Amateurs Imitate, Professionals Steal

Making mistakes faster

This has been kicking around here for awhile, but having just read Aslund’s fawning blowjob for Saakashvili (that sound you hear is the knees of Atlantic Council Ukraine experts hitting the floor as they genuflect before the great man), there’s no time like recalling key points from our Ultra-Competitive Ukraine-Style Politics manifesto.

• Read only left-hand pages. Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our “noodle.” (Fear of content, summarized).

• Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

• Cher robber baron, you see, we understand that business is about living 18 months in the future, of drawing maps for lands that don’t exist.

• Never, ever let the work speak for itself. Dance, jump, perform, reference, apply yourself, your enthusiasms: stay on the other side of the looking glass. They might ask why the type is so unreadable.