“The Barrier to Change is Not Too Little Caring; It is Too Much Complexity”

Bill Gates gave the Harvard commencement speech in 2007. Stating that “reducing inequity is the highest human achievement,” Mr. Gates continues by sharing the challenges he and his wife have faced in using their resources to do the most good in the world.

After reading an article about the “millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that we had long ago made harmless in this country,” they were shocked to learn that there were interventions that could save lives but weren’t being used.

Mr. Gates says:

“If you believe that every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: ‘This can’t be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.’

“So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked: ‘How could the world let these children die?’

“The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.”

He goes on to share his hope that there are solutions. What comes next is the most poignant part of his speech:

“I am optimistic that we can do this, but I talk to skeptics who claim there is no hope. They say: ‘Inequity has been with us since the beginning, and will be with us till the end –- because people just … don’t … care.’ I completely disagree.

“I believe we have more caring than we know what to do with.

“All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing –- not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do. If we had known how to help, we would have acted.

“The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity.

“To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But complexity blocks all three steps.” [emphasis added]

This is precisely why social leadership is so desperately needed. It’s the answer to the complexity conundrum.

As millions of “common citizens” begin addressing simple problems they see with passion, dedication and perseverance, slowly but surely enough momentum will be built to inspire real, sustainable and positive change.

No individual can handle complexity alone, but millions can handle tiny parts of the complexity simultaneously.

So stop dreaming of grandiose accomplishments and instead get in the trenches of simple service.

What do you see today that could and should be improved, and what can you do about it?

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Stephen Palmer is a marketing consultant and persuasive writer with KGaps Consulting, a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership, and the New York Times best-selling co-author of Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity.

He is a liberal-arts graduate of George Wythe University and a graduate of the “non-traditional business school” Wizard Academy.

Stephen resides in Round Rock, Texas with his gorgeous wife Karina, awesome son Alex, and princess daughters Libby, Avery, and Laela. Stephen and Karina blog about their magical life on Palmer Journeys.

Connect With Stephen:

Email: spalmer [at] kgaps [dot] com