What?
You search? You would multiply yourself by ten, by a hundred? You seek
followers? Seek zeros! -- Friedrich Nietzsche
There
is a mantra among organizers that there are two types of power in the
world: money and people. Activists will never have the financial resources
that bless giant corporations or flush-with-money political parties
- but, we will always have access to the second form of power: people.
So
our quest becomes, then, to organize individuals into collective action
to counter the entrenched power that is causing so much suffering and
destruction.
Hence,
as Nietzsche says, our goal is to get zeroes: start with one and turn
that to ten, and those ten create a group of 100, and on until even
the juggernaut of entrenched corporate power cannot stop us.
The
key to this is simple, lies in a single phrase: you as a campus coordinator
- or someone at any level of a citizen organization - must organize
yourself out of a job.
Organize
yourself out of a job! Delegate every project and every task to
a volunteer, empower and train those volunteers, and sit back and watch
- picking up those who fail, giving those who succeed even more responsibility.
The
ultimate ideal is to create an organization that runs itself, where
others are running major projects, making key decisions, empowering
new volunteers. You can create a machine - and watch it work activist
magic.
Of
course, you will never reach this perfect state. There is always more
to do: more volunteers to train, more campaigns to win, more empowerment
to spread around. But, the closer you get to not having anything to
do as the leader of a vibrant, growing group - the better a job you
can know you're doing.
So,
building on this fundamental tenet: organize yourself out of a job,
there are six basic rules to effective organizing:
1.
Recruitment builds the movement - Remember the zeros, it will
take a critical mass of students and activists to win, but it only
takes you to recruit those individuals.
2.
Plan or die - What is your goal? Do you have concrete, measurable
goals? Who are you targeting in a campaign? Why should they listen
to you? How are you actually going to achieve your goals? What is
your timeline? If you can address these questions you will have a
chance at true success. Then, with those questions answered, you can
create a plan. Importantly, you must put your plan down on paper and
hold yourself accountable to it. Draw a diagram, make a chart, fill
up a calendar - whatever it takes for you to know exactly how to achieve
your goals.
3.
Resolve to solve - the cards are stacked against us: our opposition
has more money and a near-monopoly over positions of political influence.
We can only win with clever, tough, creative solutions. You must pull
a MacGyver on your opponents: out-think and out-work them, and all
the money in the world can't stop you.
4.
Pay as you go - You are engaging in the politics of people,
not the expensive, big-media, consultancy-driven politics of money
- but, you still will need money to run your organization. For one,
you will need to pay for photocopies, materials, and transportation
- and, second, it is crucial that you pay your chapter dues so that
the national network can continue to provide materials, trainings,
speakers, the website, and put on conventions (not to mention this
manual!). Fundraising is a great way to raise awareness about your
group and involve new students and citizens in your efforts - and
it is a must for any lasting organization.
5.
Build relationships and you build power - organizing is about
relationship building, it is a quest to turn connections between individuals
into coordinated collective action. It is not easy, but it is perhaps
the most rewarding project of human life - and the one way to lasting
social change.
6.
Organize people "where they're at" - not everyone is going
to have as sophisticated an analysis of the political structure as
you may. You must keep this discrepancy that in mind. The new, shy
volunteer may not want to participate in a direct action - and the
sheltered suburban kid who is passionate about the environment may
not see the connection to inner-city poverty. Take a while and listen
and remember that people are at different places in their understanding
of the world. You may have to change the way you talk about issues
- but that can only strengthen your understanding of them and help
you activate and politicize your classmates.
Build
your volunteer base! ->
