Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips We “just” … Nothing is easy. We might as well describe the situation as it is. Everything is easy if someone else is supposed to do it. When I have to do it, not so easy. Yet, we describe things as easy. We’ll just do this and that and be done with […]

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by Dwayne Phillips If I work directly for you, I will do as you say. If, however, your are three or four levels distant, meh. A number of years ago I wrote about the information thermocline. Bureaucracies tend to reduce the flow of information as it attempts to pass from the top to the bottom. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips In addition to hearing the message, pay attention to the meta-message. A few years ago, I wrote here about stop listening—cautiously—and start teaching. This current post regards stop listening to the individual words; pay attention to the meta-message or the message about the message. Someone comes to me with anger. They don’t […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Technology enables us to fake photos and videos. We can make anyone appear to say and do anything. Preventing such is quite simple. Someone makes a deep fake video of me saying and doing something I neither said nor did. How do I disprove it? “You know me. You know I wouldn’t […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Perhaps we can find enjoyment anywhere at any time. It is worth the attempt. Several years ago I had several conversations with the late Jerry Weinberg, one of the best computing consultants we ever had. Jerry told me about how he played golf. Jerry started playing the game most familiar to everyone. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes the way to accomplish more sooner is to acknowledge the person and wait until later. A short but true story: We were short of persons in one particular skill category at work. Work piled up. We were waiting, mostly impatiently. Finally, a new person arrives in that skill category. All of […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Pulling information from colleagues can sometimes seem like pulling teeth. Why don’t they tell me what they are doing? Because “they” can’t read “my” mind. They don’t know what I feel is important today, what my boss is pinging on me for today. I have to ask. I have to pull the […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Recognize special days. And when we starting looking, we will notice there are a lot of special days. Today is Christmas. I work with a lot of people who don’t recognize December 25th as a special day. They have other days that are special in their culture, their childhood, their family. I […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We thank the person. We comment on the product. And we let everyone know that is what we do here. Persons accomplish the work in endeavors. Persons use tools, sometimes they are really cool and expensive ones, but persons ultimately accomplish the work. The outcome of the work is a product (sometimes […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Is this real? Is this a fake? Sometimes politicians and other childlike creatures show a firm grasp of the obvious. Mr. Trump did this recently with a comment about writing a note on paper and having it hand delivered. Aside from security, there is the attribute of authenticity. authentic: adjective, of undisputed […]

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