Base Building From ScratchAn Organizing Module
Module 5 · The ladder of engagement 5.4 The 'next move' for each rung
Subsection 5.4

The 'next move' for each rung

~6 min

Reading

A ladder without scripted next moves is just a categorization scheme. Here are the moves.

Signer → Attender: within 7 days of joining, a real human texts them about one specific upcoming event. Not 'come to our meetings sometime' — 'Tuesday the 14th, 6pm, Tasha's house, 8 other renters from your block.'

Attender → 1:1 Done: within 14 days of their first attendance, the organizer or a Host runs a full 1:1. If your campaign has more new attenders than the organizer can 1:1, you have a Host capacity problem (the move is to develop more Hosts, not to skip 1:1s).

1:1 Done → Host: when the person has agreed to recruit two others and host a small gathering, you co-plan the gathering with them, attend it, debrief together. After the second successful gathering, they are a Host.

Host → Leader: enroll them in a 6-8 week leadership development cohort (Module 6). The cohort gives them the skills and the peer group to hold a leader role: facilitation, 1:1s of their own, training others.

Leader → Trainer: the person trains the next cohort. This is how the base becomes self-reproducing and survives staff turnover.

Learner action

Pick three people from your list. Write the specific next move for each — what you will do this week, by when, with what message.

Action: Complete the learner action above, then slide to continue.