The “Stone Soup” method of creating process
If you know the children’s book, Stone Soup, you may remember the story where three hungry strangers enter a new town, hoping to find food and shelter. The strangers knock on people’s doors and ask for food, but every townsperson they approach says they don’t have any food and abruptly shut the door. Trying a different strategy, the strangers announce they will make “stone soup” (a fictitious dish where they simply throw stones into a boiling pot of water). As different townspeople walk by, they ask “what are you making?”, the strangers tell them, “stone soup, do you have anything to add?” Sure enough, each person somehow comes up with some food to add to the dish. By the end of the story, the three strangers and the townspeople are enjoying and sharing a delicious dish they all made together!
As a UX Design Program Manager, I often feel like the “hungry stranger” begging for (and extolling the virtues of) process. When I ask people, no one seems to have it (or want it). Sometimes, they appear visibly repulsed by the very mention of that word: PROCESS. So often, people resist new ways of working, especially folks who believe a new process will somehow stifle their creativity and inhibit their “big idea” thinking. However, there are ways to get around these mental barriers and make creating processes something everyone can share in, benefit from, and (dare I say it) perhaps even enjoy.
Below, I’ve outlined the same simple steps the “hungry strangers” used in the story Stone Soup that can help you when you’re trying to implement new processes within your organization.
1. Take stock of the situation
Just as the “hungry strangers” in Stone Soup knocked on doors to ask for what they needed, you also need to talk to people on your team and other teams to get a sense of how they like to work. You can quickly assess who is process averse and who might be on board with trying new ways of doing things. If you find many people who are on board right away, then that’s great, you will get to an end result much faster, in a more direct way. Even if you only find one or two people who are in your camp, start with those folks. I’ve found success through partnering as much as possible with those who are process-friendly. However, if you’re in a culture or on a team who does not welcome structured, organized ways of working, then you probably need to take a different approach that is a little less direct and obvious. Read on for more ideas if you’re feeling like a stranger in a strange land when it comes to process.
2. Focus on what you can control
One way to create change or start a process (in a more indirect way) is to start by focusing on what you can control. The only thing you can truly control in this world is really just yourself. What I mean by this is, start with you and your immediate sphere of influence. In the story Stone Soup, after the “hungry strangers” struck out when asking the townspeople for food, they took the matter into their own hands. They started by simply putting a big pot of water over a fire, a small first step. This small step created the right backdrop or framework to get what they wanted from others. They even kick-started the process by throwing a few stones into the water to get things going.
Start changing the things that you have immediate control and influence over, then work your way out to broaden your sphere of influence.
Here’s a real world example. Years ago, I started a new role at a large, tech company and the environment was just chaos. People had design review meetings, talked during the meetings (often over one another) and left meetings with no notes or action items to follow up on. Then, inevitably, people would argue about what was discussed and they would disagree on which decisions were made. Sometimes they would even debate on whether or not a decision was even reached at all. I knew in this chaos culture I couldn’t convince people that notes might be important to capture during these contentious meetings. So I decided to just take detailed notes anyway so I could document the discussions, decisions and action items. I regularly shared my notes with everyone who was in the meetings. It was a very simple action and best-practice to take notes and send them out after every design review, kind of like putting a big pot of water over a fire. Then, over time, more and more people started capturing meeting notes themselves and sending out action items. Designers eventually looked forward to getting these notes and commented on how valuable they were to help them stay on track and implement the right feedback. I’m pretty sure in this culture, if I had asked everyone to start taking notes, they would have resisted and not seen any value in it. Without realizing it, my actions had a “stone soup” effect where everyone else started a new best-practice or process simply because I started doing it first.
3. Invite other people to contribute
Now, just because people may be resistant to new processes or ways of working, doesn’t mean they should be cut off from being able to contribute their ideas. Sometimes people are skeptical and just need someone to prove that something different can work.
As we saw in the story Stone Soup, the “hungry strangers” gladly accepted what each townsperson had to contribute. It is important to make sure that you are being open to other ideas. I have found that resistance to process is not necessarily a sign that someone is not interested in good process or would rather work in chaos. In fact, sometimes it means that the person simply is not convinced about your proposed change. Sometimes, when you get resistance, it is often a signal to make sure you are inviting in new ideas into your own way of thinking.
One great method to invite new ideas from folks is to conduct regular retrospectives on how things are going. But don’t just collect feedback on what isn’t working and then go off and come up with some brilliant solution all by yourself. You’ll end up still having to convince people to try your idea and it may backfire on you. Instead, during the retrospective, ask people to provide possible solutions and have them offer ideas to fix the problem. Collaborating and brainstorming on solutions is a key ingredient when it comes to engaging with teams on problem solving and coming up with processes they are willing to try.
Sometimes just throwing people a bone (or a stone) is all you need to unblock people’s resistance to new ways of working.
So the next time you are frustrated and feel like making change is an uphill battle, try the “stone soup” method. It may take a little longer to take a less direct approach, but it may have a more positive, collaborative and lasting effect in the long run.
