Normalizing Deviance

Normalizing Deviance

Gotta have a
bag.

We often deviate from our processes or protocols that have been instituted habitually.  Over time, we get risky habits that have been accidentally lucky and end up standardizing our departure from "the plan or checklist."  We have to take a look at what we're doing and make sure we're not taking shortcuts that will eventually catch up to us when we "run out of luck."  This phenomenon of normalized deviance has been well-studied in the aviation/aeronautics industry with the lessons spilling over into other professions.  In the fire service, we've studied the lessons in the quintessential NASA Challenger tragedy.  

Learn from 
others.

The short version of the Challenger was that over time, the o-rings in the fuel cylinder were known to be potentially problematic, particularly in cold weather, although they hadn't "been" problematic up until the launch.  Fast forward, this known deviance through testing, over and over without consequence from the o-rings was allowed to progress...because you know...nothing had actually happened so far.  On the date of the flight, a cold day, the o-rings failed allowing flames from the engine into the fuel tanks, resulting in a catastrophic accident killing everyone on board.  The normalized deviance from the process, the summation of a series of accidentally lucky occurrences, culminated in tragedy.  

You might get stuck.

At home and in family life, we can likely find parallel to the normalized deviance process...and hopefully, you're reading this before tragedy strikes.  We'll use a few examples of systems around the house that may unpack what a "standard operating procedure (SOP)" may be and what deviance may look like.  In a diet/exercise example, we may have a set number of calories that we maintain to keep solid energy and a healthy weight.  The deviance that we normalize might be the proverbial "cheat day" where we sneak a cookie or a piece of cake.  One probably no big deal...one a week, one a day, one an hour suddenly become a big deal.  

Catch a frog. 

Similar to the old adage of the frog in the boiling pot of water doesn't notice he's boiling until it's too late, normalized deviance sneaks up on us.  You could probably get away with not wearing a seatbelt or bike helmet for years...until the day you don't.  You can probably get by with smoking cigarettes, having a drink, or an extra cookie...until you get that doctor's visit.  The point of systems, as Jocko Wilink puts it with his, "discipline equals freedom," mantra is to give you a framework that allows healthy daily activity and long-term results.  

Talk your bro
into hauling you.

To use the analogy of budgeting as an example, your system of putting some money toward your future (savings and investments) a little bit every month over time can become a pile, a life-changing pile with the miracle of compounding interest.  On the flip side, the normalized deviance of spending everything (and sometimes more) than what is coming in every month is a dangerous precedent.  In the beginning, not investing $50/month doesn't seem like a huge loss...compounded over time, not just as money but as habit means you're also not saving or investing the $1,000/month when your income grows.  When you run this normalized deviance out over a lifetime, is it any wonder why so many folks have to rely only on Social Security?  

Don't fall in when you 
feed the ducks. 

Shifting gears a little bit, chances are no one, or hopefully no one, sets out to commit adultery intentionally.  Chances are most cases are a slippery slope of normalized deviance involving a series of escalating small steps until you fall over the edge of a cliff.  Smiling, flirting, lunch, dinner, business trip, and so forth until you've gone too far.  The importance of SOPs, systems, and rules in our lives cannot be overstated.  This isn't a "thou shalt not have a cookie" scolding but rather a reminder that things like your marriage vows and such are sacred and should be treated as such.  

In your home, you hopefully have systems for money management, scheduling activities, expectation setting, and goal selection.  You likely sense when something is out of balance when there's a disturbance in the Force.  When you notice that you're cutting corners or that the results you desire are slipping further away instead of getting closer...probably a good reminder to look at the systems you have...and if you're deviating.  

With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!

Call to Action: 

• Pick out a part of life that you're noticing is slipping.  Look for three things that are small deviations from your "normal" and apply corrective steps.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of a system and how to lean in together as a family.

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Normalizing Deviance - NASA and firefighting

- Normalized Deviance - Ted Talk

- Normalized Deviance - Challenger Article