Using the Model of Positive Deviancy

I was introduced to model of positive deviancy by Martin Etherington, who was, at that time, the Chief Marketing Officer at Tektronix. We were working together to introduce new marketing models in his organization.

I first used this model when we launched the Rosewood Initiative, a neighborhood-based initiative to create new strategies for public safety and community development in an area of Portland long neglected.

I found that this model of positive deviancy works well to drive transformational change in complex ecosystems. Few ecosystems are more complex than education. So, when my lens changed its focus to education, I then tried to apply this model again.

The ability to learn fast is critical, for change happens when you can quickly create a new models that others want to emulate. You want to become a First Mover and Create a Wake.

This is where The Dayton Experiment begins. A small school district in a town that few people could find a map. It was here that we began to explore how the educational experience could be re-imagined.

We hoped that if we could create Dayton in a positive deviant, that it could become a catalyst for a transformation of the entire education ecosystem.