Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1246IR // #c1246Synthesis

"She’s building relationships, looking not just for volunteers but for leaders." "The door knocking and voter contacting begins only after the team is launched."

— In our words · Source: This Is the Plan (Ben Wikler)

[Use when]

You're launching an effort and are tempted to start the work before you have people to lead it.

[Why it matters]

In the "snowflake" model behind the Obama campaigns, the paid organizer spends weeks in one-on-one coffees recruiting a core team, and each team recruits more volunteers. Wisconsin volunteers knocked on twice as many doors in 2018 as in 2016 at roughly half the cost.

Filed under situations:When the team is looking to you to leadWhen it’s day one and nothing exists yet

More from This Is the Plan

#c1233"Here’s the operating principle: All other things being equal, you’ll be most persuasive to the people with whom you have the closest…You want to change minds and are about to start with the widest, least personal channel available. #c1234"Keep a CONSTANT WATCH on the DOUBTFUL VOTERS, and from time to time have them TALKED TO by those IN WHOM THEY HAVE THE MOST CONFIDENCE."You need to win over a wavering group and are deciding who should deliver the message. #c1235"Whenever a new way to reach someone unsolicitedly and cheaply pops into existence—mail, texts, Facebook messages—it has a brief twinkling…Your team is excited about a new cheap outreach channel because early numbers look great.

Same situation, different book

#c1347The job ad that filters for love of the gameYou can't pay yet and need contributors who care about the work itself.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1337Marine Corps Leadership 101 for a campaignYou're running a first-time team on an underdog project.From Courage Can Save Us #c1314Moving out of mom and dad's houseYou're leading a team through a complex separation or launch and need everyone pointed the same way.From Digital Impact #c1558The Seminal Fire: Active Logos, Passive Matter & Cosmic ConflagrationScaling a creative franchise, open-source project, or decentralized team where you cannot micromanage every…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers