Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Often “plans” are merely “ideas.” Ideas suffice if they are small enough.

We have a lot of plans where I work and recreate. The trouble is, I can’t ever seem to find them. No one can produce an artifact that records the plan. Truth is, the plan is in the mind of a person.

I refer to a thing in the mind of a person as an idea. Perhaps “idea” isn’t the best term for this, but let’s go with that for now. The idea is real in the mind of the person. They know it well and can recite it at a moment’s notice.

Hence, the plan is recorded somewhere, somehow so that others can see it. The idea is in the mind of a person.

There is no problem with an idea. The person is here. The person carries the idea. The person passionately executes the idea. Fruition! Ideas as great. In my experience, they are great as long as one or two persons can carry the entire idea in their brains. Once the idea is too big for two brains, we should have a plan.

• What are all the steps to building an airport?
• What are all the concepts in a word processor?
• How does a specific search engine work?

I don’t know of any two persons who can make these ideas. They require plans. Hence, I return to my opening summary:

Ideas suffice if they are small enough. Once they are large, we should have a plan.