Occupy Wall Street: what went wrong and what could have been done differently

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement started in 2011. It attracted media attention pretty quickly, though initially the US media did not pay much attention to the movement. I was in Hong Kong back then, and I could hear it on the news on a daily basis. Almost two years has passed, and I do not know what they have accomplished apart from the 1% vs 99% message.

According to their website, the original idea was to end the greed and corruption of the 1% by adopting the Arab Spring tactics. Apparently the goal has not been achieved. Instead, according to surveys conducted in 2011, people viewed the movement as public nuisance. I personally think the movement could have made a bigger impact by having a plan, and incorporating the following.

Clear call to action: ok, so I agree with the 99% vs 1% key message, but what do I do next? No, I don’t know what I am supposed to do next. OWS should really have thought about what they expect ordinary citizens to do after attracting media attention.

Follow up: similar to the article, I totally agree creating noise is only the first step, it is more crucial to follow up and create real changes. Creating quotable quotes, assigning a strong spokesperson, creating strong visuals, liaising with the media,  liaising with the government, managing the social media presence, managing the logistics for the occupation, and everything else that affects the OWS movement.

Planning: OWS was not really an organized event at the beginning, and it certainly did not have a PR team. The structure of the protest also meant they did not have a leader. Unfortunately, a leader is crucial for liaising with different stakeholders, pulling everything together, assigning tasks to different people, and seeing things through.  They would not have a plan unless it is an organization with funding support whether through donation or sales.

Measureable goals: measureable goals are crucial for success. How can you know whether you have done a good job without setting goals at the beginning? For OWS to gain any success, goal setting is mandatory.

OWS could have been a success. Perhaps it is not too late to sit down, gather their thoughts, and move on with a real strategic plan from this point onwards.

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