VIII. T-A-B

• Time:
  Time limits all. Without time, nothing else matters. How much time you have to solve your problem determines in large part how effectively you may solve it, assuming that all your attention is totally directed at its resolution. Diversions lead nowhere. You must keep your mental focus on track.

• Appearances:
  The potential for setup is always there — natural (safety) or psychological (security, and this need not be limited strictly to humans!). You must exert precaution. You must exert self-restraint. Pause before responding to consider what you don’t see as much as what you do! Furthermore, recognize that the RIGHT decision takes into account ALL variables — past, present and future. You must respond according to how matters actually are rather than to how they might seem. Consider that there may be alternate options which you may have overlooked.

• Brainstorm:
  Rack your brain! Put your mind to work! Imagine possibilities!

IX. C-O-A-L — Fuel For Thought!

• Contradict:
  Reverse it! Flip it! Dare to differ!

• Overview:
  If you don't know with 100% certainty what might happen and how you might subsequently respond, then you don’t know what on Earth you are doing! Find someone else who does! Someone who has been trained and has experience and specialized knowledge at the situation at hand can do far more better at preparation and responding to whatever could possibly happen than someone who doesn't ... always. Any vague sense of lack of understanding on your part constitutes an enormous potential for subsequent blunder. Don't take chances! Relinquish control to someone else who doesn't share your ignorance. If you find yourself overwhelmed by all the data confronting you, wherever possible find a group of minds who may sift through it all and wring out the relevant details.^*

• Absorbed:
  To avoid all potential for mental error, you must become totally absorbed in the task of resolving the problem at hand. Just because someone who is more competent or more authoritative than you is tending to the situation, are you 100% certain that he/she/they know all that you know? Or are you lazily assuming, "They’ll figure it out for themselves.” What makes you believe that they won't overlook anything? They are human just like you. Perhaps some subtle detail needs a caring mind to recognize and point out! Perhaps the only person who cares enough to make a real difference is only you!

• Learn:
  Learn all that you can about the situation itself. Do it because you care, because you don't want anything to become overlooked, because you are concerned about all the potential consequences and all those who will subsequently bear the burden of the final choice that eventually shall have to be made. The more time, effort and energy you put into the problem's resolution, the more likely you will effectively navigate it without having to learn later what you could have... or should have... beforehand. So ... Get To It!! Time won't stand still. And Laziness Leads Nowhere!

 X. However/unless/furthermore

   Always must we remember that how accurately we may perceive a situation subsequently determines how effectively we may think about it — imagine and prepare for it. If we overlook any tiny subtlety in our initial perception, all our subsequent planning will likely prove erroneous, and we may just have to start all over again. Wrong perceptions likely lead to wrong decisions. So, the lesson is simple: Either you know everything about the situation or you don't. (What you don’t know can hurt you!) And either you can imagine everything that you don't know with the time and resources which you may have available or you cannot. As a professional decision-maker, fear and worry should become your predominant guides to all decision-making, more so than trust or confidence. Certainly at times with all that may be happening about we may find ourselves having to delegate authoritative control, but never at the expense of concern to check up on matters so as to make sure everything is indeed progressing as you had initially planned.

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   ^*Notice the careful selection of wording: relevant, not salient or fruitful. Always must we CONSIDER ALL when making decisions. If we overlook any miniscule, yet relevant, detail we may overlook an important possibility. Picking at data like a child picking at a plate of food will provide you with what you want, but not with everything you may need.
   Moreover, what safeguards do you have in place to make sure that the members of the group themselves won't overlook anything of relevance? Double-checking and triple-checking are important functions in any serious endeavor. Check to make sure!

All opinions expressed in this web site, unless otherwise noted, are my own, Michael Gaspard. If you notice any errors or have any suggestions for improvement, please let me know by e-mailing webmaster@mdpme.com. Thank you!

This web page was last updated on Monday, February 2, 2004.
http://www.mdpme.com/simple14.htm

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