1. Becoming an Agent of Change Class 7
Harvard Extension School 2016

2. Harvard Extension School 2016
Last class
We enhanced our logic model, treating it as a ‘theory of change’.
We identified underlying assumptions, and ways to test these.
Harvard Extension School 2016

3. Harvard Extension School 2016
Inputs
Activities
Outputs
Outcomes
The Value Chain: A Version of A Logic Model
Creating Public Value,
Mark Moore, 1995
Harvard Extension School 2016

4. Harvard Extension School 2016
This class
Case: The Hara Factor
Part 1: Analysis, including triangle and path to change, tactics to prompt progress
Part 2: Hara as change agent
Last 15 min:
Instructions for presentation & final paper
2 notes on grading
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5. Case: The Hara Factor Part 1: Case Analysis
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6. Harvard Extension School J term 2016
Case: Hara Tactics
Discredit the status quo
Choosing what part of the status quo is critized
Leveraging evidence of success
Gathering evidence that the change will indeed realize a value proposition and that the desired capacity and support will be well-invested.
Capitalizing on small successes (pilots)
Evaluations by third parties
Seeking indirect evidence
Social construction of credibility
(Cels et al, 2012)
Harvard Extension School J term 2016

7. Harvard Extension School 2016
Case: Hara Tactics
Holding back Presenting only part of the ambitions; managing leap of faith; flying under the radar Finding opportunities in critical ‘events’ Waiting for the right moment when conditions shift to favor change Crisis as opportunity for change Finding an entry point – any point For starting a conversation
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8. Harvard Extension School 2016
Case: Hara Tactics
Making Progress Irreversible
Design mechanisms that pull change forward
Prevent regression by smart scheming
Traffic spikes
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9. Case: The Hara Factor Discussion: Change Agent
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10. Problem definition: Previous features
Based on facts/Evidence based yet: biased (unavoidable)
Speaks to stakeholders (mobilizes)
Leads to a specific approach
Includes impact on personal level (how does is affect people of flesh and blood)
Sense of urgency
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11. Harvard Extension School 2016
Questions (1)
Political Responsibilities
Are you including all affected stakeholders in your process of exploration and deliberation? How open and inclusive do you need to be?
Knowing that ‘change’ will always be destructive too, to what extent do you need to worry about others beyond the support you need to succeed?
Are you creating ownership for the solution and/or the process?
Have you made an assessment of the “political” risks, not just to yourself or to the project, but to others as well?
Harvard Extension School 2016

12. Harvard Extension School 2016
Questions (2)
Intellectual Responsibilities
Have you thought through the nature of the challenge and actively tested your assumptions?
How do you know that your undertaking is a good idea?
Are you looking for disconfirming evidence and listening closely to dissenting voices?
How do you know if you are on the right track? Have you established feedback mechanisms?
Is the process reversible enough to accommodate changing circumstances and preferences, yet not so reversible that it would jeopardize sustainability?
Harvard Extension School 2016

13. Harvard Extension School 2016
Questions (3)
Moral Responsibilities
Are you sensitive to the (moral) values of the stakeholders and to the clients?
If you are pushing the boundaries, are you respectful of the sense of violation or loss you are inflicting on others?
Are you true to your own beliefs, yet not too stubborn to change your mind if conditions so dictate?
Are you addressing, rather than avoiding conflict and disagreement?
Are you clear about the costs and benefits of your undertaking and how they will be distributed?
Are you honest about the risks you are taking on behalf of your organization?
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14. Harvard Extension School 2016
“ There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of change.
For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries … and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.”
Niccolo Machiavelli, ‘The Prince’
Harvard Extension School 2016