Miller's Law

The proper response when someone says, "My toaster is talking to me!" is "What is your toaster saying?", followed by very careful and attentive listening.

Heh. That's from an excerpt of Language in Emergency Medicine, by Suzette Elgin. Worth a look to me because, when we think about it, being responsive to dynamic changes in business puts us all in an ER time- and decision-frame. Good info is in short supply, tensions may be high, noise levels extreme and granularity off the charts. Now go fix it/them/us!

Speaking of orientation-enhancing gut checks, how about that affinity/adaptability thing?



Via the British Medical Journal, Dec 2004 and mo bloggy places

Take it easy. You're making us look bad.

Take it easy. You're making us look bad.

"We have to walk before we can run."

Overheard that nugget being used to flog a really smart person today.

Bullshit.

Infants have to walk before they run. But they only run if their parents let them; only if those parents remember that falling and getting a boo-boo is part of growth and ambition.

But "walk before we can run" gets used by 45-year olds overseeing 30-year olds all working for 75-year old companies. Not too many diapers in those boardrooms. Just plenty of "wubbies."

No, "We" don't run because those who can grant permission--encourage the running--prefer to walk. Walking is a higher percentage endeavor in their eyes. A lower exertion one, too. Running is not their ambition, exposure makes them anxious. Horizons make them squint.

Problem is, people are hard-wired to run. And to admire the fleet of foot. And to follow them. In business and evolution, running is a primary adaptation that allowed man to climb to the top of the heap. Running ahead too far has it's dangers certainly, but those are issues of direction and purpose, not speed--running just to run, to feel or look busy, not to get somewhere. Too bad Darwin proves the "walk before we run" business people wrong. Too bad, for all of us, that what "walk before we run" people really usually mean is: I prefer camouflage to speed. And average over ambition.

Run. As soon as you can walk. You'll encounter more numerous useful experiences. You won't get eaten as easily. And you'll like who you become.