Blog by Adin Becker and Kathryn Lang
We have released a new episode in our podcast series Leadership, Organizing, and Action featuring HKS Professor Marshall Ganz. In the fourth episode of this series, Ganz discusses the essential practice of strategy in leadership and organizing, outlining the way it addresses the “how” of change-making. Ganz introduces the foundational concept that we are all natural strategists, pointing toward everyday situations like figuring out how to get to class or work on time after oversleeping. Through vivid storytelling, including the Biblical story of David and Goliath, he demonstrates how strategy isn’t about how many resources you have, but rather how effectively we use what we have to achieve our goals.
Ganz breaks down strategy into six essential questions that organizers should address. These include: Who are my people, what change do they need, what is their theory of change, what is their strategic objective, what are the tactics, and what is the timing? He brings these concepts to life through compelling stories from his experience organizing with the United Farm Workers, including a creative Easter bunny protest that successfully pressured a major Canadian supermarket chain to stop selling Californian grapes. Throughout the episode, Ganz explains that strategy is not fixed, but instead a dynamic and creative process requiring continuous adaptation.
To learn more about Marshall Ganz’s work and the five key practices of people, power, and change, visit:
- Practicing Democracy Project: As Marshall’s faculty-led program, the Practicing Democracy Project leverages its position at a major research university and educational gathering place for leaders from around the world to engage with students, scholars and practitioners to advance democratic practice globally.
- Leading Change Network: An independent 501(c)(3) organization for a global community of organizers, practitioners, educators and researchers catalyzing change through the power of narratives, rooted in the pedagogy and practice of community organizing.
Leadership, Organizing, and Action is a 6-part podcast series highlighting the five key practices of people, power, and change. Listen to episodes 1 – 4 and stay tuned for the remaining episodes, which will be released in the coming weeks.