Blog #199--Reversing Approach Reverses Results

I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen myself and others try the same approaches to problems that failed previously. It is like we enjoy beating our heads against a brick wall. I know it is said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean use the same methods to reach our goals that continue to fail repeatedly.

Many of us are stubborn and hold onto favorite attitudes and behaviors that often, but not always, win for us. Or we’re superstitious and fear change. But if we have no chance to test other methods, we have no way of knowing if something else would be better for a particular situation. Survival requires adaptability, and that means using whatever method is successful, even if it is something that is usually unsuccessful.

Those in leadership positions around the world often get into a vicious cycle where they keep behaving as if they have no alternatives. This is part of why all civilizations fail. If we can’t win one war, we use the same methods to start another one. If we have a large crime rate in our area, we become an armed camp, guaranteeing an adversarial relationship with our citizenry and therefore more likelihood of criminal activity. A shooting spree in one school causes many schools to take on the look and feel of prisons, which again is counterproductive to a peaceful environment. Many of us can’t imagine another way; our egos lack balance, so we keep trying and failing.

A client of mine when I was a veterinarian owned a teacup poodle that she said had an injured leg. It limped noticeably, but I could find no signs of pain or physical problems on direct examination or X-rays. I suggested the woman watch to see when and under which circumstances the dog limped worst so we could figure out what was wrong.

The next time I saw the woman, she said she happened to notice her dog walking without a limp when it didn’t realize she could see it but began limping as soon as they rejoined. As I described in my book “Dogs Need Our Love” (Libra publishers, 1982), she had an “aha” moment. Once she caught on how her dog was tricking her into more pampering and attention by faking an injury, she stopped giving it. The limp stopped almost immediately. A general rule of thumb is, if one method is making things worse rather than better, do the exact opposite to reverse the results. The woman’s attitude reversal did the trick.

With that background, I was pleased to discover how the city of Bogota, Columbia, had undergone its version of an “aha moment” that began in the late 20th century. A crime-ridden, polluted and corrupt city, part of a country best known to Americans as having a civil war and powerful drug gangs, underwent a transformation secondary to an attitude reversal. Granted, the changes made in Bogota likely were initiated by a polarity reversal that influenced attitudes throughout that area of the world at that time. But Bogota subsequently made the necessary changes to become a much more pleasant, productive city.

It began when people voted for alternative candidates for political office because they were tired of business as usual. Then Mayor Antanas Mockus (1995-1998) came along and promoted a culture of citizenship. This encouraged the populace to begin thinking of the needs of others besides themselves and ways to implement positive changes. They began to recognize they had a role to play in the survival of Bogota.

Mockus described his vision thusly: “(Citizenship is) the sum of habits, behaviors, actions and minimum common rules that generate a sense of belonging, facilitate harmony among citizens, and lead to respect for shared property and heritage and the recognition of citizens’ rights and duties.”

Once Mayor Enrique Penalosa took over (1998-2000), his constituents were more willing to consider new ways of doing things. He was able to hire experts to help him with urban planning to replace political patronage cronies. Those who had profited most from the old ways definitely tried to prevent change, but gradually a majority of people began to embrace Penalosa’s vision. Perhaps the broadest brush stroke in describing Penalosa, and the biggest difference between his approach and what had come previously, was that his ideas favored the general public instead of a few bigwigs.

He realized that people were hesitant to do things in the city. They were negatively impacted by the pollution caused by so many cars, and how they parked their cars wherever they saw fit. The public transportation system was inefficient, rarely on time and profited a small group at the expense of those expected to use it. So he emphasized a pedestrian and cyclist culture while reducing the automobile culture, and he created a new bus rapid transit system that ran on time and had specific stops.

With mostly public funds, he transformed the inner city into a citizen-friendly place with roads for busses only, many miles of bicycle paths (the longest in the world), clean park areas where citizens could relax and enjoy Nature, and mega-libraries. Public education was an important part of the overall plan, as was a recognition that people behave better when they know others care about their needs.

Bogota changed the circumstances in which people live, which changed the people. Penalosa helped provide paved roads and greater access to water, electricity, telephones and gas to low-income areas. It is estimated around 650,000 marginalized people benefitted from these improvements. In 10 years after the transformation, there was a 70% reduction in the crime rate.

Penalosa was almost impeached, and in another time he would have never been elected in the first place. But the polarity change helped people expand their awareness and feel better about themselves. It became a semi-perfect storm which allowed Bogota to make a major reversal toward a better society. There are still many problems to solve, in Bogota and throughout Colombia, but it’s a quality beginning.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the problems and decisions that went into Bogota’s massive change. Whether the city can remain citizen-friendly once the selfish power-brokers retake control remains to be seen. But this story shows us what is possible when we make attitude adjustments/reversals in the face of deterioration.

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