Working Up

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

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A Job for One

October 19th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we should assign one person. We already know that, so why don’t we do it? There is some old cliche about too many cooks in the kitchen or too many cooks stirring the pot or something. There is a a current cliche about too many people in the room I head […]

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Tags: Choose · Fear · Management · Meetings · People · Work

Nothing In, Nothing Out

July 16th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A curious cousin to Garbage In, Garbage Out is the database curse of Nothing In, Nothing Out. If you are old enough, you have heard of Garbage In, Garbage Out. When we put bad data into a computer, the computer crunches the numbers a produces more bad data. In recent years, I […]

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Tags: Excuses · Fear

Drive Out Fear

July 21st, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If a workplace is full of fear, nothing else matters. Drive out the fear. I recently attended a presentation where the topic was trust. The presentation reminded of something, i.e., it helped me re-learn what I knew: If a workplace is full of fear, nothing else matters. Years ago I worked in […]

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Tags: Fear

Becoming Something and Loved Ones

March 6th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Those people who love you the most, may try hardest to stop you from becoming something you want to become. I recently read a blog post about how your friends and relatives may try to stop you from becoming a writer.  This is not a surprise, and it does not speak badly […]

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Tags: Change · Family · Fear

So-and-so Won’t Attend

September 5th, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips That one person won’t be attending today. Everyone sighs in relief. What does that tell us? I’ve attended more meetings than most people. I have 28 years of government work to thank for that. There was almost always one or a few people scheduled to attend the meeting that I was happier […]

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Tags: Fear · Meetings · People

Blaming and Placating

August 8th, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips An incident in the cafeteria illustrates blaming and placating – incongruent stances created by a misconception of the self and the other. First, a story: A lady – a customer –  is walking through the cafeteria at work. She falls to the floor. A second lady – the cafeteria manager – runs […]

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Tags: Fear · General Systems Thinking

The War Against the Sensors

April 22nd, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Recent backlash against Google Glass is the first round in the war against the sensors. Is the first round, however, too late? The war has already been lost. Google Glass has not reached the public, but it has already been banned from here and there. The Glass wearer has a a video […]

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Tags: Fear · Greed · Privacy · Technology

Self-Esteem and Buying a Car

July 2nd, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips An experience with high self-esteem, congruent communication, and buying a car. A few years ago, my wife and I bought a new van. Our old van was ten years old, and one of our sons was about to start college. We would need a third vehicle and decided to buy a new […]

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Tags: Communication · Fear · Health

Sources of Fear

February 2nd, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We are afraid of some things. Often, however, the heart of the fear is not the stated fear. Finding the source of fear can help us cope with it. Am I afraid of heights? No, but I am afraid of falling off a tall building. Many of us have fears. There is […]

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Tags: Culture · Fear · Writing