In my last post on movement building, I explored how movements can flail, fail, or forge ahead depending on their ability to inspire, galvanize people, and recalibrate the status quo. Today, I want to focus on the latter by turning to one of the least glamorous — but most decisive — arenas where change is forged: regulatory reform.

TL;DR / Summary

* Inspiration alone is not enough; regulatory reform drives lasting transformation.

* Through inspiration and innovation, voluntary programs raise the ceiling. Regulation lifts the floor— securing justice, safety, and equity for all.

* Historical and modern examples — from sidewalks in 19th-century London to blockchain token rules today — show what’s possible when movements claim the rules.

* Changemakers must step up, claim power, and enshrine change in law, or risk leaving the world to settle for less.

Image credit: Sonja Alphonso from Pixabay

Why most movements f(l)ail

Movements recast the world. Movements fail. The difference? Regulation.

Aspiration is fun. Thrilling. Rewarding. You feel your impact tug at collective heartstrings. Regulation? Not so much. It’s abstract. Bureaucratic. Legalese-heavy. Invisible. But it’s the engine of real impact.

Inspiration without regulation is hype that fizzles out.

Laws are leverage points. They lock in privilege — or justice. They decide who lives, who breathes, who is safe, who is blamed. Regulation is where values crystallize into practice. Where norms harden into rules. Where “should” becomes “must.”

Inspiration thrills. Regulation saves lives.

Done right, regulation is not red tape — it’s the connective tissue between aspiration and transformation.

And yet, most movements treat regulatory reform like a dusty backroom — optional, technical, irrelevant, even beneath them. Worse, many changemakers feel it’s a compromise, a sellout. Guess what? That’s exactly how privilege likes it.

We’ve done this before. You just forgot.

Regulatory reform may feel impossible. Not because it can’t be done — but because it’s been a while.

Regulation is like good lighting: we only notice it when it’s missing.

Everything we take for granted started as “impossible”:

* Sidewalks (1800s, London and Paris): mandated so pedestrians could survive commuting.

* Indoor plumbing and water standards (late 1800s–early 1900s, cities worldwide): regulated to stop cholera from taking out whole cities.

* Fire safety codes (post-Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 1911; global adoption after disasters): because apparently people like oxygen and not dying in flames.

* Fluoride in water/water quality standards: everyone benefits, regardless of income.

* Food labeling (EU, US, Brazil, South Africa): ensures that basic information is accessible to all.

* Seat belts/car safety standards (Europe, US, Japan): remove individual choice for the sake of public benefit.

* COVID-19 building ventilation standards (Singapore, Denmark, South Korea).

* Minimum wage/labor protection laws (Kenya, Mexico, India).

* AI ethics & regulation (EU AI Act, Singapore AI governance).

Once fringe ideas, these regulations quietly improve lives for billions.

And they are the legacy of movements just like yours.

Even international human rights are recent: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified after I was born. Yes, just a few decades ago, there was nothing protecting children from life’s worst harms. And now there is. Because changemakers made sure to see their ideas all the way through.

Raise the ceiling AND lift the floor

Voluntary programs — rating systems — raise the ceiling. They show what innovation and motivated self-interest can achieve. However, it is regulation that lifts the floor, enshrining the optional into law and guaranteeing a claim to justice.

Dr. Joseph G. Allen of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reminds us, “Healthy buildings aren’t a luxury. They are a right.”[i]

Optionality always favors privilege — and often punishes the unprepared.

Regulation ensures that the vulnerable aren’t crushed while the privileged get to “opt in” to perks.

If fire safety were still optional, our buildings would be casinos for gambling with our lives and the lives of those we love.

Optionality is a luxury. Regulation is justice in action, making an idea into an unassailable right.

The cop-out blocking our success

Power is, truly, scary. A movement’s fringe status blocks us from impact — but it also protects us from failure. Complaining is easy. Claiming power is hard—but that’s where transformation happens.

Common excuses available to fringe movements:

* “People just don’t care.”

* “They’d never take responsibility.”

* “The system is broken.”

Convenient. Understandable. And heartbreaking. Because as long as changemakers remain content on the sidelines, avoidable harms persist — and the world misses out on the truly irresistible future where people thrive in harmony with the planet.

Step up, and yes, you might fail. But you might also get exactly what you ask for. Isn’t that worth the risk?

At the table — but failing to show up

Name a movement, and I can guarantee there are years when it complains about not being “at the table.”

The COVID-19 pandemic offered the global “green building” movement a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Workplace safety was all the talk. Indoor environments were finally recognized as levers of public health, individual wellbeing, and economic productivity.

Seat at the table: granted.

Spotlight: on.

A movement claiming its moment? Not so much.

The mics were ready to catch what the world needed to hear. And this movement chocked.

With the exception of Dr. Allen — who shows up on all major networks educating us about the role of buildings in our health — and initiatives like the WELL Health-Safety Rating (which I had the honor of helping develop via an international Advisory Board) — the “healthy building” movement barely leaned into a system that was, for a moment, pliable before turning rigid again. Caught up in internal arguments, this movement blended into the mainstream. Stayed deferential and polite. Contented itself with tinkering around the edges instead of reshaping norms. The once-in-a-generation opportunity offered by the pandemic went largely untapped because this movement wasn’t ready for it.

Mind you, not for lack of commitment or intent. Which is why I am committed to elevating our collective ability to build movements and see them through to fruition.

The table is set. The choice is ours.

Is it possible that for fear of failure, we missed the opportunity to change the world?

That for lack of internal coordination, we ceded the floor to other agendas?

The table is set. The choice is ours. Will we rise — or stay on the sidelines and keep watching the world settle for less?

Lessons for any movement

While the “green building movement” offers an illustration, optionality — whatever the sector — only allows inequality to persist. Systems change — transformation — hinges on regulation.

* Climate justice: voluntary carbon offsets raise the ceiling; emissions regulation lifts the floor.

* Labor: anti-modern slavery pledges inspire; minimum wage and supply chain regulations enshrines fairness.

* AI / digital platforms: ethics guidelines inspire; enforceable rules protect lives.

Optional rules = optional justice. Step up, or step aside

Whatever your cause and corresponding movement, the choice remains stark:

* Complaining feels righteous, safe, moral.

* Claiming power is hard, risky, terrifying — but that’s where transformation lives.

Movements cannot have it both ways: they either profoundly impact lives or remain hapless.

The seat at the table is yours. Claim it and be prepared to argue your points. And remember to sit up straight because having the floor means that you’ve made it!

Forging Ahead

Rules are never neutral. They encode a vision of what — and who — matters. If we want a transformed future, we cannot leave that vision to others.

Real change isn’t about Twitter threads, badges, or hero campaigns. It’s about recasting the status quo so that the millions — billions — of people who never hear about your cause still benefit from your solution. And that means claiming the tools of regulation as ours. Not optional. Not a sell-out. Not specialist territory. Our responsibility as changemakers.

Think of regulatory reform as the wrapping on a gift: tying the bow, sticking the landing, putting the cherry on top. Claim it. Own it. Shape the future, or free up the airwaves.

Regulatory reform is the quiet engine of transformation. Rarely does it make headlines or inspire Instagram posts. Still, it saves lives, protects the vulnerable, and locks in justice. Inspiration without regulation is hype that fizzles out. Step up. Tie the bow. Put the cherry on top. Claim the power that others leave lying around. The table is set. The choice is ours. Will we rise — or keep watching the world settle for less?

Questions for you:

* What’s a law in your country that people once called crazy — but now you’d fight anyone who tried to take it away?Sidewalks, seatbelts, clean water… your local version?

* Be honest: what’s the real reason your movement hasn’t pushed harder for regulation? (a) Too boring, (b) Too slow, (c) Too political, (d) Don’t know how, (e) All of the above 🙃

* If you could snap your fingers and turn one of your movement’s dreams into law tomorrow, what would it be?Yes, you only get one. Sorry, no infinite-wishes loophole.

Changemakers’ Handbook is an audience-supported publication. To access all posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber and following on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

I first published an earlier version of this argument in TheFifthEstate in April, 2020.

[i] Allen, 2020, Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity.

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