One of the most common mistakes Lean practitioners make is spending enormous entry trying to convince every skeptic in the room. They host information sessions that get ignored. They send emails that get archived. They push harder, and resistance pushes back. Sound familiar?
Here's the truth: you don't need to get everyone on the bus. You just need to find the right people first.
We teach a principle that has changed how hundreds of public servants approach change in government: the First Follower. It comes from one of the most deceptively simple videos on the internet — Derek Sivers' famous Dancing Guy on the Hill. In under three minutes, it reframes everything you think you know about leadership and creating a movement. Watch it. Seriously.
The lone dancer on the hill isn't the hero of the story. The first follower is. Because that first follower is the one who transforms a lone nut into a leader. And then the next follower feels safe joining. And then the next. Before long, it's the people not joining who look out of place.