Transformation on the Hill: Cass Sunstein

July 22, 2010. I had the opportunity to attend a session “Implications of Behavioral Research for Social Welfare Research and Policy.” It’s one of those weird cosmic events that I started a new “position” seemingly unrelated to my past life and yet one of my first opportunities was a direct link from my work at Bank of America and this new life of Social Welfare. How weird is that? For any of my BAC colleagues out there who work(ed) with me at MIT and the Center for Future Banking, this session demonstrates how the behavioral research from financial services can be directly applied to social welfare programs. Things like “stickiness” associated with loyalty programs could also be associated with social welfare programs. I think you guys should hop on this!

Anyway, for those not in the field of banking, financial services, or economics, there was still some interesting information presented at this session. In particular from guest speaker Cass Sunstein, the OIRA Administrator in the Office of Management and Budget.

Before becoming Administrator, Cass R. Sunstein was the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Mr. Sunstein graduated in 1975 from Harvard College and in 1978 from Harvard Law School magna cum laude. After graduation, he clerked for Justice Benjamin Kaplan of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court, and then he worked as an attorney-advisor in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was a faculty member at the University of Chicago Law School from 1981 to 2008.

Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has been involved as an advisor in constitution-making and law reform activities in a number of nations. A specialist in administrative law, regulatory policy, and behavioral economics, Mr. Sunstein is author of many articles and a number of books, including After the Rights Revolution (1990), Risk and Reason (2002), Laws of Fear: Beyond the Precautionary Principle (2005), Worst-Case Scenarios (2007), and Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008).

Sunstein highlighted a few of the government changes being lead by the current administration. Here’s a taste-tease overview of the changes:

1. Defaults. “System” defaults should be set in the benefit of the consumer. For example the Affordable Care Act — the default is opt in for Health Care and must take action to opt out (a reversal)
2. Simplification. Federal systems and processes should be simplified so that the target audience has a reasonable chance to fulfill their need through the system/process. For example, Federal Student Aid — highly complex now in simplification (tax data automatically populates FHFSA. SSI using a debit card.
3. An attention to how people process information. For example, summary disclosures that are easier to read and comprehend. An expectation that materials are clear, succinct, and conspicuous. Effectively disclosed. For example, OSHA.GOVE — now within weeks of any death, everyone sees it.
4. Social Norms. Material incentives matter but people are also influenced by social norms. The government has an obligation to understand those norms and to make decisions based on those as well as the data. For example there is a presidential injunction baring texting by federal employees while driving. Additionally, social influence can be contagious and using social influence for the “good” is a necessary incentive (for example, dealing with obesity)
5. Cost/Benefit. The current administration’s decision making will not be based on “dogma, intuition, and anecdotes” but rather in an evidentiary fashion through humanized cost-benefit analysis. All presentations should include an assessment of benefits, uncertainties, and alternatives. Monetary equivalents do not tell us everything we need to know. We have to be aware of the ethics (fairness/equity, impact to future generations, and distributions).
6. Open government. Knowledge must be dispersed. “sunlight improves practises, transparency is a powerful disinfectant. Examples: RECALLS.GOV, DATA.GOV,  the IT Dashboard.

So what?

• In your strategic planning process you should not underestimate the implications of these changes. There are big things happening in DC and this type of change is pervasive. I know the government moves slowly but I can tell you this stuff is moving faster than you’d expect.
• Also related to strategic planning, this is illustrative of how process can be as strategic as product.

Transformation: Fialkowski newly appointed Kennedy Fellow

I’ve been holding out writing a personal update. I thought a press announcement would be forthcoming but it may be several more weeks until that happens and so when it arrives, I’ll simply append this post. I’ve been quiet for several months because my personal transformation journey was in process and it was hard to provide details in the middle of it.

I guess there are other people out there, like me, who live a fragmented life. We have our work life and our personal life and somewhere the two are very separate and distinct. What this means in practical terms is there is a certain overhead to keeping two separate lives. After much contemplation, I decided to unite myself and pursue professional interests aligned with my personal beliefs and passions.

As a small child in the 60′s (does anyone even remember the 60′s?) I was brought up in a household primed for activism. Early 70′s, a brother went to Viet Nam. A sister went to Ohio for college. Those were turbulent times. I remember walking down the street one day as two people in a Volkswagen Bus pulled over and handed me a flower saying that I was truly beautiful. Yes, “flower power” was a real state of consciousness! And in our house we had two brothers who had significant developmental and physical disabilities. My parents fought for the rights for my brothers — to get them into classrooms, into the community, and more generally to get individuals with disabilities out of the attics, back rooms, basements, and institutions into the world. My parents were successful but it’s a journey of many steps, requiring many people.

For the last 25 years I have worked in corporate America as an executive Change Agent. I have been responsible for setting up entities, turning around business units, starting new products and services. Year after year I have contributed to the profits of these big businesses but I had to ask myself, what does it matter? What did I contribute? How do I “measure up” in the cosmic sense? For the last ~15 years (since my parent’s deaths) I have been a sibling advocate for my brother David. After hours, after work, weekends, I work to help ensure that David is safe and healthy, has maximum independence, and leads a life of contribution and significance. This, my after-hours life, measures up. Makes a difference. Contributes positively to the universe. So when I look into the future at the next 25 years I have to ask how is my time best spent? If I can take my business experience (and I am deeply thankful for the opportunities provided to me) and my passion and combine them, I know I can make a difference in the universe. Viola… opportunity knocked.

In February I saw an advertisement for applicants for the Joseph P Kennedy Public Policy Fellowship. I applied. I was one of three individuals appointed Kennedy Fellows. I was “placed” in the Federal Agency of Health and Human Services in the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. This year I get to learn about Public Policy on the Hill. I get to see how government dollars are actually administered. I get to help an Administration that supports the Developmental Disabilities Act. I can really get behind this:

Excerpt: Congress finds that- (1) disability is a natural part of the human experience that does not diminish the right of individuals with developmental disabilities to live independently, to exert control and choice over their own lives, and to fully participate in and contribute to their communities through full integration and inclusion in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational mainstream of United States society; (2) in 1999, there were between 3,200,000 and 4,500,000 individuals with developmental disabilities in the United States, and recent studies indicate that individuals with developmental disabilities comprise between 1.2 and 1.65 percent of the United States population; (3) individuals whose disabilities occur during their developmental period frequently have severe disabilities that are likely to continue indefinitely; (4) individuals with developmental disabilities often encounter discrimination in the provision of critical services, such as services in the areas of emphasis ; (5) individuals with developmental disabilities are at greater risk than the general population of abuse, neglect, financial and sexual exploitation, and the violation of their legal and human rights; (6) a substantial portion of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families do not have access to appropriate support and services, including access to assistive technology, from generic and specialized service systems, and remain unserved or underserved; (7) individuals with developmental disabilities often require lifelong community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance, that are most effective when provided in a coordinated manner; (8) there is a need to ensure that services, supports, and other assistance are provided in a culturally competent manner, that ensures that individuals from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds are fully included in all activities provided under this title; (9) family members, friends, and members of the community can play an important role in enhancing the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities, especially when the family members, friends, and community members are provided with the necessary community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance; (10) current research indicates that 88 percent of individuals with developmental disabilities live with their families or in their own households; (11) many service delivery systems and communities are not prepared to meet the impending needs of the 479,862 adults with developmental disabilities who are living at home with parents who are 60 years old or older and who serve as the primary caregivers of the adults; (12) in almost every State, individuals with developmental disabilities are waiting for appropriate services in their communities, in the areas of emphasis; (13) the public needs to be made more aware of the capabilities and competencies of individuals with developmental disabilities, particularly in cases in which the individuals are provided with necessary services, supports, and other assistance; (14) as increasing numbers of individuals with developmental disabilities are living, learning, working, and participating in all aspects of community life, there is an increasing need for a well trained workforce that is able to provide the services, supports, and other forms of direct assistance required to enable the individuals to carry out those activities; (15) there needs to be greater effort to recruit individuals from minority backgrounds into professions serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families; (16) the goals of the Nation properly include a goal of providing individuals with developmental disabilities with the information, skills, opportunities, and support to- (A) make informed choices and decisions about their lives; (B) live in homes and communities in which such individuals can exercise their full rights and responsibilities as citizens; (C) pursue meaningful and productive lives; (D) contribute to their families, communities, and States, and the Nation; (E) have interdependent friendships and relationships with other persons; (F) live free of abuse, neglect, financial and sexual exploitation, and violations of their legal and human rights; and (G) achieve full integration and inclusion in society, in an individualized manner, consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of each individual; and (17) as the Nation, States, and communities maintain and expand community living options for individuals with developmental disabilities, there is a need to evaluate the access to those options by individuals with developmental disabilities and the effects of those options on individuals with developmental disabilities

So I’ll be doing more work in DC this year. Hob-nobbing with the Hill crowd. I’ll drop a post now and again to tell you all about it and who I’m meeting. I think it will be an interesting year. I hope you’ll enjoy the new posts with a political flavor!

PS One motivational thought: Whatever it is, YES YOU CAN!

Transformation: What’s in a Name? Rosa’s Law

In May a new law was passed. It is called “Rosa’s Law.” It passed relatively quietly. There were no tea parties for or against it. And it cost nothing to taxpayers.

This legislation replaces the words “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded”  with “intellectual disability” and “individuals with an intellectual disability.” The change applies to federal labor, health, and education laws — making them consistent with the language used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the White House through the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

A controversial topic earlier this year, when Rham Emanuel used the “r-word” as a derogatory label, Sarah Palin suggested President Obama should fire Emanuel over the use of the “r-word,” and Rush Limbaugh followed up with a subsequent “r-storm.” It was also a terrific campaign lead by Tim Shriver and the Special Olympics: Spread the Word to End the Word.

But what’s the “so what?” of all of this. It’s not, as some would suggest, about limiting free speech. It’s about human compassion, human sensitivity, and the use of labels to diminish the value of a whole host of individuals. Those who are disabled are not a singular group of people. In fact, something to consider is that “disabilities” are part of the human condition that most of us will encounter directly or through loved ones. Christopher Reeves, 42, completely paralyzed by a horse back riding accident. Former President, Ronald Regan, suffered from Alzheimer’s. Consider that by 2050, 14MM Americans will have Alzheimer’s (compared to ~5.3MM American’s today). Consider that pregnancy is a “short term disability.” Anyone with a serious illness, like AIDS or Cancer has had moments, days, or years incapacitated, dependent, vulnerable. At any moment it could be someone you love. It could be you.  Is this resonating?  And how would that be to be reduced to nothing but a label?

Back to the “r-word.” Why campaign against it? Why change the names of associations to avoid the use of it? Because when you use the R-word, you are reducing humanity, the human condition, the individual … to a classification. A sub-human classification. Admittedly, the law won’t change the culture.. Nor will it change the predisposition of some to continue using the r-word. But individually we can change from labels and categories to individuals.

The Lives That Touch Us

I know it’s been a while since an installment on this site. It has been a powerful time of personal reflection and transformation. I’ll be catching you up with a few installments.

I remember reading somewhere that we are defined by the lives that touch us not the lives we touch. Over the last couple years there have been a few people that have really made me “wake up” in my personal consciousness. Please let me introduce you to some wonderful moments shared by very special people:

• A couple years ago I worked at Bank of America. There was a man I worked with, let’s call him “M,”  who really lived his values. I admired him greatly. Let’s think about how many of us park our values at the door when we enter the corporate melee. It made me really start to consider how to align your work to your values.
• I had the great fortune of stepping out of the corporate world and started independent consulting. I was introduced to a very special company in New York who ran their company based on their values. Handshakes and giving your word meant something to these guys. We got to know each other as people and not services or products. I had to open myself to the human connection of things and not hide behind business.
• I was also introduced to an “affiliation” of people in a little Burrough here in PA who all had a future vision of the town in which they live. They represented pride and community and by working together I saw the fruits of their labors blow the top off anything I had seen in the corporate world. I saw the power of community and have had to really ask myself  “what do I stand for? who is my community?”
• It was a natural next step for me to work with a gentlemen in Philadelphia who helped me understand a “conscious” life: deliberate choices and personal responsibility. We all have human frailty and yet a person leading a conscious life takes responsibility for the good and the bad. I’ve had the privilege of helping him define how he measures himself. Looking at the man in the mirror. From him I learned that the conscious life is like being awake all the time and I’ve been able to bring so much more to the table with this perspective.
• When we look in the mirror we often see our flaws, our deficits. Sometimes there is a great beauty and a great gift we are hiding. Over the last months I’ve had the pleasure of working with a woman who helped me understand that everyone has a light, a gift, and it behooves each and everyone one of us to look for that in those we interact with. 
• One last installment, though there are many others I could share. I have been working with a “mission-based” organization in Maryland. I’ve had the very special privilege to work with some 20+ people who are working because they believe in what they do. They produce superior quality work not because it is measure, not even because it is expected, but because it is necessary. Every person I’ve met there has a great appreciation for life. For family. For the struggle of life. Their work is a fight for a cause.

 

So what? I can tell you that over the last two years I have been on a mid-life journey. Each of these people, and many more, have been my guides in the process. I have learned through them as role models and coaches and I’ve had to have the courage to ask myself some tough questions.

• Who is the “man” in the mirror?
• What do I stand for? What am I willing to take a stand for?
• Are my days aligned to my values?
• Do I approach each day awake and present or am I living in the future?
• Do I make choices deliberately and consciously?
• What will my legacy be?

I can tell you, this is the most wonderful and fulfilling year in my life and it is not like anything I’ve experienced before. I can only wish that you, too, have an opportunity to take such an amazing journey.

Go With The Flow: If I Had a Superpower

Over the years I’ve had innumerable conversations with people who talked about the “fight.” I don’t mean spousal arguments or pugilism. I mean working against the current to accomplish your goals and to do what’s right. And if you do it for a higher cause–for the good of humanity it is called “fighting the good fight.”

There are those other people who appear to be the opposite of the “fighters” and they are the “go with the flow” people. Taken to the extreme, these people used to be considered California-types: long hair, flip flop wearing, laid back with siestas in the afternoon.

I was a World Class Fighter. More often than my peers I was able to, seemingly, go against the tide and create change. What most people didn’t realize is that my success was directly attributable to understanding the flow and using it versus going against it.

How do you use the flow? Those who fly gliders or hot air balloons know that you flow with the air currents. You do not just let them take you where they go but that you “jump” currents to switch direction. Another example of going with the flow is the bicyclist who drafts–staying within the flow to conserve energy and then departing from the flow in order to make a move. Surfers know when the tide is turning and get into the “pipe.”

If you are contemplating a change implementation, especially a large one, you have to learn how to find the flow or you and your team will burn out before you accomplish your mission. How do you conserve energy? One example is getting stakeholder support — it opens doors for you. Using the currents to drive you forward? Understanding your corporate timetable is relevant — certain deadlines like financial filings, quarter ends often drive a company. Also setting up a management review creates a “current” of aligned energy–everyone working toward the presentation.

There is one final way that you ensure the flow — faith. Mission-driven work finds a way to align itself because so many people believe in the vision and mission. Together these individuals align, and fly like a flock–using all the attributes of flow together.

If I had a superpower, it would be to create mission driven work and fly with a flock, doing good one dropping at a time

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This article is dedicated to my associate/friend Erin: “may the flock be with you.”