Is it time? Is it time to take a derogatory term and turn it on its head? Sure, why not; it could be fun.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot refers to the US Navy (and probably all military branches…) lexicon for the disputably obscene but clearly vulgar “WTF.” It was refreshed in my mind in an article and its comments posted on AZCentral.com on October 17, 2009. The article reported that ASU had contracted to use ‘green’ energy to power Sun Devil Stadium for the remaining home ASU football games this season. One of the astute comments used the abbreviation, at which point the AZCentral nanny filter replaced it with the safety cushion “(inappropriate term.)” The commenter, not willing to let it go at that, followed his/her post with a clarification: “(inappropriate term) = W>T-F!!??!!” The accidental punctuation got me to thinking. My initial thoughts are there on the AZCentral site thusly:
Wow, I like that: What is greater than Truth minus Fiction. That’s a deep statement… “What” represents reality – all that one knows, all that one knows that they do not know, and all that one does not know they do not know. “Truth” represents the reality one perceives, and encompasses all of one’s prejudices, perceptions, and all that one knows. Fiction represents alternative perspectives, and the perspectives of ones with whom one disagrees, as well as what one does not know they do not know. Cool!
Later that day, I was at a gathering with Ken Losch. It was through my relationship with Ken that the tri-spherical concept of ‘1) All that you know; 2) All that you know you don’t know; 3) All that you don’t know you don’t know’ was raised to a higher place in my consciousness. So, it is no surprise that the concept was again discussed in that gathering later the same day as the article and its comments was published on AZCentral.
On the 17th, though, Ken went a bit further into the philosophy of the know / don’t know spheres. He pointed out that all that you know, and all that you know you do not know, are finite, whereas all that you don’t know you don’t know is infinite. It is an elegantly logical observation, and it offers an opportunity for minds to be open to new ideas and innovation. Coincidentally, Roy McAlister was also at the gathering with Ken. He made a profound statement related to an open mind focused in the area of what we don’t know we don’t know. Roy said “Live by choice and by an agenda of activities to learn or discover new paradigms all the time.”
In which area is your thought and behavior fixed? Do you operate in the realm of what you know? One way to test yourself is to parse this statement from a Forbes 10 corporation related to a new – perhaps revolutionary – technology and determine whether it is logical, absurd, or pathetic: “If it could have been done, we’d have done it.” If you laugh or cry when you hear that representation of corporate innovation, your mind is likely open to appreciative discovery of concepts, ideas, and innovations in your sphere of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ If you laugh or cry, you might be better suited for entrepreneurship compared with a corporate job.
So, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. What is greater than Truth minus Fiction. As entrepreneurs, I propose that we dance two Foxtrots to each Tango, and we will discover an expanding reality, a bigger ‘What.’
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Tags: corporate innovation, open mind, paradigm, paradigm shift, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
This entry was posted on October 21, 2009 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Is it time? Is it time to take a derogatory term and turn it on its head? Sure, why not; it could be fun.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot refers to the US Navy (and probably all military branches…) lexicon for the disputably obscene but clearly vulgar “WTF.” It was refreshed in my mind in an article and its comments posted on AZCentral.com on October 17, 2009. The article reported that ASU had contracted to use ‘green’ energy to power Sun Devil Stadium for the remaining home ASU football games this season. One of the astute comments used the abbreviation, at which point the AZCentral nanny filter replaced it with the safety cushion “(inappropriate term.)” The commenter, not willing to let it go at that, followed his/her post with a clarification: “(inappropriate term) = W>T-F!!??!!” The accidental punctuation got me to thinking. My initial thoughts are there on the AZCentral site thusly:
Wow, I like that: What is greater than Truth minus Fiction. That’s a deep statement… “What” represents reality – all that one knows, all that one knows that they do not know, and all that one does not know they do not know. “Truth” represents the reality one perceives, and encompasses all of one’s prejudices, perceptions, and all that one knows. Fiction represents alternative perspectives, and the perspectives of ones with whom one disagrees, as well as what one does not know they do not know. Cool!
Later that day, I was at a gathering with Ken Losch. It was through my relationship with Ken that the tri-spherical concept of ‘1) All that you know; 2) All that you know you don’t know; 3) All that you don’t know you don’t know’ was raised to a higher place in my consciousness. So, it is no surprise that the concept was again discussed in that gathering later the same day as the article and its comments was published on AZCentral.
On the 17th, though, Ken went a bit further into the philosophy of the know / don’t know spheres. He pointed out that all that you know, and all that you know you do not know, are finite, whereas all that you don’t know you don’t know is infinite. It is an elegantly logical observation, and it offers an opportunity for minds to be open to new ideas and innovation. Coincidentally, Roy McAlister was also at the gathering with Ken. He made a profound statement related to an open mind focused in the area of what we don’t know we don’t know. Roy said “Live by choice and by an agenda of activities to learn or discover new paradigms all the time.”
In which area is your thought and behavior fixed? Do you operate in the realm of what you know? One way to test yourself is to parse this statement from a Forbes 10 corporation related to a new – perhaps revolutionary – technology and determine whether it is logical, absurd, or pathetic: “If it could have been done, we’d have done it.” If you laugh or cry when you hear that representation of corporate innovation, your mind is likely open to appreciative discovery of concepts, ideas, and innovations in your sphere of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ If you laugh or cry, you might be better suited for entrepreneurship compared with a corporate job.
So, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. What is greater than Truth minus Fiction. As entrepreneurs, I propose that we dance two Foxtrots to each Tango, and we will discover an expanding reality, a bigger ‘What.’
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Tags: corporate innovation, open mind, paradigm, paradigm shift, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
This entry was posted on October 21, 2009 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.