Working Up

Working Up in Project Management, Systems Engineering, Technology, and Writing

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Entries Tagged as 'Choose'

Hurry Up and Wait – Reframe

May 21st, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It seems we still do this old time waster – hurry up and wait. Let’s try to reframe it into something more productive and creative. I am writing this blog while waiting. I had been working feverishly on something and completed the task. Now…well, you know… Hurry up and wait Let’s see […]

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Tags: Change · Choose · Reframe

We All Want Cake (so give everyone cake)

February 6th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We seem to believe that special things are for special people. And we all want to be a special person. We can employ this idea to surround ourselves with special people. A few years ago I was at a high school track meet. There was this little girl at the concession stand. […]

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Tags: Choose · Culture

Be Prepared to be Unprepared

March 28th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I have learned that I am not capable of being prepared for everything. Hence, I have learned to be prepared for being unprepared. I often speak in front of people, lead discussions, teach classes, and generally attend meetings where people ask me questions. I am often unprepared for what people ask. I […]

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Tags: Choose · Culture · Expectations · Learning · Meetings

I Like This More Than That

February 24th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We do the things we do because we choose to do them from among all the other choices we have. These choices can be light hearted and they can be rather dark and scary. I learned a few things about myself in the past couple of weeks. For one, I like writing […]

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Tags: Change · Choose · Excuses · Observation

Dependably Undependable

November 18th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some people are undependable. Most of the time, I can choose to work with them or not. My choice can tell me much about myself. I know people who fit the title of this post. If they tell me they will be someplace at nine o’clock, I am almost certain they will […]

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Tags: Adapting · Choose · Differences · Excuses · Learning · People · Reframe

Tradeoffs

September 9th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Tradeoffs involve decisions. You choose that one thing is more important than another. This is not popular, especially in public projects. Last week I saw a post about people wanting to build high-speed train lines between cities. This would reduce automobile traffic between the cities, provide construction jobs, provide operations and maintenance […]

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Tags: Choose · Systems

More Difficult People, Reframing, and Changing Me

September 6th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In an earlier post, I discussed difficult people and reframing statements. Once again, I meet a difficult person. Once again, I can choose how frame the situation, and once again I can choose how to live and work. I worked with a different set of people this week. Some of those people […]

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Tags: Change · Choose · Reframe · Work

Location (In)Dependence

March 30th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we feel that we cannot do what we want to do unless we go somewhere else. Most of the time, however, we can do just fine right where we are physically. We merely have to move mentally and emotionally. I follow the Location Independent Professional blog and a few that are […]

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Tags: Choose · Writing

Stressful Situation – Another Reframe

March 4th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We often give power and control to our surroundings. This change of words returns those to me. I have heard it many times and said it a few times. Things like: I am under a lot of stress. This is a stressful situation. The stress here is too much. Let’s look at […]

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Tags: Change · Choose · Reframe · Writing

Magic Words: “For Now”

February 11th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Our works need not be final; we need not be finished with anything. Using a couple of magic words, we can give ourselves a choice of coming back to our work. Consider the statement: I am finished with this. Writers often say this. (I’ll use the example of writers and their writing. […]

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Tags: Choose · Magic · Writing