Like the Occupy Wall Street protesters, entrepreneurs wake up one day deciding they want change. They find work space and start getting their ideas heard. They say they’ll do whatever it takes to get their ideas, products and services into the marketplace.
In many ways, entrepreneurs and Occupy Wall Street protesters are similar:
Entrepreneurs:
• Demand independence and are often tired of feeling oppressed by their job
• Believe they can make a positive difference in the world
• Want to see their vision become reality and are willing to take risks to get there
Occupy Wall Street protesters:
• Demand our political system serve all of us, not just the rich and powerful
• Believe that Wall Street owns Washington
• Believe that their efforts will help reclaim our democracy
(http://occupywallst.org/)
They both tend to do well at getting heard and getting ideas into the marketplace. They both suffer similarly when their ideas fail them, when they are evicted or when they are forced to improve their approach. Among both groups, they may accept failure of their closely held ideas as evidence that they need to go back to the drawing board and emerge later, better suited to thrive. If they need get a job or obtain better skills, they are often willing to do that.
However, there are others who don’t accept failure as feedback that they should do revisions. Instead, they think it’s the world that needs to do the changing. They insist that any failure of their ideas represent more evidence of oppression. They want to endure in a world that hears, listens and ultimately yields to their will.
Occupy Wall Street’s latest slogan is “You can’t evict an idea whose time has come”. The Occupy Wall Street movement has to address basic questions of where the protesters will meet and sleep. Furthermore, they need to adapt and emerge with ways to get people who share their beliefs into public office. (http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/11/occupy-wall-street-0)
Entrepreneurs and Occupy Wall Street protesters must make sustainable progress or adapt before it’s too late. In the protesters’ case, they need Occupy Wall Street Version 2.0.
Please provide any thoughts or ideas in the comments section below.