Jennifer, very insightful and excellently written post!

I especially liked:
1. Quote from Tristan's post!
2. Link to NRP story: Tools Never Die. Whaddaya Mean, Never? by editor Kevin Kelly and how NPR’s science correspondent Robert Krulwich tries to prove him wrong... great examples!
3. Wonderful thought-provoking questions!

And here are some thoughts...
Question 1: What does your experience tell you about the law of diminishing returns in change management—what percentage of adopters do you need before the change will take hold?
- I help my clients with their change initiatives, and our design considers the majority of adopters, of course!  Realistically, we know that that a certain percentage will not adopt, and a certain other percentage will adopt without believing.  That is why, together, we look at all the factors that affect performance and change: Feedback/Communication (People), Tools/Processes, Incentives/Rewards, Knowledge/Skills, Capacity, &amp; Motivation!

This strategy allows us to create a plan for 100% adoption, and Plans B and C for non-adopters. The key is follow-up with the non-adopters to identify the resistance to change... my experience tells me that the more adopters you have, who really wholehearted believe in the change (and if it's done properly, this will happen), the less resisters you have (at least less verbal ones)! How many is enough?  Wish I knew the answer to that!  I think every change initiative is different, because each organization is different, along with their culture.

Question 2: And, how does a leader deal with the resisters— in a character-based way?
- With Respect, always.  Often our instinct is to "ignore" the resisters... this benefits no one.  I recommend hearing them out, having the difficult conversations, cultivating trust and collaboration, and making these resisters part of the solutions... they may make the solution that much more solid and robust... and if nothing else, they will feel heard! Critical.

Thanks for soliciting my thoughts... it was great to share!

Sonia