The Process called "Changing Twice"

I don’t want to sound philosophical and too academic but I feel that this is the only way for us to understand the reality of our addiction to paper, and from here we develop a strategy for change.

In his book “The Forgotten Half of Change: Achieving Greater Creativity Through changes in Perception”, Luc De Brabandere discussed in great detail the concept of change, people’s resistance to change, and the principle of changing twice as popularized by the Palo Alto School. I would like to paraphrase and quote Luc De Brabandere in his inspiring knowledge works and relate his discussion of change to our discourse on change towards paperless society, here it is: 8

“According to Palo Alto School, there are two kinds of change. The first change has to do with reality. This kind of change called type 1 is produced within a system that stays the same. If it modifies a component, it still follows the rules. Retroactive feedback protects the system and helps it keep its balance.”

“The second change, however, is the one that really counts, the change in perception. For it to happen, at least one of the rules of the system – a hypothesis, a judgment, or a stereotype – has to be broken. This Type 2 change is sudden, sometimes unforeseen, and leads to a new representation of reality.”

“These two types of change are totally dissimilar. Type 1 is continuous, type 2 is discontinuous; we tend to go on seeing things in the same way until one day, quite suddenly and with a mental rupture, we see it differently. Take a personal relationship, for instance. It may deteriorate slowly over months or years without your being aware of any change. Then suddenly it hits you: its over. How often have you said that a child is growing up quickly when, of course, those extra ten inches were not just added the night before.”

“One change is possible without the other, but Palo Alto went a step further. If you want to change, you have to change twice. You not only need to change the reality of your situation, you also need to change your perception of this reality.”

The following examples are illustrated:

“If a president of a bank wants to merge with another bank, he has to organize a double change. The president can start by merging reality – computers, accounting system, and so on, which must be compatible (type 1). But its not enough. As long as the employees still see themselves as ex-employees of the old banks, the new bank doesn’t exist (Type 2).”


“Similarly, a company is not a world company unless everyone sees it as one company, not a company of diverse national offices drawn together under one banner. The efficiency of a computer system is a matter of the quality of the system multiplied by the desire of a people to use it. The quality is a reality, the desire is a perception; If one of two is missing – if you have an excellent system no one wants to use, or the other way around – you have a failure.”

I took cognizant of this fundamental principle or shall I say “social psychology of change”, or the two-steps process of change, and reflect on my previous research on paperless society being just a myth.
If we want to change the reality of our addiction to paper and begin on a serious journey to a paperless environment by reducing our dependence on it, we also need humanity to change its perception that paperless society is not a “myth”. The constant threats of global warming, climate change and rising sea levels are all indications that sooner or later the cost of pulp and paper will shoot up to an irreversible level and, one day quite suddenly we are forced to accept the inconvenient truth- no more papers to consume.

Reference:
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8. Luc De Branbandere, "The Forgotten Half of Change",Dearborn Trade Publishing.2005.