by Dwayne Phillips Yet another group of needless words and the search for the actual verb. I recently read something and felt my skin crawl at the same time. Something was amiss. Sigh, go back, read it again. We are requesting that you give blah blah blah. Okay, what’s wrong? This is another version of […]
Entries from May 2017
We are Requesting…
May 29th, 2017 · No Comments
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Writing
The Gig Economy, Odd Jobs with a Cool Name
May 25th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Nothing new under the sun. The gig economy meandors, and some persons get by. I’ve been mulling this post for a while. As a coincidence, The New Yorker is running a long piece on it. When I was in high school, way back in the last century, in rural Louisiana, I knew […]
Important Nonsense
May 22nd, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips When an otherwise rational person starts speaking nonsense—pay attention as something important is happening. People tell me how important a topic is to them by how they speak to me. Rational, logical, focused—nope. Not those adjectives. I am writing about important topics. When something is important, something burns inside. The heart quickens, […]
Tags: Breathe · Communication · Consulting · People
The Pre-Meeting
May 18th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The pre-meeting is one of the better techniques for holding a successful meeting. Want to have a “good” meeting, i.e., one where the outcome is to my liking? Hold a pre-meeting. Meet before the meeting. Plan what you and yours will do and say in the meeting. Plan what you and yours […]
Tags: Communication · Meetings
Change and Improve (as long as…)
May 15th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We will change and improve the situation to improve our products and services to better satisfy our customers…as long as… Change for the good is good. Hey, it is great. Notice, I am writing about change that IS going to improve our situation and WILL help us better satisfy our customers. I […]
Tags: Adapting · Adults · Change · Management
The First Few Minutes
May 11th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Be alert when first meeting someone. You first few minutes are often the most valuable. Consultant and author Jerry Weinberg once told me, “Pay attention, your customer will tell you their problem and its solution in the first few minutes.” I have found this to be true, many times. Recent examples of […]
Tags: Consulting · Customer · Meetings · Observation
The Reframe or Perhaps We have this all Backwards
May 8th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One of the more beneficial techniques I have learned is how to reframe a situation or turn it around backwards or upside down. Is it (1) the donors aren’t giving enough money or (2) the leaders aren’t inspiring the donors. I hate my boss, so I should (1) become my own boss […]
Tags: Change · Communication · Consulting · Reframe
Hate Your Boss, Be Your Own Boss (or???)
May 4th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There are alternatives to replacing your hated boss with yourself. The title of this post came to my attention recently. It was part of one of those “Give me your money and I will make your life so much better” ads. If you hate your boss, you can quit your job, start […]
Political Polarization and being Just Plain Lazy
May 1st, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I delve into politics or politicians and submit an ugly theory about polarization in American politics. American politics seem to be polarized more than in the last few generations. There are plenty of explanations and denials (see a recent New York Times story as an example). One explanation that makes a lot […]