A lot of coordination problems require momentum.

If everyone has to decide to join at once, and everyone has a light to strong pull away from doing it, no one will do it.

There's safety in numbers.

What is leadership going to do, fire everyone?

Clearly it's just not that important.

The trick is to introduce time.

Line up the easiest, and as they join in the pull on the remaining ones will get stronger and stronger and it will get easier and easier.

You set a precedent that gets more and more strong as more and more collaborators join in.

That is, create momentum.

You can sweeten real momentum with increased perception of momentum.

Find the ones that have the least resistance, pull them in, and then keep the perception of momentum up.

Meetings that no one ever skips.

Overflowing rooms.

Newsletters that show that Something Is Happening.

Make a boundary gradient of FOMO: fear that if you don't collaborate you will be the obvious defector and will get in trouble.

"Everyone is joining in, you'll get in trouble if you're the last one in."

When building the perception of momentum, book a time too short, a room too small.

It should feel overflowing, not under-filled.

When it comes to perceptions of momentum, the relative "fit" of energy in the space allotted is more important than the absolute amount of it.