What flavour of resistance are you facing right now?
The Change Question: What flavour of resistance are you facing right now?
Here’s a distinction I find ridiculously helpful: the cynic v the skeptic.
Cynics
They’ve already made up their mind about you and your plans, and it’s not good.
The etymology of the word is “dog-like,” and I always imagine the cynic lifting their leg on my fire hydrant of hope.
Bobby Kennedy said, “One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time.”
Bingo.
You can’t win over the cynics.
Skeptics
They’ve had their heart broken a thousand times.
They’re doing all they can to protect it from being broken again.
But, against all odds, there’s still a tiny flame of hope still burning.
Perhaps, this time, communication will be clear, promises will be kept, humanity will be remembered.
Love your skeptics.
They can be your greatest forces for change.
How much is enough
You don’t need to win over everyone to make progress.
Accounts differ, with some evidence for it being as little as 10% of a population, but as a useful rule of thumb, winning over “just” 25% of the population is enough to create a tipping point.
That’s no small task.
A bold challenge
Ignore 75% of the population.
Bring your full attention and resources to your selected 25%.
And don’t include the cynics.
Pod Wisdom: Ugh! What a question
Cassandra Worthy, from the Change Signal episode "Ignore the Cynics, Win the Skeptics":
"In the other plus-minus box, you have the frameworks that have high impact, but are underused. So why are you underusing them? I mean, who knows? You don't quite understand them yet. You haven't got to grips with them. They scare you a bit. Maybe they ask a bit too much of you. They're too challenging. But these might be worth taking a good look at because it's in that box you might find a breakthrough approach that can really boost the success of the transformation that you're leading right now."
Listen to the full episode with Cassandra Worthy now
Cassandra Worthy is the founder of Change Enthusiasm.
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The Last Word
"Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies. Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
~ Robert F. Kennedy
