Imagine, if you would, that you know something immeasurably important. Then, imagine that you have been charged with the task of telling as many people as possible about this immeasurably important thing that you know. The one who gave you this charge has warned you that many will not only not like the message, but won’t like you if you deliver it. They’ve even been known to kill people who told others this message.
This next part won’t be too difficult to imagine. Imagine you like you. Not that you think you’re all that. It’s just that you like to see yourself happy, healthy, and well-liked. If that’s the case, and I suspect it is, you might face this temptation- to gather a crowd. You might zero in on the “as many people as possible” part of your assignment. Or at least you might start there. Eventually, you reason, you’ll get around to the message.
You notice, however, that, well short of delivering the message, any time you get even in the neighborhood of the message, your crowd not only shrinks, but many of them turn against you. As long, however, as you deliver a message that doesn’t offend your audience, your audience continues to grow. In fact, many of them grow to love you. Some of them even want to be like you.
So you teach them how to gather a crowd. The message, after all, is supposed to be delivered to as many people as possible. You warn them about what happens when you say things the crowd isn’t eager to hear, how they get mad, start hating you, and leave. This person you’ve trained has gathered a big crowd, and joined you in training others to do the same.
Soon there is an army of crowd gatherers. You all share your crowd gathering ideas with each other, what works and what doesn’t. You throw parties for those who have gathered the biggest crowds. Books are written. Conferences are held. Alliances are formed. You are a member in good standing of the crowd gatherer crowd.
Now suppose that the boss shows up. You get the memo he’ll be arriving soon. Everyone goes all out to gather the biggest crowd ever, to show the boss what a great job you’ve done. You drive him down to local gathering place, and pull up to your reserved parking space. A grin covers your face as the boss takes in the gathering crowd, pouring into the gathering place. You explain that the little ones have their own gatherings within the building. Then you talk about how much the crowd loves the band that plays each week. You show him all the events.
Your heart begins to race as the band heats up. The gathering is swaying to the beat, eyes focused in the distance. Your team’s logo hangs from the building’s cross beams, shrouded in fog. There isn’t an empty seat in the house. Indeed there are multiple gathering places where you are streamed, you explain.
The boss, however, has just one question for you as you stand to make your way onto the podium- “But what have you told them?”