by Dwayne Phillips We usually build things for ourselves. We then hope that someone else will use what we build. Sometimes we adapt to doing it right; sometimes not. A recent story related how we want 80-somethings to register for and then receive the virus vaccine. “All you have to do” is go online and… […]
Entries from March 2021
Build for Us, Hope They Might Use It
March 29th, 2021 · No Comments
Tags: Design · General Systems Thinking · People · Systems
The Next (Logical) Question
March 25th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The path to solution is often found in the next (logical) question. Person A: How much will this cost? Person B: I don’t know? Person A: When will you know? Person B: Uh, I don’t know that either? Person A: What will you need to do so that you know? Person B: […]
Tags: Ideas · Learning · Planning · Questions
We May Never See 2024
March 22nd, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Three years from now may never come. “I don’t want to be ‘locked into’ company A because company B may have a better offering in three years. We need to be able to shift to company B.”—a well-meaning advisor. In three years, the world may be different. Let’s remain agile. Let’s keep […]
Tags: Agility · Clarity · Expectations · Planning
The Uninvested Assistant
March 18th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips When problems occur in complex online presentations, those involved struggle to fix the problems. They are invested in the presentation. That investment inhibits thinking. Always bring along an uninvested assistant. I have participated in countless ZoomerTeamer meetings in the past year. Some were simple—a daily chat with a small team of colleagues. […]
Tags: Breathe · Fear · Judgment · Problems · Thinking
Building Products or Building Infrastructure
March 15th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Are we making a product or making a product that allows others to make a product. Are we making a product that will allow us to make a product, but we spend so much time on the first that we never make a product? I see this often. People aren’t building products. […]
Tags: Lifecycle · Patterns · Process · Purpose · Work
The Bad Thing about TED Talks
March 11th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Every now and then, someone shows how well you can do something. In rare situations, everyone else improves. Most of the time, however, not so much. I like to watch TED talks. They are so goooooood. Twenty minutes. Every sentence full of content. Just enough visuals, but not too many. Relevant topics. […]
Tags: Communication · Expectations · Expertise · Improvement · Leadership
The Winner is…
March 8th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The “winner” will be declared by fallible persons with prejudices and favorites (just like us). Surely we can do better than this. Right? Surely, all us smart people can put our heads together and create a better community, a better consensus. Alas, not this year. We’re all working from home, at least […]
Tags: Change · Leadership · Learning · Listening · Management
Standing on My Own Shoulders (?)
March 4th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I am pretty good at standing on the shoulders of others. Can I learn to stand on my own shoulders? I am pretty good at standing on the shoulders of others’. 1 Someone else works, works, and works to arrive at something. Whew. They are exhausted. 2 I read it. Aha! How […]
Tags: Analysis · Growth · Ideas · Learning
Let Me Explain Myself, Then I Might Understand Myself
March 1st, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There is much good in the act of sitting down with another person and explaining to them what I think I am doing. It isn’t always easy to explain to another person what I am about to do. It is, however, a good use of time. That act usually shows me what […]
Tags: Communication · Concepts · Ideas · Talk · Visibility