---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the beginning the organizer's first…"
description: "\"In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.\" — Saul Alinsky"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png"
---

#  In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create…

![“In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png)

> “In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.”

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The organizer must first identify and frame problems to mobilize people for change.

**In simple terms:** Find problems to spark action.

Key Takeaway

Define the issue before acting.

Themes

activism strategy community organizing

Mood

determined critical

Type

strategic motivational

When to use this quote

- community meetings
- political campaigns
- social movements
- neighborhood planning

Key Concepts

Power dynamics problem framing collective action

Questions to Reflect On

- What problems are most urgent in your community?
- How can you ensure the issue is accurately framed?

A Different Perspective

If issues are misidentified, efforts may target the wrong problems.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [First job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-job/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem solving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-solving/)

## Related quotes

> [The organizers first job is to create the issues or problems, and organizations must be based on many issues. The organizer must first rub…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizers-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or-problems-and/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [“I had never run a campaign, but I was an organizer. My job was to create momentum by mobilizing the constituency we had, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius-williams/i-had-never-run-a-campaign-but-i-was-an-organizer-my-job-was-to/)

[Junius Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius-williams/)

> [The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the-life-of-a-particular/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Men don't like to step abruptly out of the security of familiar experience; they need a bridge to cross from their own experience to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/men-don-t-like-to-step-abruptly-out-of-the-security-of-familiar/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [The organizer must become schizoid, politically, in order to slip into becoming a true believer. Before men can act an issue must be polarized.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-must-become-schizoid-politically-in-order-to-slip-into/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-world-is-as-it-is-not-as-i-3/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [The despair is there; now it's up to us to go in and rub raw the sores of discontent, galvanize them for radical social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-despair-is-there-now-it-s-up-to-us-to-go-in-and-rub-raw-the-sores/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [From the moment the organizer enters a community he lives, dreams... only one thing and that is to build the mass power base of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/from-the-moment-the-organizer-enters-a-community-he-lives-dreams-only/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [True revolutionaries do not flaunt their radicalism. They cut their hair, put on suits and infiltrate the system from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/true-revolutionaries-do-not-flaunt-their-radicalism-they-cut-their/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [From the moment an organizer enters a community, he lives, dreams, eats, breathes, sleeps only one thing, and that is to build the mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/from-the-moment-an-organizer-enters-a-community-he-lives-dreams-eats/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-world-is-as-it-is-not-as-i/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [ I think \[ chief organizer of the Democratic Party \] it's something that I have an interest in. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-chief-organizer-of-the-democratic-party-it-s-something-that-i/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Organizer is kind of a grand term for what I was doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/organizer-is-kind-of-a-grand-term-for-what-i-was-doing/)

[Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/)

> [All my life I've been involved with racial politics. I was a Freedom Rider in the South. I was the author of books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/all-my-life-i-ve-been-involved-with-racial-politics-i-was-a-freedom/)

[Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/)

## More by Saul Alinsky

> [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

[Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

## More Beginning quotes

> [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/)

[Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/)

> [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/)

[Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/)

> [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/)

Adam Imad

> [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/)

[Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/)

> [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/)

[Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/)

> [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/)

[Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/)

> [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/)

[Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/)

> [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/)

[Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/)

> [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/)

Manae Poet Of Carisis

> [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/)

[Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/)

> [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/)

[Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/)

> [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/)

[Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/)

> [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/)

Jacklyn H Lucas

[Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Saul Alinsky"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beginning"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/saul-alinsky-3048_beginning_in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-j_1478848.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.” — Saul Alinsky",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Saul Alinsky",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In the beginning the organizer's first...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```