Working Up

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

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Entries from July 2011

Knowing Something

July 28th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I find that there are three levels of knowing something. (1) understanding (2) using (3) explaining. Take care when assuming more than we know. I know a lot of things (there are many more things that I don’t know, but that is another matter). Over the years, I have been privileged to […]

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Tags: Communication · Learning · Reframe · Work

Problems Bypassed by Time

July 25th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Many problems are solved; many others are not solved. And then there are problems that are not solved, but they just go away with time. The United States Postal Service, otherwise known by the often disdainful name of “the post office,” had a big problem. They had millions of envelopes a day […]

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Tags: Communication · General Systems Thinking · Problems · Technology · Wikipedia

Learning Stupid

July 21st, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Smart and caring people do stupid things. I do stupid things. I advocate going out and finding these stupid things. Knowing they exist helps to prevent and plan for them. There is a lot of stupid out there in the world. Otherwise smart and caring people doing things that are just plain […]

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Tags: Adapting · Change · Management

Keep Quiet About It

July 18th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One of the few things I remember learning in high school is that if I keep quiet about some privilege I have, no one minds. I guess I learned a lot of things in high school. I remember that I learned how to play a couple of musical instruments and march in […]

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Tags: Fun · General Systems Thinking

Change the World – 0.09 – The Angry Gesture

July 14th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Do you want to reduce the anger that people feel coming from you. Don’t stop shaking your fist; stop pointing your finger. Each culture seems to have its own form of an angry gesture. The one that comes to mind in my own culture is the fist. Shake a fist at someone […]

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Tags: Change · Communication · Excuses

Change the World – 0.08 – Cook a Meal and Listen

July 11th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Cook a meal, invite someone to eat it with you, and listen. I wrote about this topic earlier. I had forgotten about that earlier post until I started writing this one. I guess some ideas are harder to get out of my head than others. They keep bouncing about in my brain […]

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Tags: Change · Communication

Change the World – 0.07 – If That Doesn’t Work…

July 7th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Solutions to problems don’t always work. A person can change the world by being available to another no matter the outcome. The situation is fairly common. One person comes to another with a situation that requires some assistance. The second person provides instruction for the situation. The first person is about to […]

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Tags: Change · Problems · Time

Competent, Straightforward, and Candid

July 4th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I have met a few people who I describe as competent, straightforward, and candid. I like them. I also find that most people are off balance around them. I describe my current boss as competent straightforward candid I have worked for a few people in my life who had these same characteristics. […]

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Tags: Communication · Expectations · People

A Granddaughter

July 2nd, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Life takes a wonderful pause – my daughter-in-law gave birth to a beautiful little girl – Leah. This is the first girl born into my line of the family in about 75 years. The wait was worth it. For historical reference, see when my grandson was born.

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Tags: Family