If your work feels like an uphill battle, remember this — big problems don’t have simple solutions. And the societal issues most of us are working to address are complex. But that doesn’t mean they are insurmountable. Program design is key.

I recently attended the Collective Impact Forum’s Action Summit. There were a thousand attendees in the business of change gathered for a three-day agenda packed with multiple sessions during any given hour.

Reminding your audience that immediate actions have long-term consequences is a waste. Right now is all that matters.

You trust that people are good. That they’ll do the right/smarter/better thing for themselves, for their children or grandchildren or for their neighbors if they just got the message.