The Elephant & The Rider

I always come across with issues of single vs. mass while the power is the single and the powerless is the mass. The issue is simple in nature but it is hard to bear in mind that the single is not necessarily and sufficiently able to control the mass. I, being the single, control a small mass. The individual of the mass in turn control another small mass.

I just finish reading a book – Seductive Interaction Design written by Stephen Anderson. At the last chapter, it mentions the metaphor introduced by psychologist Jonathan Haidt – the Elephant (brain’s automatic process) & the Rider (brain’s controlled process).

“The rider sitting atop a 6 ton elephant may know the right way and try to steer the elephant in that direction, but it’s a challenging task, and one that’s not always successful. Think of how one might make plans, for instance, to get up earlier and begin jogging in the morning, but when the alarm goes off, there’s another part of you that says you should stay in bed and start jogging tomorrow. This is the tension between the rider and the elephant. One part of you is doing the planning and thinking. The other part relies on gut feeling, emotions, and intuition.”

Chip and Dan Heath extended this metaphor into a framework for changing behaviors. Specifically, they present three areas to focus on in any change effort:

• Are you speaking to the rider by setting clear goals, expectations, and a path to get there? Are you learning from examples where people have been successful?

• Are you motivating the elephant through stories and other things that excite and inspire action?

• Are you shaping the path to nudge the elephant and rider along in the right direction? Are you making change easy by removing the friction that prevents people from taking action?

……………..”

It is a nudge to my thinking on how to resolve the issues I encounter all the ways in people management. By the same token, unless the above have been done should we consider if the right rider is chosen. Unfortunately, it is drawn to attention only when the elephant is doing something unexpected and destructive.