{"id":92373,"date":"2026-01-10T17:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/?p=92373"},"modified":"2026-02-16T13:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:07:14","slug":"unsere-1-fuer-2026-gebaut-nicht-geplant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/1-percent-sounds-like-very-little-but-what-if-that-is-exactly-the-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Our 1% for 2026 \u2013 Built, Not Planned"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat if change did not begin with grand strategies \u2013 but with a small model on the table? At the Schaltzeit team, we asked ourselves: what are our 1% for 2026? Not as a list. Not as a target catalog. But built \u2013 with LEGO\u00ae Serious Play\u00ae.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Each of us developed a small model. Not perfect plans, but visible impulses: where we want to go, what matters to us, and where we want to grow. Small interventions in our own daily lives. 1% that is doable.<\/p>

Our software developer Annemarie named her model A Bachelor Thesis in LEGO: \u201cMy 1% model shows the 13 weeks of my bachelor thesis: a clearly bounded time that I consciously invested and integrated into my everyday life. The degree is in itself a small step, but it gives me more personal independence and enables me to free up resources in my environment and support others.\u201d<\/p>

Picking up speed with the Schaltinaut 5001 \u2013 for CEO Andr\u00e9, the focus at the start of the year is on several small changes: 1% more conscious change, 1% better prepared meetings, 1% better distribution of workload and responsibility.<\/p>

Over the course of the year, we will share these models as a mini-series with you. Each team member will tell what their own 1% model means \u2013 and how it feels in everyday life.<\/p>

1% Sounds Like Very Little. But What If That Is Exactly the Point?<\/h3>

Transformation research shows: change does not only arise top-down \u2013 through politics, laws, or large institutions. It grows equally bottom-up: in participatory processes, future workshops, and everyday decisions. And above all, it needs one thing: the feeling of self-efficacy.<\/p>

Bottom-Up Meets Top-Down: Where Change Really Starts<\/h3>

When we talk about societal transformation, we often think first of the big levers: funding programs, infrastructure projects, new regulations. These top-down approaches are important \u2013 no question. But they are not the whole story. Because change also happens at kitchen tables, in neighborhood initiatives, in workshops and labs for future-building. Where people start acting themselves rather than waiting.<\/p>

Participatory methods such as future workshops or Future Literacy Labs show: when people are allowed to think and build their own futures, something decisive happens. They develop agency. They feel: I can do something. This is not naive optimism but political practice.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\u201cA Bachelor's Thesis in LEGO\u201d by Annemarie<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"Gaining Momentum with the Schaltinaut 5001\" by Andr\u00e9 <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Self-Efficacy in Times of Uncertainty<\/h3>

What bottom-up processes achieve at the societal level manifests at the individual level as self-efficacy. In times of crises and complexity, uncertainty can paralyze. This is where the concept of self-efficacy comes in: the belief that one can make a difference through one\u2019s own actions. Psychology shows that self-efficacy does not arise from grand promises but from concrete experiences. From moments when we realize: this works. I have influence. That is precisely why small, tangible successes are often more effective than utopian mega-projects. They return control, build courage, and generate momentum.<\/p>

Small Wins: Change in Manageable Steps<\/span><\/h3>

Organizational psychologist Karl Weick described this principle as early as the 1980s. His concept of Small Wins shows why large social problems often render us unable to act.<\/p>

\u201eThe massive scale on which social problems are conceived often precludes innovative action because the limits of bounded rationality are exceeded.\u201c (Weick, 1984)<\/em><\/p>

A small win is manageable, doable, and visible. The difference is felt \u2013 and that is exactly what makes it effective. Small wins do not overwhelm; they invite. They motivate continued action.<\/p>

Shaping the Future in Everyday Life<\/h3>

The future does not only emerge in strategy papers but in everyday routines, rituals, and small decisions. The research field of Experiential Futures goes even further: it combines futures research with experience design and creates \u201creal memories of virtual events.\u201d Instead of reading abstract scenarios, people experience the future. Instead of striving for big changes all at once, it is about continuous improvement. Here is where the 1% method comes in, known from Atomic Habits by James Clear. The idea is simple: instead of striving for big changes, you continuously improve by 1%. That sounds unspectacular \u2013 and it is. But the impact is enormous because it takes our psychology seriously: big goals overwhelm. Small steps open room for action.<\/p>

Change does not need perfection. It needs people who start. Who experiment. Who realize: 1% is enough. Bottom-up transformation, Small Wins, and Future Experiences show: the future emerges in everyday life \u2013 in decisions, routines, and experiments. And that is precisely why it can be shaped.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Further readings<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>