To understand change, you must change perspective

My evolving perspective on how to change the financial industry has shown how fundamentally my view of something can transform simply by digging a little under the surface.

This is why I left my job. I realised that in order to understand the world, I needed to step back. Ultimately, to move forward, I need a perspective on change. Similar to an organisational theory of change, I envisage this perspective on change as a comprehensive framework used to map out the pathway from the current state to a set of desired long-term outcomes. It involves identifying the steps required to achieve a specific goal and the assumptions that underpin them. This is the process that I want to undertake with “Best Interests”.

I will split the process of building a perspective on change into two parts. The first is understanding. In order to build a perspective on change it is necessary to understand the status quo, how we arrived where we are today, and its consequences. Therefore, in this first stage I will attempt to:

1. Understand the ideas and assumptions that our neoliberal capitalist society rests upon, the context it exists within, its history and the different interests at play.
2. Understand the consequences on an individual, societal and planetary level of such ideas and systems.

With these foundations laid, I will work towards building a theory of change. In this second stage I will:

1. Develop an alternative conception or vision of how things could be by ‘experimenting in imagining otherwise’.
2. Identify the necessary conditions in order to achieve these alternative conceptions.
3. Understand what stands in the way of these alternative conceptions taking root and how to overcome these obstructing forces.

A perspective on change is essential to a coherent worldview

As the previous piece mentioned, I already have a point of departure. A deeper understanding of the challenges we face, combined with a perspective on change is necessary in order to translate my values into action.

To go back to the first piece in this introductory series, I mentioned that I wanted to build a worldview. To me, a worldview is the combination of these three things; the values that form my point of departure for this series, a thorough understanding of the systems and ideas that have got us to this point, and a perspective on change which informs what we want to move towards and how to get there.

Although being exposed to multiple worldviews growing up has allowed me to critique and evolve my values and perspective on society, I am still at the beginning of this journey. As I get further into writing ‘Best Interests’, I expect to encounter ideas, narratives, cultural perspectives and contrasting worldviews that challenge where I am now and force me to evolve further. Perspective change can emerge from many different things – a good book, a chance meeting with an inspiring individual or exposure to other cultures. It just requires curiosity and an open mind. Stasis only occurs when you stand still, when you stop exploring. We are not currently encouraged to venture further than the confines of our capitalist reality. Work, eat, sleep, survive, repeat, and then your reward if you’re lucky and play the game according to the rules set out for you, is to be on the right end of consumerism. This is the cycle I wish to escape from through this process.

This is not an attempt to find a totalising, rigid ideology which gives me certainty about every issue I come across. In fact, I will look specifically at times how our left brain craving for simplified certainty, often packaged in the form of ideology, runs contrary to an open society which allows different conceptions of how best to serve the public interest to compete, experiment, and evolve. Instead, I want to develop a perspective on change which builds understanding on how we can transition from our current period of stasis, stuck in our current moment, powerless in the face of emerging and evolving crises, to one where we have the necessary preconditions to break down systems which are failing us and lay the foundation for a society in which diverse values, principles and ideas can thrive.

I hope that along the way this can provide insight and inspiration for those facing similar frustrations. I know that I am not alone in wanting to make the world better, and I am far from the first to recognise the conflicts of interest at play when trying to change systems. I want to offer an outlet, however, for those looking to better understand the challenges we face in society, the seeming lack of progress being achieved, and how we can fundamentally realign our governing institutions, as well as other powerful actors in society, from media to corporations, towards serving the public interest.

By the end of this process, I hope to have sketched out a perspective on how to break down the barriers deeply embedded within that status quo, whether they be legal, psychological or normative, that stand in the way of the fundamental change necessary to address the challenges our society faces.

Under current conditions, however, positive change in the public interest doesn’t stand a chance. The green shoots of change need fertile soil to grow, but decades of misgovernance and prioritisation of narrow interests have salted the land. As Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” We need fresh perspectives, drawing on a rich history of ideas and evidence upon which we can build a platform for a future in the public interest.

We need a new story, and now is the time to write it.

In the next series of posts, I will be diving into the first stage of this journey - understanding the here and now. This will begin with an examination of how the narratives we spin for ourselves at an individual and societal level inform how we derive meaning in our own lives, and provide the bedrock upon which the social contract lies.

If you’d like to hear more about the “Best Interests” series or talk through any ideas contained within in, please feel free to reach out to me directly and I would love to chat about it further. Please also like the posts and share with your friends, or subscribe directly to the LinkedIn Newsletter.