Page 110 - Analog Circuit Design Art, Science, and Personalities

Rod Russell

they have even one of these attributes it will be helpful. You may find that you want
to get past the idea generation phase to pull the griLzled veterans (assuming there
are any) into the act-they will be much more useful in helping you check to see
there wasn’t something you didn’t take into account when you think you have a
complete formulation. Seclude your group so it can focus on generating ideas. Before
you begin “the generating idcas session’’ with these people. make sure they all agree
to the ground rules. Failure to do so will probably result in a waste of time.

Be Careful; Ideas are Fraoile!

Making other people‘s decisions for them is strictly forbidden in these sessions,
especially for people who can “make it possible” by doing something additional or
different from what they have done before. After the session, and after you have
scrutinized the approach and dctermined that it has a chance to fly. check with those
people lo sce if there is a way to implement that which is needed. Yes. some of the
possibilities may bc unorthodox, but orthodox has already been done. ‘‘It hasn’t
been done that way before“ is not an acceptable phrase during this time. Leave at the
door all criticisms. oblique as well as candid. Encourage everyone to leapfrog, to
use the other ideas as “springboards”-to hear the possibilities in what is being dis-
cuswd as opposed to merely what the speaker, or the rest of the group. had in mind.

Make the Proposer Explain It

Now I can hear some of you saying “I don’t need any help. I can do it myself.”
Maybe you already have something in mind-great. I can’t tell you how many times
I have witriesscd or been part of somebody “explaining” how their new whur-ya-
mu-cull-it worked to great benefit when, in the form it was in, it didn’t work! If
there war a problem, they were told about it and often solved it on the spot. At the
very least, they clarified in their own mind what it was and how it worked and
what the implications were by forcing themselves to “explain” it.

Now Tear It Apart

When you have finished .‘the session” it is time to expose the ideas to the harshcst
scrutiny. Now you can unleash all those analytical skills without mercy. Do a thor-
oughjob of it. and oricc you are convinced. call in those grizzled veterans to put it
through the wringer. On the othcr hand. do not throw out ideas because of popular
conceptions about things or processes that you have not checked out for yourself or
had confirmed by those you hold in regard in that arena. You will be surprised at
how oftcn you will find that popular conceptions have no connection with reality.

Back to the Drawing Board

You may have to ioop through the “generation phase” a fcw times. each time nar-
rowing the piece of the universe in which you are looking as a result ol‘what ~’ou
learned previously. Do not fail to ask yourself at the end of each evaluation “what
havc 1 learned:’” You will sometimes be amazed at what you have learned but not
made yoursclf‘consciously aware of. Take advantage of that learning. You have put

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