Deep thoughts and irony

I’m just putting the finishing touches to a new Requirements Dialogue Sheet for a trial run this week with some guinea pigs (see my Dialogue Sheets update blog last October for more about this). And something thought provoking has come up I want to share.

If you’ve seen my dialogue sheets you will know that around edges I place quotes: some humorous, thought provoking, some (hopefully) inspiring and a few all three! As I edit this sheet two quotes have come next to each other and it is making me thing.

From Sergey Brin, of Google fame:

"It's important not to overstate the benefits of ideas. Quite frankly, I know its kind of a romantic notion that you're just going to have this brilliant idea and then everything is going to be great. But the fact is that coming up with an idea is the least important part of creating something great. It has to be the right idea and have good taste, but the execution and delivery are what's key"

And from Leo Trotsky, of Russian revolution fame:

"Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies."

Then add in another Trotsky quotes from his time as Commissar for Foreign Affairs:

"We will issue a few revolutionary proclamations to the peoples, and then shut up shop"

The interplay of the quotes interests me. (If only Trotsky had had Brin’s advice!)

For those who know a little about the history of these two men there is an added depth.

While you think about that, if anyone would like to volunteer to test one of the new requirements dialogue sheets please get in touch.