Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

In order to accomplish a desired goal, first gather the right people in the right forum. Otherwise, grievous vexation will result.

I have something to accomplish. How will I accomplish it? Perhaps I need others to assist. Who? How? What forum?

It is easy to have too many people in the room. Lots of ideas are good, but too many ideas and scatter-brained ideas may be more harmful than beneficial. Sometimes focus is required.

It is easy to be in the wrong forum. Presentation meetings are not the place for deep thought and critical examination.

I often work in discovering concepts. That requires stating a concept, examining it, asking,

• What are (at least) three things wrong with this?
• Do those wrong things preclude the use of this concept?
• What do those wrong things point us to?
• How can we use them for better ideas?
• What is next?
• Where does this lead us?
• etc.

A room full of executives wanting three alternatives so they can decide right now is the wrong people in the wrong forum for the above.

Questions, questions, and more questions. Thinking, thinking, and more thinking. White boards, butcher paper, markers, pencil and paper and lots of erasers. Again, a board room full of executives is the wrong people in the wrong forum.

What am I trying to accomplish? Who are the right people for that? What is the right forum for that?

Questions and thought. Wait, back to the top. Who are the right people and the right forum to decide who are the right people and what is the right forum? Wait, more questions and more thought.

I should choose carefully and thoughtfully.