When to Use Them, When to Lose Them

Using artificial architectures to shape behavior in daily life

I am trying to shape a number of daily life behaviors in my six- and eight-year-old daughters. To accomplish this, I use artificial architectures, which are mechanisms that drive behavior change. Once the desired behavior becomes “the way things are” in everyday life, the “artificial” architectures (so-called because they are meant to be temporary) can be discarded, adapted or replaced.

For example, I am teaching my daughters to set bedtime routines so they will get enough sleep. In addition, I am trying to build in them the realization that, although they are deeply loved, they must obey us without question the first time we ask them to do something. I’m also trying to teach them the value of sharing their feelings and the highlights of their days with us, generally during our family’s evening meal.

To shape these and other behaviors, we have established rules, guidelines and traditions (in other words, artificial architectures) that include the following:

• At bedtime: No talking, no playing, no getting in each other’s beds.
• In general: They are expected to obey us without question the first time we tell them to do something.
• At dinner: We all eat together and share the activities and events of the day with each other, including the highs and the lows.

As my children grow older, I will want to build on the basics I am teaching them now, but I will need to change the way I go about doing this. At six and eight, “no talking, no playing, no getting into each other’s beds” is a fair rule. But would that same rule be fair for teenagers? Should sixteen and eighteen year olds have to obey their parents without question when we tell them to do something? And how will family dinners fit into the lifestyles of busy teenagers? Since things will have changed over the years, I will have to adapt or replace the artificial architectures I put into place to shape their behavior when they were younger, because:

1. The behavior that I am currently trying shape (following a bedtime routine, obeying their parents, sharing their feelings, etc.) will have become a normal way of life for them.
2. They will have outgrown many childish ways, meaning that I will need to focus on shaping newer, more sophisticated behavior.

But what if, despite the fact that they have grown older, I continue to insist that my adolescent children not talk together at bedtime, obey us without question and sit through family dinners nightly? In that case, I would be clinging to outdated artificial architectures and making them more important than the behavior I would be trying to shape. Unfortunately, this is what most organizations do with artificial architectures: They make the mechanism for changing behavior more important than the behavior change itself.

How are artificial architectures used in organizations?

Organizations use artificial architectures to drive change until certain business behaviors become a matter of daily routine. The following table contains examples of the ways in which artificial architectures can be used to change organizational behavior.

Situation	Desired Behavior Change	Artificial Architecture and how it is used
Marketing develops new ideas to attract new customers which, unbeknownst to them, Operations is unable to fulfill. Result: Client dissatisfaction and wasted resources.	Marketing and Operations partner on new initiatives to allow fulfillment implications to be taken into account on the front end.	Create a monthly meeting during which key decision-makers from both Marketing and Operations can discuss new marketing strategies and review operational implications.
Customers are starting to complain that front-line employees are not friendly, helpful or knowledgeable. This behavior has a negative effect on customer satisfaction and sales.	Front-line employees consistently deliver positive customer service experiences.	Create a set of customer service guidelines that front-line employees will follow for each interaction. These guidelines will be the template by which employee performance will be measured.
Due to technological innovations, up-sell opportunities that normally would be taken care of in person by sales reps can be handled in advance over the phone at the initial point of contact with customers.	Call center representatives will treat each customer contact as a sales call rather than a customer service call.	Adjust the key metrics that are used to assess performance, such as replacing length of time per call to revenue generated per call.

How artificial architectures can become the point

Walt Disney World has been one of my largest clients. There are a lot of meetings at Disney, due to both the size and complexity of the organization and the value of collaboration. And, as you might expect, there are also a lot of complaints about the number and usefulness of such meetings. In fact, one of my projects with Disney was to streamline their meeting structure. What I discovered was that most of the meetings were scheduled based on true business necessity, like those presented in the table above. However, as happens with many organizations, Disney’s meetings soon took on a life of their own. For example, departments other than Marketing and Operations wanted seats at the table, so they were also invited. Then, to make the meetings more relevant to the broader audience in attendance, topics unrelated to the original purposes of the meetings were introduced. Within a short time, it became necessary to meet before and after the main meeting because, although the Marketing and Operations partnering need was still there, the mechanism to drive that behavior wasn’t being used properly. Result: The monthly meeting (which soon grew to bi-weekly) became institutionalized and no longer served the purpose for which it was created.

Artificial architectures are at even more at risk of becoming the point when they are successful. For many years, Disney Cast members who interacted directly with the Guests followed what were called the Seven Service Guidelines. These guidelines, which included items such as “make eye contact and smile,” helped each Cast member know exactly what do to during a Guest-Cast member interaction. In fact, these guidelines were so successful that any and all Cast members were able to recite them verbatim. Then the economy started to change, and Guests wanted a more personalized interaction with Cast members, so new guidelines had to be written. And, although the original guidelines no longer served a purpose, it was like slaying the sacred cow to change them. The guidelines had worked quite well for quite some time. But when it was time to change, they suddenly became more important than the main point, which was to create a more positive Guest-Cast member experience.

When and how to use artificial architectures

When you want to drive behavior change, artificial architectures can be powerful tools in positive ways. The best use of them is as follows:

1. Identify the business problem and quantify it as clearly as possible (e.g., customer satisfaction percentages, sales per square foot, etc.).
2. Isolate the behavior that the organization needs to change in order to address the business problem.
3. Select the best artificial architecture to drive the behavior change you are seeking. Examples include but are not limited to:
   • Meeting structures
   • Co-location
   • Agreed-upon processes
   • Performance expectations
   • Metrics and measurement systems
   • Training experiences
   • Integrator or “special” roles
   • Reward systems
4. Establish upfront assessment processes to determine the usefulness of artificial architectures and plans for discarding, adapting or replacing them.

One of my favorite movies is the “Blind Side,” with Sandra Bullock. This movie portrays the real-life story of Michael Oher, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL. When he began playing football, Michael was an underachiever academically, but he tested brilliantly in a category labeled “protectiveness.” Then his adopted mother wisely suggested to him as he struggled to play his defensive position well, that he should imagine his teammates were his family and he had to protect them. Following her advice, Michael excelled. Over the long term, Michael won’t need to go through that type of visualization again, because the behavior he needed to develop will have become integrated into who he is and how he plays. But in the short term, the artificial architecture utilized by his mother changed Michael’s behavior and, ultimately, his and his team’s performances.

When to discard artificial architectures

You will want to discard artificial architectures when one of two conditions is present:

1. The behavior that you wanted to change has become “the way things are.”
2. You receive feedback stating that the mechanism rather than the behavior change has become the point.

Never lose sight of the fact that you want to change behaviors in order to solve a business problem. Ask yourself: Has the business problem been solved? If not, why not? Did you pick the right behaviors to change? Were the mechanisms that you chose effective? Don’t be afraid to slay the sacred cow or tell the emperor that he has no clothes. It’s better to be naked and dead than to make your employees sit through bad meetings that will make them feel that way!

The bottom line

Every executive is a change leader, but not every executive is a good one. A good change leader knows what levers he or she needs to pull in order to get desired results over the long term. And, more importantly, a good change leader also knows when to abandon what isn’t working. As Kenny Rogers once sang, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run…” So, if your first set of artificial architectures is not helping you to shape the behaviors you want and need for your organization, then it’s time to discard, adapt or replace them and try, try again!

Does your organization either need artificial architectures to drive behavioral change OR are your current architectures in the way? Check out the other resources available online at www.acceleraconsultinggroup.com or give us a call at 407.376.8522 for a free consultation. We accelerate results by igniting leadership and organizational potential!