Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips
When faced with a situation on a system-building project, we can find an approach that will work. We can also find many other approaches. Do we choose the better approach or one we personally like?
Several years ago, a professional soccer player spent a few afternoons helping to coach one of my son’s soccer [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
We use process on projects. Aargh, process can be irritating and it can be precious.
We are still snowed in here in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. The main roads are clear now, but six to eight inches of snow remain in my yard. Most of us here are sick of the [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
Building systems, managing efforts, raising kids - these and many other worthwhile endeavors can be difficult. I see no good in attempting to make those things sounds easier than they are. The reframe discussed here changes the description of tasks to be attempted.
We will just…
I don’t know how many times I have heard [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
There are problems and there are methods of solving them. Given these two items, there are four cases that can define projects. Let’s consider the cases and how to avoid the more painful ones.
In some of my books I have written about projects that went astray, i.e. they were disasters with money and [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
Estimating budgets months and years into the future is difficult. I have yet to meet anyone who does it well enough to risk large amounts of anything valuable. The Excel spreadsheet calculates well enough, but it can provide a false sense of precision. Instead, I use a slide rule. The difficulty of using [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
It is possible to predict the future on projects. It is also possible to change the future on projects. Knowing this second property and how to state it can make a big difference to project stakeholders.
It is possible to predict the future. Given a system-building project that has been planned properly, you can [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
If you are a leader or manager, the people who work with and for you are watching and listening. Bob Sutton recently had a blog post with the theme being,
leaders get the behavior they model and tolerate
Most leaders and managers understand this little concept. Most manageres even agree with this little concept. Few, [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
To provide a system for users, we need to know the users. How can we know the users without being a user and forgetting about the providers?
I once worked a couple of years in an American Embassy in Africa. A constant concern at the U.S. Department of State was that its employees would [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
Analysis paralysis is where I sit and think a long time about what I should do. I recommend against such. Instead, experience has taught my that in most cases the best thing to do is one thing, and then the next, and then the next.
This has happened to me about a thousand times [...]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips
People accomplish most of the work on projects. People don’t need to know every tiny detail from me. They are good at filling in the gaps themselves. Rounding off the details is fine in all work where people play a large role.
I am not a mathematician - I am an engineer. I recall [...]

[Read more →]