When change is inviting, there will be people taking it up, others are curious and waiting, and yet others will resist it. Everett Rogers described their distribution with a classic bell curve in his diffusion of innovations theory.

With the Innovators and Early Adopters on the left side of the curve, he described the idea that those most willing to take up a change or an innovation actually are a minority.

If introducing a change only interests a minority, it also means that most will resist being part of the initial phase of the change.

It’s convenient as it allows to explain why change does not happen.

But there might be a way forward that doesn’t overestimate the change put forward nor underestimates the work needed to make change happen.

It’s to choose the audience that is invited to take up the change. Starting with a small audience opens the way to reaching the majority if one is so inclined and willing to do the work to cross the chasm.

The chasm is like a weir it symbolizes resistance and yet it is there to organize the flow to the next level.