I was introduced to model of positive deviancy by Martin Etherington 
, the Chief Marketing Officer at Tektronix. We were working together to introduce new marketing models in his marketing organization.
In 2009 I was asked by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) to help lead an Innovation Council within the department - a bold experiment that sought to introduce agile mindsets within a highly structured, command and control, organization. Utilizing the concept of positive deviancy, we launched the Rosewood Initiative , a neighborhood-based initiative to build community and co-create new strategies for public safety in partnership with the Portland and Gresham police departments.
I found that this model works well to drive transformational change in complex ecosystems. Few ecosystems are more complex than education. So, when my lens changed its focus to education, I then sought to apply it again.
When working with PPB I found that the key for using this model is that you need to find a place at the edge of the ecosystem, where you can experiment, fail and learn fast. When we were too close to important power structures, the guardians of those structures would go to great lengths to shut down innovation efforts. But if you go to a place no one the organization really cared about, you could begin to learn, and learn quickly.
This ability to learn fast is critical, for change happens when you can quickly create a new models that others want to emulate. You want to become a First Mover and Create a Wake.
This is where the Story of Dayton begins. A small school district in a town that few people could find a map.