You hear the announcement at the beginning of priesthood meeting. The elder’s quorum president stands up and says, “Sister Hoarder is moving and she will need some help.” In this moment we all think, “What a wonderful moment to stare at the carpet.” Whether he asks for volunteers during that meeting or not the phone call will come later.

**Ring Ring**

Brother Strongback: Hello?

EQP: Brother Strongback how are you!?!?!  (Translation: Wow, somebody answered!!!)

Brother Strongback: Doing good, thanks. (Translation: Why did I answer?)

EQP: Listen, like I said on Sunday, Sister Hoarder is moving Saturday and she needs some help. We are meeting at 8 in the morning and it should not take too long. (Translation: She hasn’t packed a thing and she has an odd shaped piano.)

Brother Stongback: Sure, I’ll be there. (Translation: Another weekend down the drain.)

EQP: Great! I’ll bring donuts!!!! (Translation: My EQ budget is gone.)

What’s an elder’s quorum president to do? It’s not so much the difficulty of the task, it’s the “unknowns” of the task. Is it going to take the whole day? Will others be there to help? If the leader is able to eliminate these unknowns then you will have more people willing to help; which will lead to more people showing up; which will lead to less time the task will take.

The way around this starts with a principle normally referred to during house cleaning. It’s called the “5-Minutes Room Rescue” and it’s a wonderful tool when fighting against reluctant human nature. This technique comes from Marla Cilley who likes to call herself the Fly Lady. She is the guru of house cleaning and organization. This is how the technique works. When faced with a daunting task of cleaning a messy house set a kitchen timer for 5 minutes and then work at cleaning a room as quickly as possible.

Once the five minutes is up you are free to stop guilt free. This is designed to get you working towards something that seems unpleasant. Once you start your confidence builds and you realize 15 or 20 minutes won’t be so bad either. It tricks your lazy natural man into doing something that is easier than it appears. The hardest part is getting started or in this case the hardest part is just getting brethren to the house to help move.

So how does this technique convince more to help move Sister Hoarder? It’s all in the invite.

EQP: Hey Brother Stongback! Like I mentioned on Sunday, Sister Hoarder is moving and she needs some help from the brethren in the ward. Now listen, I don’t want to take up your whole Saturday, so all I ask is an hour of your day. If you can come for an hour you will be free to leave. We are starting at 8 and then at 9 you can head home. Does that work for you?

You have now eliminated the unknowns and he knows exactly how long he will be there. Now be sure to stick to your word! This isn’t about trapping them into a full day of moving. When they show up and the hour of their time is given, pull them aside, thank them for coming, and then send them on their way. You will be surprised how many volunteer to stay a longer now that they see the task is moving smoothly and is near completion.

As far as getting the odd shaped piano down three flights of stairs….you are on your own.

For more information on this principle please reference Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard page 129

 

***This article was originally posted on September 9, 2010 and has since been updated and featured on our the Leading Saints Podcast***

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