[aMorePerfectUnion]

In my experience, dumb people have a knee jerk response and say, “you can’t do that.”

Smart people say, “here’s how you can do that and be in compliance.”

[blueplum]

in - a - nutshell

couldn’t have said it better

[catnipman]

“In my experience, dumb people have a knee jerk response and say, “you can’t do that.” Smart people say, “here’s how you can do that and be in compliance.””

absolutely! when i worked for medium-sized scientific research GOCO, there was a contracts specialist we all loved to work with, because no matter how far out or off-the-beaten-path some of our multi-organization agreements or contracts were, this contracts specialist would work with us to find ways to make things work ... he was the very opposite of the stereotypical bad lawyer who does nothing but tell you “no” about everything you wanted to do, and then offers no alternatives ...

[lepton]

“here’s how you can do that and be in compliance.”

---

And that’s a lot of what an advisor is for.

In a complex system, many proposals are not initially within the rules in some manner.

So is that what we’re talking about, or the implied version which is requesting something known to be illegal?

[fini]

"In my experience, dumb people have a knee jerk response and say, "you can’t do that." Smart people say, "here’s how you can do that and be in compliance."

I agree. Innovation and significant improvement depend upon people doing things "that can't be done." Some of the most significant innovations in my organization were initiated by saying "wouldn't it be great if..." or "too bad we are not allowed to do .... "

Trump is an innovator. A lot of his "wants" are probably illegal, but that does not mean he is wrong. Many laws are in place to correct a situation that does not apply anymore. This is why doing anything in the govt is slow.

[YogicCowboy]

I seldom quote my father, since he was a taciturn engineer who worked in classified material throughout his career, but he said something to me that stayed with me from childhood:

“A good general never tells his men what to do; a good general tells his men what he wants, and lets them figure out how to do it.”

Donald Trump is a general. Rex Tillerson - like Mitt Romney - is a manager. Managers are upset by generals.

I think Trump has made some major mistakes, but that is his free-wheeling, everthing-is-negotiable style as a CEO. My concern is that he has overestimated the globalist Swamp’s willingness to Do the Deal.

I think these people are more ideological and criminal than Trump credits. He lives in the real world; those lifelong apparatchiks do not.