Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I find it good to be specific. There are, however, times when being specific limits thinking, and that is not good.

Precise, concrete, and specific: three concepts that are good for writing and communication. I try to remember these things that were burned into me in my first semester of college way back when we wrote on cave walls with rocks.

There are, however, times when being specific limits thinking, and that is not good.

• Focus on the topic at hand.
• No distractions.
• List specifically the traits of the person we want to hire!

The bullets can go on and on. Consider the last one. Let’s be specific about who we want to hire! Wait. What about other traits? What about other types of persons? What about completely different roles of a new person?

Focus. Be specific. But, what about this, that, and the other thing? What about taking a few moments to NOT be specific? What about taking a few moments to think?

Create an amount of time to think out of focus and be ambiguous. Set a timer if that helps. Create time for thinking. Think. Think of all sorts of crazy things. Scribble them on the white board or wall or computer screen. When the timer dings, go back to the specific.

Go back to the specific after thinking. Let’s do better.