"Stone Soup" initiatives in IT…boiling the pot without stirring it.

Getting buy in to change is oftentimes like making Stone Soup. Surely you’ve heard the story, right? Well if you haven’t, you’re in for a treat! Here goes (the fun version)….

A little old beggar woman was roaming hungry through the village streets one day, tired and penniless. She went knocking on home doors asking for food, even scraps, and was turned away over and over. Finally she thought to herself, I’m going to get my food…and make me a soup, and they’re all going to want to pitch in.

She found a discarded Pot on the side, and picked up a big stone, placed it in the pot. She returned to an alley in the village and knocked on the first door. “Pardon me, I hate to disturb you, but I’m looking to make my stone soup, and was wondering if you could spare some water for me to get started?” The home owner responded “Stone soup, never heard of it. What’s in it???” “Oh it’s a secret ingredient, one I’ve had passed on through my family, but I promise to share a cup of this great soup with you if you can help me get started!” she said excitedly. The person gave her the water and she went away with a smile. She knocked on the second house and started the inquiry the same way, this time she had water and a stone, and asked for an onion…her missing ingredient. Again, the home owner looked puzzled and wondered how this soup was made with a stone in it, but she assured them she would share the product but not the recipe…so they gave her the onion. The 3rd house she stopped by, with a pot full of water, an stone, and an onion…she asked for a potato. Not surprisingly, the home owner peered into the pot and saw the other ingredients, scratched her head, and once she was assured she would get a cup of this mysterious soup, she willingly gave up a potato to the beggar woman. And so the pot got heavier and heavier with each house whose door she knocked on, with home owner after home owner peering into the pot, seeing other ingredients already there, with a mysterious stone in the middle of it all…and one by one they gave her ingredients she asked for, carrots, celery and finally even chicken giblets in the end. By the time the old woman was at the end of the road and knocking on the last door on her route, the pot had just about everything she wanted…except the spices. With each knock, the pot had gotten heavier, and though the stone still presented a curious question, the ingredients of this interesting “soup” did appear to be there…and it became easier for the giver of the requested ingredient to part with it. They saw it “there”, and the promise of receiving some back in exchange was very appealing. So finally she had everything she needed, and she thanked her last contributor profusely for sharing the spices she requested. She went off to start up a fire, and swiftly removed the stone,…which had served its purpose to “inspire” each giver to believe in her purpose. The soup simmered and produced a magnificent taste and aroma, and good to her word, the beggar woman returned to each home who’d helped her and gave back a cup of the soup as promised, as well as a smile of gratitude.

So many times I’ve seen this stone soup phenomenon work within IT. At the point of introducing an idea, an initiative, or even a simple change, many a naysayer you’ll find. But once you get the first person on board, and start getting a “quick win”, the next person or group is more likely to see progress and say, ok I’m in too. Then the next, and the next. You see people are interesting….they always feel safer in numbers. If they see others saying yes, they’re more likely to say yes and give things a try. But being the first to say yes is no easy thing. The element of risk always seems higher then. Unless of course, you’re promising something in it for them. The stone, while really not anything appealing, it’s the opportunity it presents, the mystery of it, and the promise of a return that gets people. Who doesn’t want something back for a little investment, a little token of cooperation? All of us do.

So the next time you’re faced with a challenge getting things started, don’t under estimate the importance of that “stone”…and don’t worry how old and ragged the “pot” is that holds it, so long as you can make a promise to share a cup, you’ll get the ingredients to make you successfully complete the soup, and it’ll get easier with time!