Getting individuals to articulate their needs and the possibilities they see and crating relationships that knit individuals into powerful groups is the core of the IAF's [Industrial Areas Foundation] work. Cortés lays out the principles underlying the organization's methods in his response to a college student who asked what 'motivates people to support a cause with actions as well as words':     ' When I hear your question, what I think you're really saying is, "How can I convince people to do what's good? How do I get them to do what's right? How do I get them to follow my agenda?" That's not organizing. What I mean by organizing is getting you to recognize what's in your best interest. Getting you to recognize that you have a child, that you have a career and a life to lead, and that there are some things that are obstacles to the quality of your life. I need to get you to see how you can affect those things through relationships with other people.' p 16

'No permanent allies, no permanent enemies' is a core principle. p 19

"I learned a long time ago that anxiety is contagious." Sister Judy Donovan, qtd p 29

...the willingness of those in power to open the doors to citizen influence rather than protect their 'turf' is a critical element of the social-capital story. p 248

Using the social-capital lens allows us to see that in each of these cases the supposed inefficiency actually is essential for creating the virtuous circles of human connectivity that are basic to the organization's effectiveness and that have valuable spillover effect beyond the group itself... the 'process' is crucial to the product. pp 270-271