Many a discussion on the web or in a Blog starts with a conjecture of sorts about some topic that the writer wants the reader(s) to become familiar with and eventually share as their own. This attempt to convey meaning to others is a very difficult proposition. One which I am really not very good at outside my very narrow band of experience and skills.
What I've have learned though the efforts of Dr. Chris Durney of ICF Consulting (formerly ICF Kaiser, the Kaiser in Kaiser-Hill, the other half of the LLC with CH2M-Hill, the parent firm of the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site). Chris always started out his "consulting" with us (management and team processes) with what units of measure are we speaking in? And most importantly, if you knew that piece of information or had solved that problem what would you do with it or do next?
When we (the VP team) looked at him with a blank stare, he'd suggest we go get the answer to his question(s) first and he'd come back later in the day. He had better things to do than help us figure out what our real job was. Stop taking out your brain and playing with it was his usual parting advice, I'll see you tomorrow.
All of this is tied to the new paradigm I'm embedded in - inversion of the plan. Starting with the end in mind as Covey would say. If I'm looking to learn something, categorize something, build a taxonomy, a matrix of nouns or verbs - what ever.
Let's pretend that the information fairy comes by tonight - now what??
