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Entries from December 2010

The MOI Model – part 1 of 3 – Motivation

December 30th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The vast majority of people need some type of motivation. There is, however, a limit to  motivation that leads to effectiveness. Adding more motivation after this limit only leads to lesser effectiveness. Here are a few posts on the MOI model from author and consultant Jerry Weinberg. The MOI model comprises three […]

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Tags: Culture · Management · Observation

Rural Broadband?

December 29th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The Federal government is spending billions of dollars on rural broadband. I haven’t seen any results in my rural area of interest. Something is about to happen, but we won’t know if it is practical or affordable until after it happens. I am spending two weeks in Louisiana during the holidays. I […]

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Tags: Broadband · Excuses · Expectations · Geography · Government · Yot Dow

There are Other Ways

December 27th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are usually several ways to accomplish a given set of objectives. I find it good to consider a few of these ways before choosing one. This is an exercise to help decide what to do. I’ll write this as a conversation. Person: I am going to do X. Consultant: That’s interesting. […]

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Tags: Uncategorized

The iPad – part 0.7 – DropBox

December 23rd, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips DropBox is a service that allows storing files on the Internet. I learn that I can display and print these files from my iPad. A friend recently introduced me to DropBox. This is a web site where I can put some of my files and access them from just about any computer […]

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Tags: iPad · Technology

Government and the Fear of Efficiency

December 20th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In government, prestige is proportional to the number of people working for you and the size of your budget. Efficiency is doing the same or more work with fewer people and less budget. Hence, government managers stay away from efficiency. Here is a little-known fact about being a manager in a government […]

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Tags: Government · Management

The iPad – part 0.6 – More Printing from the iPad

December 16th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Time marches on; Apple moves forward, and printing from the iPad becomes a bit easier. I use AirPrint from my iPad. I’m a bit slow when it comes to keeping my iPad up to date. I finally moved my iPad to iOS 4.2. I guess I was supposed to do this weeks […]

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Tags: iPad · Technology

The Three (or Four) Questions

December 13th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Three questions I use as a basic framework for writing. One of the questions that people ask me about writing is: Where do you start? When asking this, they are seeking a basic framework, a place to start when they have a blank piece of paper and need to write something on […]

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Tags: Communication · Writing

“Oh Yeah?” The Reality Check in Writing (and everything else)

December 9th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips After writing about how to do something, apply a reality check. I write a lot. I have written several books that explain how to do things like manage projects and other human endeavors. There are lots of nice, neat formulas and techniques that I describe in the books. Towards the end of […]

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Tags: Communication · Management · Writing

My 2011 Personal Training Budget

December 6th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It seems to be a good idea to invest a portion of my money and time to personal training or learning experiences. Some reflection on 2010 shows that I spend much more time than money on such. Perhaps in 2011 I will pry more money from my wallet. Last year I realized […]

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Tags: Change · Learning

Associate Director of Policy

December 2nd, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I was watching Wheel of Fortune recently. It has been years since I saw that program. The contestants had their ten seconds to describe their lives including what they did for a living. One contestant was an Associate Director of Policy That is all they said – no more information. I surmised […]

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Tags: Government