by Dwayne Phillips Does panic create focus? Perhaps. Perhaps some of us would just rather avoid panic. I saw something silly this morning on some society media site. It read: I don’t procrastinate. I simply wait until sheer panic improves my focus, It’s a highly refined strategy that I have been perfecting for years. I […]
Entries Tagged as 'Commitment'
Panic and Focus
February 16th, 2026 · No Comments
Tags: Adapting · Agility · Chaos · Commitment · Expectations · Leadership · Planning · Work
The Writer’s Cottage
December 18th, 2025 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips “Just as soon as I build my writer’s cottage, I will write and write and write,” said no one who was actually writing and writing and writing. I am going to write and write and write. But first, I need to: I put the last bullet in the list just for fun. […]
Tags: Commitment · Decide · Design · Work · Writing
Garbage In, Garbage Out
November 20th, 2025 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One of the oldest phrases in computing is still true. Rats. Some folks thought AI would fix this. If I meant to find the sum of 2 and 3 but typed 2+4, I would have the wrong answer. Rats. Inputing the wrong information produces the wrong output. So said Charles Babbage some […]
Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Chaos · Commitment · Competence · Expertise · Humility · Technology · Tools · Work
Coming Back to It
October 2nd, 2025 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One of the great habits of highly effective persons and organizations is that they “come back to it.” “We will come back to it when we have the time,” an oft-repeated but seldom completed phrase of the well intentioned. Sigh. We will come back to this. How many times have I heard […]
Tags: Commitment · General Systems Thinking · Patience · Time · Work
Obligations
February 20th, 2025 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Other persons are not obligated to do things for me (as much as I wish). I am not obligated to do things for other persons (as much as they wish). I wish people would fulfill their obligations to me. I mean, look at what I have done for them. Surely, they will […]
Tags: Adults · Commitment · Conversation · Error · Ethics · Expectations · Technical Debt
I Will Do Less Than I Can
October 24th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The title is the hallmark of a person in a bureaucracy. Do less; just get by. I have worked in and around government agencies for four decades or more. Gosh, that’s a lot. The title of this little post summarizes the mean of the bell curve in these places. Let’s expand a […]
Tags: Commitment · Conversation · Excuses · Government · Leadership · Learning · Systems
Brute Force and Ignorance
September 23rd, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes you just lower your head against a wall and push as hard as you can. Let’s begin this little blog post by noting that I attended LSU—not MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford or any of those places known for producing really smart people. At LSU, we may not be able to spell […]
Tags: Adapting · Alternatives · Commitment · Education · Expertise · Tools
The Blank Sheet of Paper Test: Part 2
November 2nd, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Everyone claims agreement. Great. Let’s just test that statement with a blank sheet of paper. The beginning of this post is copied from a post a couple years back. Then we pick up with a different test. “We all agree on what we are to do!” claimed a person full of hope […]
Tags: Agreement · Commitment · Communication · Management · Meetings · Writing
A Place to Belong (after being isolated)
June 2nd, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Americans are coming out of isolation from our reaction to the virus. One result is a growing trend to form unions. There is a growing trend in America to form unions for workers in coffee shops, restaurants, warehouses, etc. The obvious explanation is that these places have become rich and have not […]
Tags: Commitment · Expectations · Expertise · Observation · Reaction · Remote Work · Virus · Work
The Win-Win Situation (and the loser)
December 16th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Win-win situations mean that both parties win. Great! There are, however, losers as well. We love win-win situations. Both parties in the situation leave better than they were before. Who wouldn’t like that? The loser wouldn’t. But both parties are better. What loser? Of course there is a “loser.” Of course there […]
Tags: Accountability · Agreement · Commitment