Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips The self-portrait and the disappearance of the photographer. There sure are a lot of self-portraits on the Internet. Okay, perhaps I am a little late on that observation. Everyone takes “selfies” nowadays. See someone’s photo, or more accurately their “image,” online? Can you see both of their hands? If yes, then perhaps […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Trying to balance the cost of employees with their value isn’t easy. We usually do this poorly. H-1B visas bring in labor from outside the US. Fact is, these persons are paid less. Fact is, they may speak English, but their American English is lacking. That lack hurts understanding and costs time, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We do this time and time again—hold a retreat, find great ideas, and then have a disaster. When will we learn? A bunch of us spent the weekend away discussing this and that. We came up with some great ideas that the rest of you will love! Disaster ensues. This happens time […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Our central government continues to call for technical talent while not changing the culture of the workplace. Some still believe in fairy tales. The past President spent two terms asking for tech talent from places and industries that had tech talent to come to Washington D.C. and the Federal workplace. The current […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes the best thing to do is practice once or twice. The object of the exercise is not good performance; it is learning. The “dry run” is a term that comes from the performing arts. It is basically a rehearsal. Practice the thing a few times. Simple enough. What we tend to […]

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by Dwayne Phillips For some reasons, large portions of the population believe that the person who speaks last wins the argument. He had the last word. That settles it. Does it really? Does the last person who says anything pronounce the conclusion? “Water freezes at 33 degrees F.” I can shout that over and over […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Nothing new here. Lack of planning still brings emergency responses and all sort of bad reactions. I suppose we have to be reminded of this from time to time. There are various ways to say it like: Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part or […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Those who are supposed to do what I say are revolting. Rejoice. I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. When I was 21, I was clueless at work. I had no idea what I was doing or was supposed to do when I walked in the building in the morning. These older […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Hushed voices in the workplace and what they tell us about our workplace. It happens around me—too often. Several persons near me in the great cubicle farm are talking in a “normal tone of voice.” Then the tone changes. They voices become hushed—almost whispers. My “colleagues” have something to say and they […]

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