Lessons from the London Riots

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Wed, 2011-08-10 09:38

The real tragedy of the London riots is that the root cause has been staring us in the face for decades.

As anyone who has ever been employed can testify, the larger the organisation, the more viscous the change process. Companies that fail to adapt either get taken over, fade away or die. But what about government departments, the educational establishment, police forces, the media and other institutions which are - to coin a phrase - too big to fail?

Have you ever wondered why each successive stage in the journey from a minor inconvenience to an intractable problem takes less time and why this always comes as a total surprise? Those that say "the only constant is change" miss the point. What matters is the inexorable rise in the pace of change. This simple truth also explains why the longer bad habits are ignored, the worse the consequences and the more difficult they are to resolve.

Over four decades ago, Moore's Law quantified the accelerating pace of change by forecasting that the capability of microprocessors would double every two years, an exponential rather than a linear rise. This is why the time taken for new technologies to reach a market of 50 million has come down from 38 years for radio to four years for the internet and two for Facebook.

Over fifteen decades ago, Darwin discovered that it was not the strongest or most intelligent who survived, but those who adapted and changed the most. He also found that the environment determined the direction and the pace of evolution. The faster the change in the environment, the lower the survival rate. Ultimately, only those who are consistently quick and eager to adapt survive, let alone succeed.

So what turns an illiterate, innumerate underclass into mobs of "feral thugs" responsible for the looting and arson in parts of London? Why has this underclass become ever more fearful, more daring, more frustrated, more angry and more desperate?

As always, the "blame game" is a total waste of time and energy. Far better to avoid repetition by establishing and eliminating the root cause - solving the underclass problem by empowering the right people and ensuring they are accountable for delivering results! If you think the country can't afford to do that, ask yourself - in the context of the accelerating pace of change - whether the country can afford not to do it?

To succeed, we need enlightened leadership that can inspire and drive through change, not just in London but throughout the nation, particularly in the communities which fear change most. We can all question our assumptions, adapt our beliefs and most of all, identify and change our habits. We just need to recognise that in a rapidly changing environment, there is everything to gain and no time to lose!