Newsletter

Jun 8, 2021

How to Change for Good

Improvement that sticks

For the How to Help newsletter, I like using titles that have multiple meanings. It's true this week, too. Did you read this as "Change for Good" meaning permanently, or "Change for Good" meaning improvement? It's important to think about both.

Most of our efforts to help others are stuck in the short-term. We make a one-time donation. We listen to a friend who's weighed down. We drive someone to the airport. There's nothing wrong with these efforts. The short-term help matters. Momentary relief matters.

But change is a long-term thing. It takes a long time to stick. It needs persistent effort. And it means that we see farther down the road than just a few steps ahead.

To that end, I have another excellent book to recommend, a new one by Wharton professor Katy Milkman. The book is called How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Prof. Milkman co-directs the UPenn Behavior Change for Good Initiative, along with Angela Duckworth, the well-known author of Grit.

I won’t recite much of the book’s contents, other than to highlight a clear and compelling theme that runs throughout: intentions are not enough to lead to lasting change. I know this isn’t a groundbreaking observation. After all, every one of us has intended to establish a new good habit or break a bad one, only to be stymied by our own stubborn patterns. In fact, I wrote about this before in a previous post, Quitter’s Day.

Changing, as people, requires the right environment, practices, connections with others. Prof. Milkman does an expert job surveying the current best science on sustainable change and lays it out in an exceptionally clear and useful way. (She also uses an approach and structure that I wish most nonfiction books used.)

I now consider How to Change required reading for anyone who wants to help people. I can't wait to put it to work.

Things to Read

Globalization and the Expanding Moral Circle

A decade old, but new to me. The more globalized the country, the more likely people are to expand their circle of care.

Individualism Predicts More Generosity, not Less

Research results and a NYT Op-Ed from Abigail Marsh, my podcast guest from How to Help ep.2 - The Neuroscience of Altruism.

Cynicism ≠ Intelligence

Another study, this one showing that while cynical people are generally viewed as being more intelligent, they actually score lower on cognitive tests.

Impact Highlight

The strongest predictor for graduating high school is regular attendance. While this seems obvious, absenteeism persists because students lack the support they need to keep showing up.

Kinvolved engages entire communities in reducing school absenteeism by using a smartphone app, text messaging, and human connections to get kids attending school consistently. Their software and services have been shown to increase graduation rates by 11%, and the positive effects are especially pronounced among English Language Learners. Read more about the impact in their 2020 Impact Report.

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Are you as creative as you want to be?

Only 1/3 of adults consider themselves to be "very" creative. This is a tragedy! Everyone is creative in some way or another. I'm not an artist, but I've learned I can see new products, programs, or ventures before they exist. There's a way you're especially creative, too.

But creativity is a skill that needs nurturing. In this week's episode of the How to Help Podcast, you'll learn how to expand and explore your creativity and our guide will be Andrew Maxfield—composer, entrepreneur, and idea factory. He's the most deliberately creative person I know and an excellent teacher. Give it a listen!

How to Help Podcast • Creativity • Andrew Maxfield

Jun 1, 2021

Saving Lives, One at a Time

Why Paul Grüninger Couldn't Say No

In the years leading up to World War II, Switzerland saw waves of Jews come to them in order to escape the Nazi regime. Despite a long tradition of welcoming those fleeing persecution, concerns about rising anti-Semitism prompted authorities to forbid any more Jews from entering the country. Local police captains were instructed to deport any Jews, returning them to the border where they entered.

A strong culture of obedience and structure ensured widespread compliance—except with the police commander in St. Gallen, a man named Paul Grüninger. He was admired and respected by the citizens of his town, with a reputation of being an excellent police commander. This is why it came as such a surprise when in 1939 he was arrested for backdating and otherwise forging visas for thousands of Jews, allowing them to remain in Switzerland instead of being deported.

Grüninger lost his job and was jailed and fined. He was also falsely rumored to have rescued these Jews in exchange for money and sexual favors. His reputation ruined, Paul Grüninger struggled to make a living for the rest of his life. Even well after WWII and the evils of the Nazi regime were widely known, the Swiss government resisted multiple efforts to restore his honor. He died a controversial figure.

Why did he do all of this? Or perhaps more importantly, why didn’t the other police commanders do the same as Grüninger? In the book Beautiful Souls, the author Eyal Press noted from his research a fascinating but important distinction in their process. Most police commanders delegated the visa processing of incoming Jews to subordinates. Grüninger, instead, met with each one. Press argues that this was the key difference. The commander of St. Gallen saw each person and each family personally. He saw them as individual people, not as a mere policy to be enforced.

In total, he rescued 3,600 Jews, but he rescued them one-by-one.

Grüninger was interviewed on national television a year before his death. When asked why he did what he did, he replied:

My conscience told me that I could not and may not send them back. And also my human sense of duty demanded that I keep them here.

And after years of suffering ignominy for his heroic defiance, he also said that he would do it all over again.

Things to Read

What City Trees Can Do

What if I told you that city trees can temper heatwaves, reduce flooding, scrub pollution, improve health, and reduce crime? Fascinating Twitter thread.

How to Ask Useful Questions

Asking useful questions is a critical part of problem-solving and essential to professional development. Excellent advice for an underdeveloped skill.

Does Getting Promoted Alter Your Moral Compass?

Promotions can get us to look past or even support unethical behavior that we would normally resist.

Impact Highlight

In countries like Myanmar, Rwanda, Sudan, and elsewhere, groups of people have been abused, oppressed, or killed en mass in spite of modern governing structures and international pressure. The end of conflicts doesn't necessarily bring peace, either, because the consequences last for generations unless justice and healing come as well.

Celebrating its 20th year, the International Center for Transitional Justice helps restore peace to countries that have endured massive human rights abuses under repression and in conflict. They have worked in over 40 countries around the world, addressing violations and rebuilding trust in civic institutions.

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"People who were not lacking in capability, but lacking an opportunity"

Artisans in the developing world have incredible, valuable skills, but limited access to global markets. From jewelry to baskets, and pottery to blankets, Melissa Sevy creates opportunities for artisans to flourish, providing jobs, fair pay work, and dignity. But it hasn't been easy. Along the way she faced difficulty, hardship, and brick walls. Yet, her resilient nature overcomes and helped her to be there to strengthen others.

She's my guest in this week's episode of the How to Help Podcast. Click here to listen.

How to Help Podcast • Resilience • Melissa Sevy

May 25, 2021

What Good Companies Can Do

Helping can be hard, expensive, slow, and right.

Last week, Apple announced a major new set of innovative software features that are absolutely incredible. Undoubtedly, they took many hundreds of hours of work and likely cost a huge sum of money in research and development. The new features set an industry standard that other companies will struggle to copy quickly.

And these are software features that you are likely to never use.

The software updates, detailed in this press release, are all accessibility improvements. For example, watch the remarkable video on something called AssistiveTouch, designed for Apple Watch users that can't use the touchscreen. And for blind users, iPhones and iPads can now describe what's in a picture, using machine learning algorithms to identify what's in the scene. The list of new features is quite long worth the read. It's inspiring.

Most people are surprised to learn that corporate philanthropy makes up just 5% of annual charitable giving. I’m a consistent critic of it not because of the amount, but because most company giving done as an afterthought by undertrained staff prioritizing image over impact. What’s worse, it completely ignores the power of collective effort embedded in every corporation.

Companies are fundamentally groups of people in collaboration. In that way, they wield tremendous power. I love what Apple has done with its accessibility efforts, because it teaches a lesson about how good is done. Helping others is often unprofitable, hard, and slow. Certainly that description applies to all of what Apple just announced. These features took creative, persistent thinking to overcome failures in expensive ways. The odds are quite high that Apple loses money on all of this effort.

So why do they do it? Here's what Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's head of global accessibility, had to say in an interview last year:

“It’s fundamentally about culture. From the beginning Apple has always believed accessibility is a human right and this core value is still evident in everything we design today.”

This is exactly the kind of corporate-speak you'd expect any company to say, but outside observers have documented Apple's long-term dedication to making their products work for everyone they can, despite their abilities. It's long been a place where they put their energy, not just their money. While Apple certainly has other major issues to confront, like its business in China, but on accessibility they’ve consistently led the way.

We’re entering an era where more and more companies are focusing their efforts into solving big problems. All of that collective effort is sure to bear fruit. It’s exciting to think about what other advances companies will yet produce to help those who need it most.

Things to Read

Renewable Energy Is Suddenly Startlingly Cheap

Solar and wind capacity have grown so much that they can currently supply more energy on a smaller footprint than fossil fuels.

Live a life worth living

A touching letter from a mother whose fatal diagnosis meant she had to leave behind her two young daughters. Words of deep wisdom.

Crazy New Ideas

“Having new ideas is a lonely business. Only those who've tried it know how lonely. These people need your help.“ (I loved this.)

Impact Highlight

The UN Global Compact is a voluntary collection of global companies who have committed to sustainable, responsible business and contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Member companies uphold ten principles focused on human rights, fair labor practices, environmental sustainability, and anti-corruption. Members include over 12,000 signatories in 160+ countries.

For an example, watch this video illustrating the approach Hilton (the hotel company) has taken to help reach the SDGs. The Global Compact Library is a resource for companies wanting to improve their impact.

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Chaplain George Youstra is a six-foot-eight former Green Beret, a retired Air Force Colonel, a former advisor to eight four-star generals, and one of the friendliest people you’ll ever get a chance to meet. He’s also my guest on this week’s episode of the How to Help Podcast. I guarantee the episode will be uplifting and interesting.

How to Help Podcast - Ep. 5 Character, Service, and Sacrifice

May 20, 2021

Finding Meaning in Who You Are

Why it matters that we don't confuse having meaning and being happy

I suspect most of us would consider a happy life to be a meaningful life, and a meaningful life a happy one, but this is not necessarily the case. This week I want to share the insights from a 2013 paper in The Journal of Positive Psychology. The authors (Roy Baumeister and colleagues) studied how people viewed the things in their life that made them happy as compared to the things that gave them a sense of meaning.

Meaning and happiness do overlap quite a bit, so where they differ is fascinating. For example, most issues related to money affect our happiness but not our sense of meaning. In fact, money scarcity has twenty times the impact on happiness than it does on meaning. Most of us just don’t find money to give us a sense of purpose in life.

The same pattern holds for other things like good or bad health, positive or negative emotions, and whether or not life is easy or hard for us. These directly affect our happiness but have no substantial effect on how meaningful we find our lives.

In relationships, the differences are even more interesting. Both happiness and meaning are deeply connected to the people in our lives, but they differ dramatically in the direction of those connections. The researchers found that happiness mostly correlates with the benefits we receive from our relationships, while meaning correlates with the benefits we offer to the other people in our lives. In fact, when controlling for meaningfulness, helping others actually has a negative affect on happiness. But when we find meaning in helping others, it increases our happiness.

The study explored many other connections, but the larger theme is this: the things we consider meaningful tend to connect best with the way we see ourselves. Identity and meaning are deeply related. A keen sense of self—and choices that align with it—are the things that help us feel like we are living a meaningful life. It’s not selfishness, though, that gives us meaning; quite the opposite, according to the research. Meaning comes from finding the way our selves fit in with the people and the world around us.

The authors conclude with this insight:

Although it is hard to dispute the appeal of happiness, recent work has begun to suggest downsides of valuing and pursuing happiness…Clearly happiness is not all that people seek, and indeed, the meaningful but unhappy life is in some ways more admirable than the happy but meaningless one.

How can you discover more meaning by finding how you fit with the people and the world around you?

Things to Read

A perfect little metaphor

We care about helping people, but often don't trust the people we help. Here's a comic about how that gets in the way.

Can science make us better people?

Your ethics are influenced by a lot more than your character. We need to understand this better.

How Facebook Got Addicted to Spreading Misinformation

It's not news that Facebook made systems that got out of control. But what if they knew it was happening and did nothing?

Impact Highlight

Our health isn't just about access to medical care, but also about access to healthy surroundings. For more than two decades, Health Leads has been targeting inequity in the US Healthcare system by improving the living conditions that drive health. They focus especially on racial inequity, a problem that's well documented.

Responding to current needs, the Health Leads Vaccine Equity Cooperative addresses both vaccine hesitancy and government planning gaps to ensure that minority communities are getting vaccinated at the same rates as the general population.

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Theranos was one of the largest corporate frauds of the last decade, and Tyler Shultz was a whistleblower at the center of what brought it all down. He's my guest on this week's episode of the How to Help Podcast.

You really don't want to miss this episode. His story is riveting, and you'll be fascinated by what a down-to-earth and humble person Tyler is.

How to Help Podcast Episode 4 - Tyler Shultz

Improvement that sticks

Things to Read

Impact Highlight

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Why Paul Grüninger Couldn't Say No

Things to Read

Impact Highlight

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Helping can be hard, expensive, slow, and right.

Things to Read

Impact Highlight

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Why it matters that we don't confuse having meaning and being happy

Things to Read

Impact Highlight

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