Entrepreneur Derek Sivers gave an entertaining 3-minute talk at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference in April about how to start a movement. It’s a great little illustration of how one person can change what’s acceptable. But as he says, when starting something, the first few followers are just as important as the leader. In particular, the very first follower is key to building critical mass.
I was talking to someone this week about this blog. She mentioned that when she first heard Anita Hill speak at Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearing back in 1991, she’d started crying. She’d thought she was alone all those years and that when men cat-called to her on the street or made lewd come-ons in other settings, that was just the way the world worked and she had to learn to live with it. Anita Hill showed her she wasn’t alone and didn’t have to stand for degrading treatment.
How many girls and women around the world have been told, overtly or implicitly, that sexism is just part of the way the world works? In their workplaces, their classrooms, their social settings, they see that men can demean women and face few if any consequences.
Then one day, one person says “stop.” And if they find supporters, things can change, sometimes fast. But it takes the courage to both lead and follow. As Sivers says, “When you find a lone ‘nut’ doing something great, have the courage to stand up and join in.”
Steve
