Changing the world with snowflakes (2024)

Adrienne Lever didn’t bring much experience to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. “I graduated from Berkeley, got in my car and drove to a campaign office,” Lever says of her 23-year-old self. “I just worked as a volunteer until they hired me.” She ended up as a regional director for field programs in seven states, and learned lessons she now uses to help community leaders around the world who want to bring about change.

One of the defining lessons of the 2008 Obama campaign was the effectiveness of the snowflake model of organizing. First articulated by longtime organizer and Harvard professor Marshall Ganz, the snowflake model replaces a single leader in a network with interconnected leaders, each responsible for an aspect of a campaign.

For the president’s 2008 campaign, this meant field teams at the community level engaged in different activities, such as distributing bumper stickers, collecting addresses at events,canvassing door to door, reporting to hubs at the state level that were targeting advertising, or analyzing voter-turnout data by district.

“Leadership,” Ganz wrote, “is the practice of accepting responsibility to enable others to achieve shared purpose under conditions of uncertainty.” In this model, Ganz says, leadership is a practice and not a position.

In the example below, the dark blue figures represent regional organizers who each interact with two green figures (representing community coordinators), who each interact with five community members (light blue).

Changing the world with snowflakes (1)

This is just one organizational example of a snowflake model. As with actual snowflakes, the possibilities of effective organizational models are limitless.

“People — and not just around election cycles — have been able to find power in building numbers by talking to people one person at a time,” Lever said. “By working on changing one heart and mind, you build an exponential power base, and that’s how you change your environment and your world, ultimately.”

Changing the world with snowflakes (2024)

FAQs

Is it really true that all snowflakes are different? ›

Surely, though, some snowflakes have to be exactly the same, right? Not at all! Although snowflakes are all the same on an atomic level (they are all made of the same hydrogen and oxygen atoms), it is almost impossible for two snowflakes to form complicated designs in exactly the same way.

What is the snowflake theory? ›

The Snowflake Theory simply states that some situations are so complex that no standard solutions exist for those situations. Just like no two snowflakes look the same, no two businesses are the same. No two people, no two projects and no two cases are exactly the same.

What temperature must it be in order for snowflakes to form answer? ›

Snowflakes form in clouds where the temperature is below freezing (less than 0ºC, or 32ºF). The ice crystals form around tiny bits of dirt that have been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind.

What is the rarest snowflake shape? ›

You won't find any 4-, 5-, or 8-sided snowflakes in the wild, but you may spy some 3-sided crystals. As with the 12-siders, these crystals appear along with the more common hexagonal variety. And again, their origin is still something of a mystery.

What does the snowflake symbolize? ›

The Symbolism of Snowflakes

Beyond their beauty, snowflakes also symbolize purity and the cycle of rebirth. As they journey from the sky to the earth, only to evaporate and rise again, they mirror our own potential for transformation and renewal.

What is the snowflake generation? ›

snowflake generation in British English

noun. informal, derogatory. the generation of people who became adults in or after the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations. Collins English Dictionary.

Do snowflakes have DNA? ›

The researchers took fresh snow samples at 19 locations around the globe, including Antarctica, and found DNA-containing cells in all of them. The amounts varied, with the fewest in Antarctica and most in samples from Montana and France.

Can it be too cold for snow? ›

As a general rule, though, snow will not form if the ground temperature is at least 5°C (41°F). While it can be too warm to snow, it cannot be too cold to snow. Snow can occur even at incredibly low temperatures, as long as there is some source of moisture and some way to lift or cool the air.

Has it ever snowed in Florida? ›

Has it ever snowed in Florida? Yes, it has. While snow doesn't exactly fall every year, even in North Florida, it has made an appearance, much to the delight of several residents. The first documented account of snow in Florida was reported in 1774, according to the Florida Climate Center.

Can it snow at 36? ›

But snow fans will be happy to know that while the temperature does indeed have to be 32 degrees or below for precipitation to become snowflakes, you can still experience a wintry wonderland with temperatures a little above freezing along the ground.

What is dirty snow called? ›

Snirt – Snirt is an informal term for snow covered with dirt, especially where strong winds pick up topsoil from uncovered farm fields and blow it into nearby snowy areas.

What age are snowflakes? ›

Collins defines the term as "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".

What is a fun fact snowflake? ›

Identical snowflakes have been found before and each snowflake has six sides because the molecules that make them up are hexagon-shaped. Snowflakes are not at all white. They are actually translucent, where light is reflected rather than passed through.

Is it true that no snowflakes are the same? ›

And because snowflakes are so sensitive to temperature, they often change shape as they fall to the ground, according to the Library of Congress. As a result, it would be nearly impossible for two snowflakes to experience the same history of development, making it virtually impossible for snowflakes to be identical.

Have there ever been identical snowflakes? ›

A common-used statement about snow is that two snowflakes are never alike. However, in 1988 Nancy Knight (USA), a scientist at the National Center for Atmosphere Research in Boulder, Colorado, USA, found two identical examples while studying snow crystals from a storm in Wisconsin, using a microscope.

Does every snowflake have a different shape? ›

Snowflakes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and no two snowflakes are exactly the same. To be more accurate, a snowflake is really an ice crystal. When one thinks of snowflakes, it usually is a cluster of ice crystals that are stuck together, forming a larger flake.

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