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I wanted to share this article with everyone. Its by Guy Insull, Founder Champions Club Community  who does some great leadership workshops using Franklin Covey resources in the UK.

Most people will be familiar with the term “Chaos Theory”, and even if they can’t describe or explain its mathematical roots, they probably understand it metaphorically as “The Butterfly Effect”.

The term “Butterfly Effect” was originally coined from the title of a paper by Edward Lorenz entitled “Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas?”

The title encapsulates the notion that the tiny, seemingly insignificant flapping of butterfly wings can cause exponential changes to occur in a system such as the weather which can cause massive and apparently chaotic consequences in another part of the world.

However, the idea that one small and apparently insignificant act can set in motion a chain of events which ultimately result in massive change has existed in the field of human behaviour long before it existed in science or mathematics. It is the idea that if we perform small acts of kindness to others, and instead of being repaid the person simply “passes on” the kindness or favour to others, and in doing so sets in motion a chain of good deeds which multiplies exponentially.

This concept was described by Benjamin Franklin, who in a letter to a friend in 1784 wrote:
“I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro’ many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.”

The idea was more recently popularised in the film Pay It Forward in which a class of schoolchildren are given the task to come up with one idea which has the capacity to change the world. One pupil has the idea of “paying it forward” – an obligation to do three good deeds for others in repayment of a good deed that one receives from a stranger. In this way, the help we freely provide another can spread exponentially through society, creating a movement which ultimately makes the world a better place.

Whilst the idea may seem a little utopian and even “childish” given the world in which we now live, the film does a great job of suspending our disbelief through the use of children as the principle characters and “thought leaders”, creating the feeling in us once again that anything is possible if we truly believe it.

I hope this has started you thinking as it did me and invite you to see more articles like this at ‘Changing Times’ or follow our ‘Twitter Feed’ for updates.