05 / Attention
Signal & Noise
Keep what changes the answer.
A WAY TO LOOK AT IT
A shorter answer is not automatically a clearer one. A useful summary preserves the detail that could change a decision and leaves the open questions visible. Here, a fine red thread comes out of a field of fragments: something worth following, with the surrounding noise still in view.
A precise thread emerging from a field of fragments.PUT IT TO WORK
Keep what could change the plan.
When reading notes, look for decisions, owners and unresolved questions. If a summary invents an owner or makes an uncertainty disappear, it has lost the part that matters.
AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
Start with
“The meeting was about a workshop next month.”
Make it useful
Explore this workflow“30 people. Budget: $1,500. Maya: agenda by Friday. Leo: venue comparison. Still open: venue, date and catering.”