It's Time To Dump The "Pick A Leader And Get In Line" Fight Against ALS

Occasionally a big light bulb turns on in my dim mind.  This week I experienced a lot of lumens as I worked in an online group trying to plant some new seeds in the fight against ALS.

People waste a lot of time and energy vying for so-called "leadership" in this fight.

When people experience ALS, it is overwhelming.  You have to pick your battles and you have to learn to trust people who can help you.   You also have the urge to make a difference.  It's a delicate equation -- trying to find your leader who has blazed trails before and trying to help the next person.

Add the whole instinct to survive which drives you to those leaders with "hope" written on their backs.

And there is a constant stream of rookie recruits.

And the disease awareness is so poor and the disease demands are so high that resources are scarce.

For years we've operated under a pick-your-leader-and-march mentality.  It hasn't exactly worked well.  Organizations and individuals vie for followers, and people in lines aren't exactly using their creative juices well.

We need to smarten up.  We need to recognize strengths and weaknesses in organizations and people.  We need to break up the lines and learn how gang up on problems and not each other.  We need to stop meandering behind leaders.

Oh, and those who think they were born to lead us need to stop spinning stories to attract followers.  Let the data speak.  We'll figure out when and where and whether to follow today.

And sometimes the one who appears to be the least among us at the back of that line has the idea or the common sense that we really need to follow today.