| For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin'. |
And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin'. |
Bob Dylan understood that significant change is disruptive to the established order and called out those who "stand in the doorway . . . block up the hall."
Leaders of the established institutions resist change by reinforcing the importance of traditional tribal virtues. Good members of social and business communities should be loyal, polite, supportive, positive, well-behaved, humble, etc. It all sounds nice and reasonable . . .
The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him.
The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself.
All progress depends on the unreasonable man.
George Bernard Shaw understood the inherently conservative influence of tribal virtues. They provide social stability in the face of minor disruptions, but can't mobilize a community to respond creatively to a major challenge. This is why the authors of a book subtitled How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World titled it The Power of Unreasonable People. In contrast to the above virtues, one of the book's authors characterized these social change agents as "insanely ambitious . . . really quite difficult . . . impatient."
Compare this vision of social entrepreneurship with many other social institutions, whose missions and leadership are usually highly-regarded within their respective communities. Working to preserve that positive vibe, these organizations let the community feel good about the mission without seriously challenging the status quo. They are of necessity weak on transparency and accountability (by tacit community consensus), on a quantitative definition of the mission (baselines, goals, disciplined progress reporting, etc.), in engaging and supporting powerful change agents (unreasonable people), and in implementing incentives for motivating success and discouraging under performance. Is it any wonder that social entrepreneurship is seen as a viable alternative to traditional public initiatives?
When significant change comes, it is usually from the outside, first poking at the periphery, and then upturning the core. Like some kind of social judo, the power of the final fall is proportional to that of the initial resistance. Thus do reasonable people provide the ultimate disservice to their communities.
I need mavericks, dissents, adventurers, outsiders, and rebels who ask questions, bend the rules, and take risks . . .
Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters; they only make good former spouses.
- Isabel Allende
It doesn't require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.
- Sam Adams