Thunderhead Works

JUNE 5, 2019

In facing a tough social challenge positive deviance tells us to look for any outliers who may be like everyone else but who found a solution through their successful behavior. The classic example of positive deviance involves Jerry Sternin’s 1990 trip to Vietnam for Save the Children. The approach worked.

Children 52

Children Insurance Poverty Health 52

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MARCH 3, 2010

I’d like to push that concept a step further and talk about positive deviance. He called it “positive deviance,&# and it had a huge role in improving childhood health in Vietnam. He could have stayed in Vietnam for twenty years, writing position papers on the malnutrition problem. Take Jerry Sternin.

Children 42

Children Health 42

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

JUNE 28, 2011

I’m a big fan of the concept of positive deviance, also known as “bright spots.&# Are you trying to fix something broken? Here’s a great video from Dan Heath for you. I watch it whenever I’m stuck. And when report cards come home!

Marketing 50

Marketing Marketing 50

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Novelli: I really like the idea of positive deviance. Nonprofits are by contrast product-driven, not market-driven. That makes it more challenging. Me: So how do we know what will close the sale? Don’t study the people who aren’t doing it. Study the people who are and see what motivated them.

Public and Social Policy 53

Public and Social Policy Public and Nonprofit Management Social Enterprise Social Enterprise 53