November 2025 - Build a better world with experiments
Dear Friends,
When I was in graduate school, one of the things I would do at the end of a long week was check my snail-mail mailbox to see if a new DVD disc had arrived from Netflix. The arrival of a disc was exciting because it would provide at least one fun low-budget thing for me to do that weekend. To me, Netflix was a great concept and worked for my busy schedule. I didn’t have to think much about it, could select movies I wanted to watch, and a few days later the DVD would arrive in my mailbox. Little did I know at the time that, years prior, leaders at Netflix had already started experimenting with something called ‘streaming,’ and our beloved DVD-in-the-mail service would become obsolete. The folks at Netflix had something that worked well enough (DVDs by mail), but chose to experiment with something totally different which has led to big successes.
Mariam Kaba said that we shouldn’t ask the question “‘what do we have now and how can we make it better?’ Instead ask ‘what can we imagine for ourselves and the world?’” Netflix wasn’t asking the question of how they can make the DVD-by-mail business better, they were imagining a totally different way of doing things. They experimented with new solutions and ultimately became a different company with a more compelling product to sell. When we are trying to make a better world possible, we have to be willing to experiment to find out what works and what new policies and approaches will work to help everyone thrive.
In New York City, the voters recently elected Zohran Mamdani as their new mayor. One of Mamdani’s appeals to voters was his campaign focused on experimenting with what the city government offered its citizens. Traditionally, NYC and other cities have not provided free buses, free childcare, or government-run grocery stores. But, Mamdani heard residents' concerns about rising costs and wants to experiment with these new policy proposals. You may agree or disagree with these specific policies—there is plenty of critique or enthusiasm depending on who you ask—but this willingness to try new things and see what works is part of building towards a better world.
It can be hard to be willing to experiment. Every experiment is a risk: it is an investment of resources with an uncertain outcome. We might resist change because we are holding too closely to what we have now while discounting the potential value of a future outcome. If our systems and policies are not working for people across our communities, we need to be willing to change and experiment with new solutions to complex problems in order to make a better world possible.
Take care and experiment,
Paul
p.s. Thanks to those who have already bought Imagine Doing Better, I’d love to hear what you think! You can learn more about the book and order it here.
Today’s Key Point: We can make a better world possible by experimenting with better solutions and being willing to take risks to find policies and systems that work for everyone.
Today’s Reflection Questions:
In what ways are you resistant to change at home, where you work, and in local/national politics?
What are some policy experiments that you are particularly excited about? What could you do to help support them?
What are the risks of the status quo? If nothing changes, what will happen?
Quote of the Month:
“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” -Paolo Coelho
Inspired reading/listening/viewing:
One Million Experiments podcast.
“Launching our experimental policy design methods” PolicyLab blog.
“Mamdani’s Ideas Have Been Tried Before — and Worked.” Politico.
“The anticipatory policy cycle: not just preparing for the future, but influencing it.” Demos Helsinki blog.