This is one of my favorite TED talks. In only a handful of minutes, the speakers shows how some movements begin.
1. Are movements leader-driven? Well, at first someone needs to come up with an idea, but it is only a good idea when the second person (and 3rd, 4th and so on) validates it.
2. Is a leader be a visionary or is he just a lone nut? Again, it is only a movement when more than one person joins.
3. How can a leader get buy in from others? The key seems to be–at least in this video–acknowledging the second person and the early followers.
4. When is it a movement? Tricky question, but one could argue that it becomes a movement when the costs of non-participation are greater then the cost of participation. Or, at least when there is no cost to participation. We find that in a lot of social movements in the United States. At some point the cost of being against women voting became much higher then the cost of being for it, or at least being indifferent. Perhaps the same could be said of opposition to gay rights, civil rights, marijuana legalization and other big changes.