The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
Saul AlinskyRead
Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Change involves conflict and friction, which are necessary for progress.
This quote by Saul Alinsky emphasizes that change is an inherent part of movement and that this movement often brings about friction or conflict. Rather than viewing conflict as purely negative, Alinsky suggests that it is a crucial aspect of achieving meaningful change, as it fosters dialogue and adjustment in a world that is rarely without challenges.
Themes
ChangeConflictMovementProgressFriction
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting about restructuring, one might say, 'As Saul Alinsky noted, change means movement, and we need to embrace the friction it brings.'
More from Saul Alinsky
All quotes βLest we forget at least an over the shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins - or which is which), the very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom - Lucifer.
Saul AlinskyRead
The second rule is: Never go outside the experience of your people. When an action is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear, and retreat.
Saul AlinskyRead
The first step in community organization is community disorganization. The disruption of the present organization is the first step toward community organization. Present arrangements must be disorganized if they are to be displace by new patterns.... All change means disorganization of the old and organization of the new.
Saul AlinskyRead
The threat is generally more terrifying than the thing itself.
Saul AlinskyRead
Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
Saul AlinskyRead
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