What You Can Learn From Jamie Oliver About Creating Change
Jamie Oliver, with Rhonda the administrator (middle) and Alice the cook (right). From abc.com
I finally watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution this weekend. I’ve been a fan of his cookbooks and cooking shows for a while and I love what he is trying to accomplish with his food revolution. (After all, I love a good revolution for positive change!) However I couldn’t help but feel a bit of déjà vu as I was watching the show — with over ten years of experience as a standards evangelist and change agent, I’ve been through the wringer a few times. Making change is difficult, no matter how much experience you have.
So, with that said, here is my perspective on how Jamie’s done so far in the show. There’s a lot you can learn by watching him!
- In the first two episodes, a lot of Jamie’s messaging about the need for change is negative. Pointing out that Huntington was the most unhealthy city in the country put people on the defensive. Telling them they were dying because of what they were eating was going to create a feeling of hopelessness. Jamie should have started with a positive message to sell his idea. For example, telling people they can live longer, healthier, and happier by eating better, and then telling them that he’s there to help them do exactly that probably would have won him more allies early on.
- Since Jamie’s early statements caused some prickles to go up, he was walking into a negative environment in the elementary school. Perhaps his biggest mistake there was to say, “I’ve done this before.” What Jamie probably thought he was projecting was an assurance of success and a reason to trust him. Instead, he came off as an intruding know-it-all: as though he was dismissing their concerns and not leveraging their knowledge and experience. By saying, “I’ve done this before,” he was actually giving cause to his audience to resist change even more strongly.
- Once the cooks, especially Alice, started digging in their heels, it was clear Jamie was getting frustrated. I don’t have an issue with that, really — it’s hard to contain your emotions. But I didn’t like Jamie’s snippy and sarcastic responses to Alice. From the get-go, she was going to be the toughest convert — but potentially also his biggest ally. Jamie should have swallowed his pride and focused on the result he desired — cooperation! He didn’t need Alice to buy-in to the change yet, but he did need her help. Jamie should have disengaged from her negative behavior and instead sought to re-establish a positive context — for example, asking her help with the spec sheets. (Speaking of which, he broke a few too many rules for my comfort. Making sure you’re getting done what needs to be done, like the spec sheets, keeps people off your back and allows you to maintain focus on change.)
- Some of the best moments of the show are the ones where Jamie engaged directly with the elementary school kids, one of his key audiences. Even when his tried-and-true demonstrations didn’t go as expected with them, the kids were always going to be the easiest converts — and, as we know from the advertising industry, some of the most effective in terms of putting pressure on adults! Seeing Jamie dress up as Mister Pea was priceless: an image that won’t be forgotten by those kids anytime soon.
- At the high school, Jamie went one step further — he recruited like-minded teenagers, empowered them with tools to create change, and gave them a voice. As he connected with teens whose lives are being directly impacted by the current situation, he created a strong network of change agents who could help infiltrate the high school and advocate the change agenda to a variety of audiences. Then, he gave them a taste of success by having them first cook for a large audience and then speak directly to that crowd about their experiences.
- There are two questions which are crucial to answer (and regularly reassess) when creating change: What’s holding you back and What you need to move forward? Jamie answered both. He realized that the french fries were the crutch that everyone fell back on, so he removed them from the lunch line. Then he realized that to go forward with his plan, he needed funding to train more workers. Once you know these two things, you can create a plan for advancing change, which is precisely what Jamie did!
As I got to the end of the third episode, I realized I was excitedly jumping up and down on my couch, with tears in my eyes. It’s always an awesome feeling to witness someone’s success as they build momentum to create positive change! Watching the previews for the next episode, I can’t wait until Jamie re-encounters the radio DJ — it looks like he’s finally going to have a breakthrough with him.
If you’ve watched the show, what behaviors or actions have caught your attention? And do you think Jamie can truly help the United States launch a Food Revolution?