Eric Zimmer argues that changing oneself requires skill not willpower, with three key techniques being start small, focus on only one area of change, and ask for help.
Understanding the structure of incentives in a system is key to understanding how and why the system operates as it does. Looks at cooperation and competition and what can be learnt from game theory and behavioural science.
Jeni Cross discusses three ways common sense leads people astray. Myth #1 Education will change behaviour. Myth #2 You need to change attitudes to change behaviour. Myth #3 People know what motivates them to take action. She describes what the evidence really says.
Provides a very practical review of social movements, although most of the examples are US-based and some are quite old. The talk was given to the administration of President Obama in the context of generating a social movement to support the Affordable Care Act for expanding the availability of health care.
Zeynep Tufekci explores how social media both empowers and weakens social movements and how the weakening can be overcome. Social media is good at raising awareness and rapidly mobilising large numbers of people, but does not provide the capacity building that was achieved by slow and sustained movements, such as the US civil rights movement.
Provides a comprehesive review, with examples, of what is meant by systems change and explains why explains why bringing about transformational social change is so difficult.
Provides multiple interpretations of systems change, which is based on complexity theory (non-linear change) and systems thinking. Provides a useful introduction to systems thinking.
Describes how one university set up a medical school curriculum to give graduates the skills to be leaders and changemakers. Aims to help doctors be ready for innovation.
