As I read Andre De Ruyter’s memoir, Truth to Power, about ESKOM’s troubled corrupt situation in South Africa and incessant neglect and ineptitude of leadership over the last few decades, I’m reminded of one of my favorite problem solving theories, the Broken Window theory.
The broken window theory in criminology suggests that visible signs of crime, anti-social behavior and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes. Conversely, by fixing broken windows in a city you slowly start to reduce the crime and grift. The notion is that if you don’t allow the problems to fester or show acceptance of bad behavior then the wrongdoing will cease. The theory more metaphorically however suggests that by cleaning up overlooked minor shortcomings or disregarded mishaps FIRST then you set the message that these things are not tolerated and thus bigger problems can start to find solutions. It’s a classic bottoms up theory.
When the issues in our society feel unmanageable like cleaning up the homeless problem or reducing crime in a city, we have to find ways to catalyze a solution without trying to tackle everything all at once. The broken window theory can sometimes manifest itself in ‘grass roots’ efforts like picking up trash along main transit corridors or providing hygienic stations for the homeless. Rudy Guiliani popularized the broken window theory in the 90s by helping clean up New York City. Similar to cities, companies can learn a lesson from the broken window theory.
When I start to evaluate the broken window theory in a business sense, I’m reminded by one of Xeal’s core values - “How you do anything is how you do everything.” This notion that how you carry yourself in every aspect of your life and every action is representative of the broader picture of what you stand for. All of your actions, as well as the actions of others in your company, sum to the actions and reputation of the company at large. The corrective action here via the theory can be to swiftly clean up the smaller misjudgments or inactions of our past.
In the memoir by De Ruyter, ESKOM’s trouble are deeply intertwined in the scandalous political abuse of South African’s ANC. After decades of corruption, neglect, mismanagement and more, Andre De Ruyter takes on the CEO role of the the state run electricity provider for South Africa in 2019. Unlike previous leaders who had been mere puppets of the ANC, De Ruyter is called to the leadership stage out of love for his country and not for the personal, nor financial gain. In his book, amidst the first days in his new role, he identifies the small operational oversights that he believes are symptomatic of the cultural disarray of the organization. Whether it’s the power plants that have trash strewn about or it’s the headquarters that have leaky faucets and dirty walls, De Ruyter points out that a structural change starts at the bottom as much as it does at the top. He acknowledges through the broken window theory that by focusing on cleaning protocols, empowerment of the individuals to regain a sense of pride in their work and fixing up the seemingly irrelevant details is in fact one of the keys to the future success of the organization. That alone will not absolve ESKOM from it’s problems but you have to set the cultural expectations that those small issues will only fester to larger ones over time if not addressed in a timely manner. Going deeper than the organization, this theory applies to you personally.
When in doubt, find your broken windows. I often find when I’m out of balance, I can quickly bounced back by focusing on that messy and seemingly less important item on my list. Whether it’s editing the materials for our onboarding process that’s been sitting on my to-do list for the last 3 weeks or personally it’s power-washing the cobble stones to remove the grime in our backyard - their significance might seem low but psychologically it changes how you approach everything else.
So the next time you evaluate your organization or you personally are facing big problems, look at the smaller details of accountability and fix the broken windows.