<p>A couple of months ago I gave a presentation about the pros and cons about docker. My expectation was that the developers would start to use tool immediately after the presentation, but it took a couple of months. It turned out that a (huge) problem was required in order to get it accepted by the team members:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>There a six services at the moment that all run in vagrant. My system
  is unable to handle it anymore. Shall we use docker? You addressed in
  your presentation that it omits an OS, that it is more lightweight
  compared to a VM so the machine will consume less resources and I will
  be able to run the services locally right?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>When it turned out that the services were now able to run, more and more developers started to use docker.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-07T08:18:10.397Z
2017-09-07T08:23:16.383Z
2017-09-07T08:23:16.383Z
030
<p>You could put the names of colleagues in a sheet and decide per individual if one is easy or hard to change, has a lot of influence and is willing to share knowledge. Start sharing the information with the one that has the highest score and try to convince him or her to convince the next one that is most likely to change.</p>

<p><strong>References</strong></p>

<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2015/03/convincing-skeptical-employees-to-adopt-new-technology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://hbr.org/2015/03/convincing-skeptical-employees-to-adopt-new-technology</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>You want people who are able to work horizontally across the
  organization and who have good communication and networking skills.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2014/09/convincing-employees-to-use-new-technology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://hbr.org/2014/09/convincing-employees-to-use-new-technology</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Identify your committed digital champions early – individuals who
  network well and can create horizontal influence to help implement
  behavior change across silos.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://gethppy.com/talent-management/convince-employees-adopt-new-technology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://gethppy.com/talent-management/convince-employees-adopt-new-technology</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Ensure that the supervisors or other employees whom the rest of the
  staff looks to for advice and leadership will show enthusiasm.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-15T22:18:39.423Z
2017-12-15T22:31:00.623Z
2017-12-15T22:31:00.623Z
030
<p>This is not docker-specific, but this general rule for evangelism applies: different audiences require different evidence.  In general, software developers (and managers from a development background) want to see it in action, so POC's with measurable outcomes are preferred.  Other disciplines and executive stakeholders may be OK with case studies and presentations before giving the greenlight; your goal is to identify which audience you're talking to, and begin to build a comprehensive argument.  </p>

<p>Start small; find one key stakeholder, and present your case using the evidence that best suits them.  Be patient; change in mature organizations is usually slow, so getting a small project up and running is a major accomplishment.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-07T16:25:35.787Z
2017-09-07T16:25:35.787Z
Stuart Ainsworth
<p>An evocative learning about innovative disruptive technology is that you might find out that <strong>not</strong> everybody is going to be excited about tools which can give you more productivity.</p>

<p>To make this question less generic, what are do's and dont's - so as they also say, <em>lessons learned</em> - of evangelizing Docker in your organization based on real experiences with different roles?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-15T22:09:09.990Z
I find out that the best reaction to low acceptance environment is leaving. When good people keep leaving, it becomes very convincing very quickly.
Jiri Klouda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-15T22:33:13.313Z
@JiriKlouda How long will you give it a try? Imagine that someone joined a company last week and sees that there is a low acceptance environment, should one leave in one week?
030
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-15T22:49:37.740Z
On any job you need 30 days to learn the environment and 30 days to try to make your first mark and larger contribution. If you were not able to make a contribution by then, you won't have the reputation to bring larger change. If you did, you can try to push on the acceptance issue, if after another 30 days you still meet with sharp resistance, start escalating up the chain one step a week all the way to CEO. If the CEO does not care about transformation, nothing will change.  Start lining up the interviews.
Jiri Klouda
<docker><culture><transformation>
How to evangelize DevOps and tools in a low acceptance environment?
Ta Mu
# How to evangelize DevOps and tools in a low acceptance environment?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-07)

An evocative learning about innovative disruptive technology is that you might find out that **not** everybody is going to be excited about tools which can give you more productivity.

To make this question less generic, what are do's and dont's - so as they also say, *lessons learned* - of evangelizing Docker in your organization based on real experiences with different roles?

**Tags:** docker, culture, transformation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I find out that the best reaction to low acceptance environment is leaving. When good people keep leaving, it becomes very convincing very quickly.  
> **username_2**: @JiriKlouda How long will you give it a try? Imagine that someone joined a company last week and sees that there is a low acceptance environment, should one leave in one week?  
> **username_1**: On any job you need 30 days to learn the environment and 30 days to try to make your first mark and larger contribution. If you were not able to make a contribution by then, you won't have the reputation to bring larger change. If you did, you can try to push on the acceptance issue, if after another 30 days you still meet with sharp resistance, start escalating up the chain one step a week all the way to CEO. If the CEO does not care about transformation, nothing will change.  Start lining up the interviews.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-09-07. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

This is not docker-specific, but this general rule for evangelism applies: different audiences require different evidence. In general, software developers (and managers from a development background) want to see it in action, so POC's with measurable outcomes are preferred. Other disciplines and executive stakeholders may be OK with case studies and presentations before giving the greenlight; your goal is to identify which audience you're talking to, and begin to build a comprehensive argument.

Start small; find one key stakeholder, and present your case using the evidence that best suits them. Be patient; change in mature organizations is usually slow, so getting a small project up and running is a major accomplishment.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-09-07. Score: 4

A couple of months ago I gave a presentation about the pros and cons about docker. My expectation was that the developers would start to use tool immediately after the presentation, but it took a couple of months. It turned out that a (huge) problem was required in order to get it accepted by the team members:

> There a six services at the moment that all run in vagrant. My system
> is unable to handle it anymore. Shall we use docker? You addressed in
> your presentation that it omits an OS, that it is more lightweight
> compared to a VM so the machine will consume less resources and I will
> be able to run the services locally right?

When it turned out that the services were now able to run, more and more developers started to use docker.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-12-15. Score: 0

You could put the names of colleagues in a sheet and decide per individual if one is easy or hard to change, has a lot of influence and is willing to share knowledge. Start sharing the information with the one that has the highest score and try to convince him or her to convince the next one that is most likely to change.

**References**

<https://hbr.org/2015/03/convincing-skeptical-employees-to-adopt-new-technology>

> You want people who are able to work horizontally across the
> organization and who have good communication and networking skills.

<https://hbr.org/2014/09/convincing-employees-to-use-new-technology>

> Identify your committed digital champions early – individuals who
> network well and can create horizontal influence to help implement
> behavior change across silos.

<https://gethppy.com/talent-management/convince-employees-adopt-new-technology>

> Ensure that the supervisors or other employees whom the rest of the
> staff looks to for advice and leadership will show enthusiasm.


---

