We tend to believe that for organizational change to take place, we must first get everyone on the same page, ready to move along in the same direction. We will all go together in a big convoy. Until everyone is ready to move, no one moves.

While it would be nice to have everyone move forward together, it’s simply not realistic. Not everyone is ready to move forward and not everyone is willing to move forward. If we try to force the issue, we often run into significant resistance or we end up watering down what we want to accomplish for the sake of consensus. So we get hung up by focusing on the most resistant people.

Instead, what would happen if we focused on the most open people? Take a look around at what people and groups around you are most open to moving forward and invite them to go with you. If you’re trying to live more missionally, you could invite them to go through the Primer with you.

As you get more success stories, you can then ask who else wants to join in. How many opportunities have we missed by getting stuck focusing on the most resistant?