Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Some of the more productive things to do in a group of persons is to talk through scenarios. No decisions, just learning.

I am a decider. I think the term from Myer-Briggs is “Judging.” Present the alternatives, decide, move on. That is what I do.

There are times, however, when it is good to talk through scenarios with a (small) group of persons. Synergy is the descriptor if such happens with a good result. If the result is bad, we have a lot of descriptors for those occasions with “just plain stupid” being one of the most used.

Paramount step zero:

Always precede non-decision scenarios discussions with something like, “We aren’t deciding what to do. We are talking through different possibilities to learn what we can learn. Decision will come at another time.”

Allow me to copy and paste the above to emphasize it:

A L W A Y S precede non-decision scenarios discussions with something like, “We aren’t deciding what to do. We are talking through different possibilities to learn what we can learn. Decision will come at another time.”

People who know me know my leanings toward decisions. They are surprised to find that sometimes I want to talk and learn instead of deciding. They assume that anything I say is a decision.

If you are “in charge” in any capacity, those around you will assume the same about anything you say. Jump up and down, shoot fireworks, write on the white board, or do anything else it takes to ensure they know that you are talking and listening (or is it listening and listening?) to learn.

The results are usually pretty good.