, Columnist
Government Without the Drama and Tumult
The most effective kind of problem-solving in the public sector? Start small.
Some brights spots.
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Many social problems seem impossibly daunting, simply because they are so large. Poverty, immigration, cancer deaths, gun violence, climate change – in light of the magnitude of those problems, most imaginable reforms seem pretty small.
In their book “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard,” Chip Heath and Dan Heath argue that the best response to big challenges is often to “shrink the change.” Instead of trying to solve a problem, dent it.