Xtreme Change Management (1): Brainwashing

We all have wishes - desires for the world to be a certain way. Reality may or may not accord to those wishes but that doesn't stop us from having them.

One wish that seems to be particularly persistent in the organisational world goes something like this: "What I want is best for this organisation. And yet everyone else is too short-sighted/lazy/dumb to see that and do what I want. If only there were some way to make people see that I am right."

A less high-minded version of this wish may be: "How do I milk these suckers for all they are worth and still get them to thank me for it?"

If these wishes come from someone relatively powerless, then all we tend to do is humour them whenever they start ranting, hide any sharp objects & keep a tight hold of wallets/jewellery/etc.

If that person has access to resources then expect a lucrative advice industry to grow up around catering to this particular wish. Especially if reality does not seem to accord with that wish.

As I read Dominic Streatfeild's book on brainwashing, I couldn't escape an eerie feeling of familiarity. During the Cold War, the CIA ran numerous programs (under titles such as BLUEBIRD, ARTICHOKE & the now-notorious MKULTRA) to investigate a range of brainwashing techniques. Truth drugs, hypnosis, stress positions, white noise, perceptual distortion, subliminal messages were all investigated. And were ultimately found to be ineffective. Streatfeild concludes that no 100% effective form of brainwashing exists.

Now it is possible to influence people in their decisions. But to install your view of the world wholesale & permanently in another? No. Human cognition is a bit too complex for that.

I haven't used hypnosis & truth drugs that often in my daily work but I have encountered people pushing techniques that they claim will change the minds of others - be it through storytelling, presentation, this form of selling, etc. What such techniques frequently downplay is the importance of listening. Here's the paradox: If you want to change others then you have to open up to being changed yourself. To exert influence, you have to give up control.

Lucy Kellaway (as referenced by Johnnie & Dave) points to Deloittes' Little Blue Book of Strategy as an example of "corporate brainwashing". Not as bad as spiking people with LSD without their consent or knowledge but probably as effective at changing their behaviour in the long run...