Eat your peas! Culture change the Jamie Oliver way
10/11/2011
Seek first to understand the culture. Resistance comes from culture, not individuals. It can be powerful - so seek to understand the culture before trying to change it – otherwise you might get thrown out (or reduced to tears...).
Start with small wins. Re-education requires behavioural change as well as information: start with small successes or ‘proof points’. Oliver showed with peas that children can eat healthy food and enjoy it.
Enlist support. Getting support of three types of people can accelerate change:
- Culture carriers: people who are visible and who demonstrate the beliefs and values of the culture already (not always people with positional power)
- Authority figures: people who set goals, rules and objectives
- Pride builders: peers who can be visible and influential as early adopters
Work the informal channels. Change can be formal (structures, processes, systems eg supply chains) and informal (energetic, aspirational talk and behaviour, building relationships).
Be flexible. Jamie and his team also learned that it helps to have the flexibility to change tack when something wasn’t working.
For more information
Jamie Oliver and culture change: ‘Eat your peas’ (Tackling eating habits in West Virginia) (registration required)