We think in pictures. If someone asks you to think of a million dollars, you think of a pile of cash or a filled out check. There might be some language written on the check ... but the language is part of a picture. There's a simple reason for this. Language isn't real. Words are an invention. We use words to represent the pictures we see in our head. People we speak to paint a picture in their head based on the words we use. Many of us don't use words well. They're … [Read more...]
The problem with the perfect plan
July 2, 2011 by
I was listening to Car Talk on NPR. Click and Clack were following up with a caller from an earlier show. The caller wanted to transport a chicken coop via the highway on a snowmobile trailer. Click and Clack told him it wouldn't work. They were right. Chicken Coop guy's perfect plan was changed in real time as they tried to implement it. They managed to move the coop with the snowmobile trailer. But not where they needed to move it. The snowmobile trailer died in town after a valiant … [Read more...]
Be the squirrel.
June 6, 2011 by
Squirrels gather nuts for the winter. There's no food in winter. The nuts are a solution to a problem. Squirrels gather solutions. They don't grab broken nuts and empty shells and bring them to their squirrel lair. They bring good, hearty nuts that will keep them fed. Most people gather problems. "The website is down." "We can't find the shipment." "The client can't meet on Friday." "The customer won't let us do that." Problems don't feed anyone. Solutions do. What do … [Read more...]
