The Law of Unintended Consequences
So often we try and solve problems for all the right reasons and with good intentions and don’t notice we are causing new problems with our solution!
I think about Hale’iwa, the beautiful, historical, and quaint little surf town on the North Shore of the Island of Oahu in Hawaii. (Pronounced Hah lay EE Vah)
Hippies, surfers and young locals had taken over the town by the time I moved to Hawaii in the 70′s. And for good reason, the surf is magnificent in those parts.
It’s so magnificent that thousands and thousands of tourists decided they wanted pictures and souvenirs of surf, surfers, surfboards, dolphins jumping, shell necklaces, doodads and other cool stuff to take home and lose in the bottom of their overfilled closets.
Thus, a funky, charming retail industry sprung up. ‘Shave Ice,’ shells, bongs, pareaus (beach wraps), surfboard shops, three-table restaurants, sandwich shops. All the trappings of a quaint off-the-beaten path tourist trap grew like little magic mushrooms up and down the street .
Hale’iwa is also on the way to someplace: the rest of the North shore. In the old days you had to drive through Hale’iwa town and across the quaint, historic Rainbow Bridge to get to Kawailoa, Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, Turtle Bay (yep, you’ve heard some of those names in BeachBoys’ songs.)
For a time it seemed the average age of Hale’iwa residents was 18, maybe 21. Surf was on their minds ALWAYS. I sat in a sandwich shop and overheard this conversation: “Dude, like, my aunt died? And, like, she left me SOOO MUCH MONEY, MAN! Like, three thousand dollars! I’m like SO going to Bali to surf, man. I’ll never see THAT much money ever again. Live For Today, DUDE!”
Then something happened to Hale’iwa. The residents grew up. Now there were more than 2,000 of them, and the average age shot up to 30. Not old-timers, but suddenly protective of their little town. They elected somebody. And a few somebodies along with some state-elected somebodies decided it would be in the town’s best interest to not have so many cars up and down the tiny two lane road, crossing the tiny two lane bridge, polluting their tiny corner of a tiny island in the middle of a huge ocean.
And the bypass was born.
The Kamehameha highway now bypasses Hale’iwa. Cool. You can actually cross main street without taking your life into your hands.
Well, for a time the restaurants, surf shops, shell shops, shave ice shops, and pareau stores didn’t think it was so cool. There’s a weird traffic circle just before town, which makes things confusing. Translation: the tourists just didn’t come by as often.
Ah – we’ll make a really cool sign that tells people we are here! And it IS cool. Click on the Hale’iwa link and see it.
Oops, the sign was too cool. At last count it’s been stolen maybe half a dozen times or more.
The Mayor jumped in and held a couple of great little festivals. Eventually the people started coming back, and the stores are doing a booming business again.
But this isn’t about Hale’iwa, it’s about YOU. The next time you decide to do something, stop for a minute and ask yourself, “Are there any unintended consequences to this solution? Will the solution cause more trouble than the current problem I’m trying to solve? In the long run, will I/we be better off?”
It’s all about paying attention.
Take care of yourself and have a great weekend!
Beth
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Beth Terry, CSP, is a Professional Speaker, Trainer, and Author who presents workshops, seminars, and keynote speeches all over the world. Email her to be a part of your staff and management development program.
© 2007 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc
