I saw a bumper sticker recently that said, “The good thing about things being so fucked up is that there’s plenty to do.” But how? When the national government is actively working against intelligent learning and cooperation, where do you even start?

Jackie Mahendra suggests starting small and learning fast. She makes a strong case for beginning with humble pilot projects, listening to those closest to the problem, and staying open to quick course corrections. She calls it the Trojan Mouse approach: by taking small, calculated risks, leaders can spark real innovation—even in high-stakes environments. I'm guessing that this approach will work inside of businesses, too.

"Sometimes at nonprofit organizations, we say we are running experiments, but we already know in advance exactly what we are going to do. The difference with a Trojan Mouse...is that we don’t know in advance where precisely we’re going to end up. That means being ready to pivot quickly. It means letting go of things that aren’t working early in favor of focusing on what is gaining momentum. It sometimes means forgoing large foundation grants for the first phase, in favor of a rich period of trial, error, and learning. But it also provides the opportunity to quickly adapt and shift course in a way that testing one large, fully-architected new program––a Trojan Horse––cannot."

"While we cannot expect every Trojan Mouse we send out across the gates to come back a success worthy of scaling up, we also know that we can learn just as much from those that fail to grow as those...that grow beyond our initial hopes. The result of sustained investment in risk-taking infrastructure will be healthy soil in which the best ideas can take root and grow—and a more just and equitable world for all of us."

ARTICLE: Wheeling in the Trojan Mice

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