It was he who coined the procurement mantra FIST (Fast, Inexpensive, Simple and Tiny) to "describe a particular pattern of decision making in procurement that aims to support rapid, low cost innovation".

BBC: Week ahead in committee

For Jennie and me, the decision to move there broke a pattern.

NPR: Historian Robert Satloff

Britannica said while its decision to focus on online editions was influenced by the shift in consumer pattern, the ability to update content at a short notice also played a big role.

BBC: Encyclopaedia Britannica ends its famous print edition

This concern about the Bush Administration's approach to decision-making is heightened by several previous actions -- actions that suggest a pattern of behavior of which the non-summit idea appears to be but the most recent example.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Distressing Signals On Summitry

Pattern recognition is the phrase I hear most often among VCs when describing their decision-making process.

FORBES: Silicon Valley 2.0: The Evolution Of The VC Industry

I'm wondering if that pattern of events changes the timeline at all here, quickens the need for a decision about how to intervene.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

Mr Bush's decision to side with Mr Powell and the generals over Mr Rumsfeld seems to be part of a pattern of sidelining the civilian hawks.

ECONOMIST: America and the United Nations

Mahathir's decision to leave the senior leadership largely unchanged appears to be part of a plan to enter into a holding pattern until the UMNO general assembly next year.

CNN: Stirred But Not Shaken