID 852653921 > All new ideas have four basic elements. And each element has a corresponding Friction. The first element is the degree of change the innovation represents. Does the innovation represent a major break from the status quo or is it a slight tweak on what has been done before? This question determines the level of Inertia the innovation will produce. ([Location 490](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=490)) - Note: In my work, personalized learning was a big change that created a lot of inertia. People were not ready for it. ###### ID 852653922 > The second element of innovation concerns the cost of implementation. How much physical and mental exertion is required to implement the change? The answer to this question determines the level of Effort the innovation will produce. ([Location 494](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=494)) - Note: A bell schedule change creates a lot physical and mental inertia. We fought that by creating lots of things to male it eaiser to remember the changes. ###### ID 852653923 > The third element of innovation concerns the audience's reaction to the intended change. To what extent does the audience feel threatened by the proposed change? The answer determines how much Emotional Friction the innovation will produce. ([Location 499](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=499)) - Note: In Kodiak, we reduced ELA from 90 to 45 minutes. People were afraid they would lose thieir jobs. ###### ID 852653924 > The fourth element of innovation captures how the innovator goes about creating change. Does the innovator nurture genuine interest in the idea or does the audience feel pressured to change? Pressure to change produces Reactance. When pressure is high, you should expect people to push back against change. ([Location 502](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=502)) - Note: I did a lot of pressure in many areas of my leadership. In Fairbanks, we provded low entry points so everyome could find success. ###### ID 852653925 > Proposing new ideas without designing their integration into the world is innovation half‐done. ([Location 511](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=511)) ###### ID 852653926 > I am happy to wait until they are really ready. Most dealers are focused on urgency – not letting someone leave the dealership until they have sold a car. I focus on patience. I might not sell you a car today, but I know that at some point you will be back, and when you are, you will be ready to buy a car from me. At that point I will be happy to ‘sell’ it to you.” ([Location 619](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=619)) - Note: I have foun this to be the case in my work. When someone is ready to work with me they are really ready to work with me. ###### ID 852653927 > If our audience is not responding to our idea, our instinct tells us to puff out our chest and show off our plumage. ([Location 631](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=631)) ###### ID 852653928 > According to marriage research, it turns out the ratio is closer to 5–1. ([Location 707](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=707)) - Note: Is this the reseach PBIS 5:1 ratios are based on? (Gottman) ###### ID 852653929 > In every recorded language, there are considerably more ways to describe negative emotional experiences. ([Location 720](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=720)) - Note: The words are there because therr are so many ways to experience negativity but fewer ways to experiemce positive emotions. ###### ID 852653930 > the law of hedonic asymmetry states that “pleasure is always contingent on change and disappears with continuous satisfaction, whereas pain persists under persisting Aversive conditions.”6 ([Location 726](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=726)) - Note: [[laws of]] ###### ID 852653931 > The conventional response to a disengaged workforce is to – this will sound familiar – add benefits. Crank up the positive in hopes of drowning out the bad. What Sutton proposes instead is fearless intolerance for bad people and bad behavior. ([Location 743](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=743)) - Note: [[culture]] is anything hou are willing to walk past ###### ID 852653932 > Fuel is costly. Two properties of Fuel make it so. Fuel is fleeting, and its impact is proportional to the amount of Fuel that is applied. ([Location 751](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=751)) - Note: Fuel is fleeting because it is used up. That is its purpose ###### ID 852653933 > The reason many would‐be soldiers never enlist is because … they are afraid to tell their mom. They don't know how to start the conversation. ([Location 810](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=810)) - Note: Fascinating if true. An ad campaign focused on tellingyour mom you're joining the army would be a cool study ###### ID 852653934 > the initiative created strong Emotional Friction. It backfired, we suspect, because employees didn't believe the goal was realistic. They were trying their very best already. And now they were being asked to do even more with the same amount of resources. ([Location 835](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=835)) - Note: Trying to do more without new fuel and more drag does not lead to better outcomes ###### ID 852653935 > Frictions are difficult to spot because they require empathy. They require that you understand your audience and see the world from their perspective. When you are selling change, it's natural to fixate on the idea. But to understand Friction, you need to shift the spotlight from the idea to the audience. ([Location 902](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=902)) - Note: This is very hard to do because you think you have already done it. ###### ID 852653936 > They know when they feel happy or sad, for instance. But they struggle to accurately explain why. ([Location 913](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=913)) - Note: People know how they feel, but not why they feel that way. They make decisions based on how they feel, not how they think. ## New highlights added April 5, 2025 at 7:13 PM ###### ID 873334691 > We are heavily influenced by who communicates information. People are more likely to listen to a message when it comes from someone they know or someone who is similar to themselves. ([Location 1237](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09HJH6LFX&location=1237))