dispatches from the new world of work

The Tale of the Toothache

"Think, then act" is the Mantra of "the strategy boys."

I've long been an "act, then think" guy.

"Ready. Fire. Aim."—Ross Perot. "How do I know what I think until I see what I say?"—E.M. Forster. "Innovation is the reaction to the prototype."—Michael Schrage, Media Lab, MIT, innovation guru.

As you might guess, I loved this quote I found on the "Thoughts" page of Forbes (04.09.07):

"'I think therefore I am' is the statement of an intellectual who underrates toothaches."—Milan Kundera

Tom Peters posted this on 04/12/07.

Comments

What's the great bit of graffiti?

To be is to do
- Descartes

To do is to be
- Sartre

Do be do be do
- Sinatra

Posted by Ron Davison at April 12, 2007 3:14 PM

I am turning away from things like "must be action oriented" or "must think things through first".
I have seen as many problems created by "just do it" as I have by the delay of "lets work it all out first"

My Mantra is: what is approporate given the circumstances and the people involved. Conciously decide how to approach something. Note this decision should only take a nano second! But do make a choice don't just default to your natural preference.

The other skill is putting the right people into the right jobs/situations - I expect a different behaviour type from an accpountant than from my creative marketing guru.

Posted by PaulH at April 13, 2007 7:03 AM

Rational thought is a mechanical/logical process. Pain is real.

Posted by Joe Marier at April 13, 2007 5:04 PM

"Ready, Fire, Aim! - but don't empty your clip before you've located where the enemy really are." [paraphrased advice from an American trainer in Iraq.]

Posted by Mike L at April 13, 2007 8:07 PM

And let's not forget the revised Shewhart Cycle of:

DO:CHECK:ACT:PLAN

DO your thing.
CHECK your results.
ACT to correct any issues.
PLAN to do some more!

http://mattcharron.com/blog1

Posted by Matt Charron at April 13, 2007 9:13 PM

I'm afraid that Milan Kundera was cribbing from an even greater bard there:

"For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently." William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act V

As so often, the greatest truth is in comedy.

Adam Lawrence
Comedian, Experience Designer
workplayexperience.blogspot.com

Posted by Adam Lawrence at April 16, 2007 9:53 AM