HEC-Oxford-Harvard Conference about 'Positive Deviance' with Monique Sternin - Jan 2015

HEC Paris Alumni Conference organized with Harvard Club of France and Oxford Alumni.

Discovering & encouraging exceptional behaviours through “Positive Deviance”

An Interview & exchange with Monique Sternin, cofounder of the approach, co-author of the book (Harvard, 2010), associate professor

THE CONFERENCE

Traditional expert-driven models for individual, social and organizational change often don’t work. Like the human immune system, individuals and organizations & institutions reject what is perceived as “foreign matter”. When “external experts” provide strategies for organizational & social change which are “not invented here”, they are doomed to fail.

The Positive Deviance approach builds on successful but “deviant” (different) practices and strategies that are identified fromwithin the organization or institution, by the very people whose behavior needs to change, and thus are, by definition, accessible today by those sharing the same cultural context.

Several questions will be treated during this interview and debate:

- how to solve very complex organization behavioural problems in a durable and effective manner with existing limited resources (of time, expertise, staff, budget...) and respect for the culture and social context

- where can we find and identify current internal best practices? How can we efficiently promote adoption of these different mental, behavioural and relational approaches throughout the organisation?

Monique Sternin will share her experience of supporting NGOs and government organisations in combating :

- childhood malnutrition in Vietnam and in 40 other countries since 1990, advocating against feminine excision in Egypt in 1997, or promoting newborn survival in Pakistan…

- recent interventions in prevention of mortal illnesses (malaria, ebola, nosocomial diseases…), the incarceration of prisoners in Denmark, education in Latin America…

- consulting missions to businesses led by colleagues for Merck, Hewlett-Packard, Goldman Sachs...

OUR GUEST

Of French background, Monique Sternin has studied at Harvard University school of Education, lectures in the US at Tufts University and coaches PD practitioners around the world from UN staff to local NGOs. Over the last 25 years, she has support efforts to eradicate childhood malnutrition, girl trafficking, official extortion, nosocomial infections in US hospitals, and other “wicked problems” that require adaptive change (currently for indian government on teen health issues).

She co-authored the Power of Positive Deviance (Harvard 2010), with spouse & co-founder of the Positive Deviance Initiative Jerry Sternin and Oxford Fellow, Richard Pascale.

ORGANIZATION

HEC Alumni with Harvard Club of France & the Oxford University Alumni (OUSP and OBA Paris chapter) have been delighted to invite you to this joint conference on Tuesday 13th January 2015 at HEC Alumni headquarters.

This conference has been organized with the HEC Alumni help of Management & Human Resources group, Sustainable Development group and Consulting group.

Monique Sternin has been interviewed by Grégory Le Roy, Co-Chair of HEC Consulting Group.