by Dwayne Phillips People with no experience in a situation do the unthinkable. Often, the unthinkable leads to the impossible, and we want to know about the impossible. Kids do things that are just, well, I struggle to describe them as they are out of the ordinary. Here are a few examples: My oldest son […]
Entries from December 2014
Kids do the Strangest Things—So Watch
December 29th, 2014 · No Comments
Tags: General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Knowledge · Learning
Christmas 2014
December 25th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Do not take anyone in your life for granted. I am writing this post on December 2nd. Such is the wonder of WordPress and all that. It happens that Christmas Day falls on a Thursday this year, and Thursday is one of the days of the week that I post to this […]
Tags: People
When You Write Something (Anything)
December 22nd, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips When you write something (anything), also write your name and the date. This is pretty simple, but usually neglected. Always write your name and the date next to anything you write. If you are writing in a notebook with your name on the cover, it may be sufficient to write just the […]
Tags: Communication · Writing
The Sweet Spot
December 18th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Go to the optimum, then back off a quarter turn on the knob. There you are. One principle of technology and systems in general is not to operate at the extreme. Go to the extreme, but move back just a bit towards the ordinary. Odd things occur at the extremes. This behavior […]
Tags: Design · General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Systems
Communicating
December 15th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Communicating can be reduced to one simple question. Answering that question is the pursuit that inspires me. I have an idea in my head; I have a feeling in my heart. Here is the crux of communication: How can I affect the other person? I love to try to answer that question. […]
Tags: Communication · Consulting · Writing
A Writing Hierarchy
December 11th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Writing, like most endeavors and systems, has a hierarchy. There is a trade-off between resources spent and quality. I have a writing hierarchy. It has something to do with a trade-off of time and quality. My hierarchy is basically: jot on a napkin note in my journal my daybook blog posts paid […]
Tags: Writing
The Zero-th Step of Any Process
December 8th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Before doing anything else—think. Yes, this is old advice, but it still works. Process, process, process. The world uses Agile processes now. (At least those people whose job it is to tell everyone else what their organization does tells the world that they are Agile. I tend to doubt that they actually […]
Tags: Choose · General Systems Thinking · Learning · Management · Process
The Describe-a-Picture Method of Writing
December 4th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One method of writing that has worked for me is to sketch a picture or diagram and then describe it. I have used this method of writing for years. I needed the assistance of others to understand that this is what I was doing. Here is the method: sketch a picture or […]
Tags: Communication · Writing
The Question and Answer Method of Writing
December 1st, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One way to write is to first write a list of questions, set the questions some place you can see them, and answer all the questions. I continue to work with college students on their writing, and they continue to teach me. A recent assignment the students were working involved answering a […]
Tags: Communication · Education · Writing