Everybody has a key that can unlock them. Most have more than one and they are someone that they trust. It could be a member of their family, their partner or their mother perhaps. It could be a colleague at work or a close friend. It could be an upstanding member of society like a policeman or a member of the clergy. For some it could even be someone who most of us would consider undesirable.
Everyone has a small group of people that they trust and will take notice of and if you want to influence them then these are the people that you have to get to. If I want to trust you then the people I trust have to do so as well.
The problem is that it is never obvious who these people are and you will spend a lot of time and energy trying to hunt them out. It is far better to use your efforts more wisely and work on the people you have a chance of influencing which are those that already trust you.
We have all heard of the theory, originally put forward by Frigyes Karinthy known as the Six degrees of separation where everyone in the world is a maximum of six steps away from each other. In this way everyone knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone etc. and the whole world is connected.
For example, I know a colleague who knows a person who worked for Morgan Tsvangirai (Changerai), the one-time Prime Minister of Zimbabwe who clearly knows Robert Mugabe the President of that country. In this way I am only four steps away from Mr Mugabe and we’re nearly acquaintances.
In a similar vein I have met several of our local Members of Parliament who will have met Tony Blair, who in has met many of the world’s leaders including the Queen and the Pope. So I’m even closer to the Pope than Robert Mugabe.
And while I’m on the subject, the nephew of Tony Jacklin, the English golf player and winner of the Open Championship and the US Open, fitted a new boiler in our house.
The serious point here is that whilst we may not have direct contact and influence over very many people, we know and have direct contact with people who do. If you want to influence someone then you should start with the people most close to you, in your own circle and excite them enough to influence their contact group. This is a far more efficient way of bringing about change than by trying to influence everyone.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 