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"Don't Be a Fleet
Rubbernecker... " |
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"Don't Be a Fleet
Rubbernecker... " |
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Rubberneckers! Argh! If I have one pet peeve about rush hour traffic, it is those drivers who slow down, stare at whatever happens to be on the side of the road, and in turn slow down traffic to an irritating crawl. Here in South Carolina, we call those people Rubberneckers. And, well, the act of "rubbernecking" drives me absolutely nuts! (Now, what does this have to do with Starfleet? Just wait...) Twice this week, my commute to work has taken twice as long as it normally should because of these Rubberneckers. See, rubbernecking is contagious. One person does it, then the next, and before you know it, the entire Interstate has become a parking lot. See, in Charleston, SC, it shouldn't take 35-40 minutes to go 5-7 miles. That may be normal in your big city, but here, that's not the norm. So, my normal 19 mile commute of 25 minutes ends up taking 50 minutes, and well, I end up being late to work, And this doesn't make me very happy. So, I have a whole slew of rubberneckers to be upset with. See, these rubberneckers this week (on two separate days) decided to stare at broken down cars on the side of the road... well off the side of the road. No danger of hitting these disable vehicles existed (unless you like to drive in the emergency lane). No horrific wrecks caused these vehicles to be disabled. No police lights, no sirens, no bodies sprawled in the highway, no jaws of life were present on the scene. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Yet, these rubberneckers decided to slow down to about 20 mph to look at the pretty cars that wouldn't start. I mean, granted, I've been known to glance on very rare occasions at a serious accident, but disabled cars just don't do it for me. Normally, I fly by in my 97 Mustang at recommended speeds. But, I certainly don't stop and cause a traffic tie-up that impedes progress. And the really sickening aspect of all this that the second you get passed the road-side distraction, traffic immediately begans to flow normally. So, due to some folks who can't leave well enough alone (How nice, a car on the side of the road, Mildred), a whole slew of people get inconvenienced. Time and gas are wasted. Keep it moving folks.... Cars break down all the time. Looking at it won't make it start again or change that flat tire. Now, what does this "rubbernecking" rant have to do with Starfleet? Well, the same principle applies in our organization. Oftentimes, a small disturbance, one individual, or a minor irritation grab people's attention away from the primary objective. Folks suddenly tend to fixate on a minor issue and in turn draw others into a slowdown of events that impede overall progress. I've seen this happen in chapters, in regions, and in fleet. It's infectious. For example, someone gets a new position on a chapter, another member gets jealous and causes a wee bit of trouble. Next thing you know, the jealous person tells his friends what he thinks, they tell someone else, and well, before you know it the chapter command staff is having to deal with this issue instead of focusing on goals and projects that could accomplish more for the members and the organization as a whole. The one "rubbernecker" convinced others to rubberneck, and well, the chapter, region, whatever, suffers a crisis because of it. Progress is slowed, goals go unmet because of it. Nothing gets accomplished, or takes twice as long. Energy is expended that could be used elsewhere. I think you all know of similar experiences. It happens on chapters, on listserves, everywhere. So, before you start jumping up and down, screaming and distracting others from the objectives at hand, ask yourself, "Is this worth slowing down the traffic of fleet? Do I want to be one who starts a slowdown?" Sure, chapters, regions, and the Fleet need to be monitored, but, can't you deal with your problem or conflict without dragging others into it? Please, for the sake of progress and those others driving the highway of fleet, don't be a Starfleet Rubbernecker.
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