Working Up

Working Up in Project Management, Systems Engineering, Technology, and Writing

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I Want People to Miss Me

January 22nd, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Much of what we pass off as complicated issues comes from something simple, the desire to be missed. I like to listen to the podcast of former Washington Post writer Tony Kornheiser. I laugh a lot while listening. Mr. Kornheiser is a big movie fan and follows the culture as he was […]

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Tags: Change · Coffee · Culture · People · Thank you · Wishes

Childhood Instructions Carried Into Adulthood

December 4th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Most of us received many instructions in childhood. Now that we are in adulthood, are we still tying ourselves to instructions meant for children? Here is something I was told as a child (and I have told many children): Look both ways before crossing the street. I still recommend this instruction for […]

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Tags: Adults · Change · Childhood · Decide · Nap · Self

The Meeting Is Over, Now

October 12th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Once a meeting ends, the after meeting begins and the real work is done. Can we do this better? I’ve seen it a thousand times—literally a thousand times. I’ve attended that many meetings. The meeting has its agenda and participants. The meeting is conducted. We are finished. People stay in the room […]

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Tags: Adapting · Change · Learning · Management · Meetings · Thinking · Work

Take Pride in the Ability to Learn

September 25th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Learning is a good thing. There are things I can do to prevent learning. Those are not so good. I don’t know it all. I do know how to learn. I do know how to recognize that I am clueless and I need to learn. Pride in knowing it all keeps me […]

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Tags: Adapting · Change · Humility · Learning

Did My Words Make Sense?

September 4th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips To write is to be misunderstood. Gosh, not very optimistic but it is realistic. We should constantly ask, “Did my words make sense?” “Never mind what it says, we know what we mean,” said an optimist about something we were reading. Yes, we did know what it meant. We read it half-a-dozen […]

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Tags: Change · Clarity · Communication · Improvement · Resources · Time · Writing

One Facilitator, Nine Teachers, and Ten Learners

August 31st, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Facilitated learning sessions offer big benefits. They are not as easy to arrange, but are much better than other methods. There are various ways to conduct classes and learning. The usual method is to have one teacher and nine students. The teacher talks, the students listen (we hope), and the students learn […]

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Tags: Adults · Change · Education · Learning · Listening · Teaching

Nip It in the Bud

August 10th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Accepting poor performance and low-quality products sets a precedent. The longer this lasts, the more difficult it is to change the situation. Comedian Don Knotts had this routine playing Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show. “Nip it in the bud,” was the punchline that was punched over and over. I still […]

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Tags: Change · Leadership · Learning · Management · Reaction

Apology

July 31st, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips An apology is just that—an apology. It is neither an explanation nor a justification. Rats! An apology is simple: I did this wrong. I am sorry for that. I ask your forgiveness. An apology does not contain an explanation: I was trying to do such-and-such and … An apology does not contain […]

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Tags: Accountability · Adults · Authentic · Change · Communication · Conversation · Error · Ethics · Excuses · Honesty

Meta Messages in Job Interviews

July 24th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Take care with the messages you send job interviewees if you really want to hire someone. Another job interview, another headache. Some organizations use this process in a job interview. There are N people sitting around the table. Each person has a sheet with N questions on it. Person #1 reads question […]

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Tags: Change · Jobs · Learning · Questions

You Would Think by Now…

June 29th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips You would think by now that we would have straightened out all this mess with computers not quite working right. Sigh. Maybe one day. Over 30 years ago, (yes, I am that old) I was loading software onto a computer via 5 1/4″ floppy disks (yes, I am that old) and… kaput. […]

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Tags: Change · Chaos · Computing · Technical Debt · Technology