4 Commit to Your People
Converge from many possible communities to your community of focus
Converge from Possibilities to Commitment
After diverging to explore a wide range of potential communities, the next step is to converge — to move from possibilities to a single, well-considered choice. This is more than selecting a study group. You’re choosing the people whose needs you’ll try to understand, whose pain you’ll explore in depth, and whose problems you aim to solve.
It’s a quiet but defining decision. Everything that follows — your discoveries, your designs, even your business model — will be shaped by this choice. If you’ve done the work of divergence well, you now have multiple promising communities in view. The goal is not to pick the one you like most or the one that feels most familiar. It’s to choose the group where your insights are likely to run deepest — and your innovation most needed.
See the Tools:
Use the Convergence Worksheet to guide your own decision-making, and review the Halo Alert Demo to see how another team narrowed their options and chose their people.
1. Compare: Spot Patterns and Weigh Possibilities
Look across your divergent shortlist. Which groups show recurring struggles, clearer friction, or patterns that seem more persistent? Which ones blur or fade as less coherent?
Fill in the table:
| Candidate Group | Recurring Frictions | Gaps in Current Solutions | Distinctiveness / Cohesion | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
For an example of how this looks in practice, see Section 1 (the “Compare” section) of the Halo Alert demo.
2. Empathize: Notice the Emotional Pull
Which groups stay in your mind? Which stories linger? Which situations create a sense of urgency or injustice?
- Group that keeps resurfacing in our conversations:
___________________________ - Why this group feels different:
___________________________________________ - Signs of empathy pull we noticed (e.g., discomfort at leaving them unserved, desire to know more):
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
For an example of how this looks in practice, see Section 2 (the “Empathize” section) of the Halo Alert demo.
3. Assess Access: Can You Actually Reach Them?
A powerful need you cannot access is not an opportunity. Confirm that your group is observable, reachable, and willing to engage.
Fill in the checklist for your top 2–3 groups:
| Candidate Group | Observable? (Y/N) | Reachable? (Y/N) | Willing to Engage? (Y/N) | Notes / Risks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
If you cannot check all three boxes, your access is too weak. Either broaden your group or return to your shortlist.
For an example of how this looks in practice, see Section 3 (the “Assess Access” section) of the Halo Alert demo.
4. Select Your People
Based on comparison, empathy, and access:
- Chosen Group:
___________________________________ - Why we chose them (patterns, empathy, access):
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remember: this choice is provisional. Evidence may pull you toward a new definition later. But for now, this is the group you’ll commit to exploring in depth.
Attachments (Optional Data Room Pointers)
- Comparison table (CSV or Google Sheet)
- Empathy reflection notes (txt, journal, or whiteboard photo)
- Access test log (doc with attempted contacts or field notes)