Generally Right, Specifically Wrong
I enjoyed a phrase used today in a session i attended: we are ‘generally right, specifically wrong’. I’ve heard it before, but i enjoyed the context today, in an organisation figuring out how to be excellent in a new space. A humility to recognise that the picture is incomplete: that the frame is generally right, but the details are likely to be wrong.
Of course, specificity, the detail, is where the devil lies, so perhaps the trick here is to retain an ability to reframe the general space as well, if the detail requires. If we hold the notion that we are ‘generally right’ for too long, it may throw us off course.
Another context is that not everything we need lies in a specific solution: there is something about a generalised capability being at the heart of a cultural fluidity, at the heart of innovation.
But, ultimately, i enjoyed the stance: an intent, a course of action, but a fluidity and willingness to learn how to be right.
People development | Learning tech | Learning transformation | School governance
7 年I like this and having spoken with friends wondered are you equally as likely to be specifically right and generally wrong?
Principal Consultant - Chief Learning Experience
7 年I generally do not dwell too deeply into nuances like this but the context here is interesting and makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing.