Back in the 80s, the New York Subway system was the poster child of urban decay. Crime was rampant. Petty crimes, fare-beating, vandalism, and panhandling were common. On average, the system registered around 15000 felonies per year.

And then there was the reform that changed everything.

By the 90s the crime rate had fallen by 75%. This success is attributed to the broken window theory. The theory was the brainchild of criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling. The theory states that visible signs of disorder and misbehavior in an environment encourage further disorder and misbehavior, leading to serious crimes.

Kelling was hired by the NY Transit Authority as a consultant. His first suggestion was to target vandalism. The NY subway system equivalent of the broken window was Grafitti art. Every train car that had fallen prey to Grafitti was cleaned on a priority. It wasn’t allowed to get back in service until it was cleaned and painted over. The broken window was fixed as soon as it was broken. The vandals never saw their art see the light of the day.

This led to a chain of events. It was a signal. Fare beating was targeted similarly. Fare beaters were caught and chained to show exemplary consequences. Enforcing low-level crimes such as fare evasion and graffiti prevented more serious crimes.

Bad behavior spreads like wildfire. Malcolm Gladwell terms this as an “Epidemic” in his book The Tipping Point. It all starts with a broken window. This concept not only applies to workplaces but to our personal lives as well.

If you have found your broken window, fix it before it is too late!

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