If this is the case, and you've got a hard core group who will simply say no no matter what, then you need to play the leverage game, because nothing will happen if you don't.

What will happen is you'll start a drive, and as soon as the greybeards see that it's getting momentum and might go someplace, they'll start to say soothing things and pretend to go along. As soon as the opportunity permits, and it looks like the peasants are putting away their pitchforks, they'll engineer some way to back out of it.

If you're serious, you need to collect the cards and press to test until the signatures are on the line that is dotted. Otherwise nothing at all will change.