Received a handy little book of Axioms for Organizers, by Fred Ross Sr. Great source of inspiration when you’re faced with drafting yet another mass email, or attempting to set up a Facebook group or ignite a Flickr photo petition.
Online organizing is derived from grassroots organizing, and they share many of the same tenets. A few of my favorites below.
1. An organizer is a leader who does not lead but gets behind the people and pushes.
2. Don’t waste time fighting the competition: use that time to fight the issues and win and that will take care of the competition.
3. 90 percent of organizing is follow-up.
4. A good organizer must be able to charge an issue with a supreme sense of urgency.
5. How can you move others unless you are moved yourself?
6. The organizer tries to turn each person she meets into a temporary organizer.
7. When you are tempted to make a statement, ask a question.
8. Reminding is the essence of organizing.
9. When you find “live wires” put them to work immediately. Find something they can do–any little thing–get them started and ready to do more, or you’ll lose them for the cause.
10. The way to break monotony is with motion and emotion.
11. The initial convert often determines the character of the organization.
I especially like that last one. What do you early converts look like? What inspires them? Therein lies the heart and soul of what you’re trying to build online.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: nptech, online organizing
Love the list! Very relevant beyond labor unions, for event management, voluntarism, non-profits, and of course, political parties.
Ughh that last one is a home run. Captures that old adage about knowing a person by the company he/she keeps. Yikes.
Great post, Jess.
Thanks, Eric, for adding value to this post on your own blog! (And thanks for the shout out)
Qui, great point. And with the rise of user-generated content and social media, the more powerful those early adopters and core supporters become, right? Could be a good thing, or a very bad thing, depending on who you attract.