While the Occupy Wall Street movement is hanging in there, they haven’t made a real difference. The biggest press they seem to be getting focuses on arrests.  Tuesday night, Occupy Oakland had over 100 people arrested in a clash with police. This seems to be the norm as local police departments have decided enough is enough.

The problem with the movement is not what they are against.  I don’t like the abuses of Wall Street bankers who lose billions of dollars and then are rewarded with huge bonuses.  That said, I do like greedy people running our economy because they are what makes free enterprise work.  As in all things, it’s about finding balance.

The Occupy Movement has spread from Occupy Wall Street to Occupy Oakland. It has even spread to Europe. It has been expansive, but it has not been effective. The problem is not their cause, but their lack of solutions. It’s OK to be against something, but it takes more than anger to create effective change. People can agree with “I don’t like this or that”, but they need a “let’s do this” to get behind something. In other words, “against” only stops something for a short time at best. If a solution is not adopted, then the old behavior will reemerge. Getting people to nod their heads in agreement is not the kind of dialog it takes to drive change.

Your company can make the same mistake if you aren’t careful. Definitive and narrow statements can draw agreement, but not engagement. Your job is to create and sustain a dialog where people join you. Be sure you are communicating a solution that will draw people into your product or service. Have a strong voice for the solutions your product offers. Don’t just be a voice against your competitors or some problem. Be and communicate a solution worth talking about and joining. That’s what real progress looks like – it looks like a dialog of progress.

“Occupy Wall Street” is a phenomenon that can happen in any business that quits listening to its employees or customers.  When people feel frustrated trying to give feedback to someone, they will resort to alternative methods.  The “Occupy Wall Street” movement is a great example of this.  This has been a spontaneous, organic, and soon effective, protest against the bankers people feel have led the country into the financial mess we are in now.

Regardless of the merits of their case or the culpability of the bankers, the problem is that people have something to say and they feel no one is listening.  The attitudes that are driving this grassroots uprising are arrogance and indifference.  No leader can sustain the attitudes indefinitely before the law of the invisible hand comes to life and people react.

Right now, you need as many engaged employees as you have, offering life saving discretionary efforts to your business. When the feedback loop is broken, employees will become disengaged and that can lead to active disengagement, which can kill your hopes of surviving the present economy. Check to see if you are listening and if you are not sure, get help fast.  People know you can’t always do what they want.  They just want to know their opinion matters to you and that you will listen to them. Tip: Most often, your feedback loop in broken in middle management; so get on it!