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

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Entries Tagged as 'Communication'

Editing Tips

August 16th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Trying to edit the writing of yourself or someone else? Especially trying to shorten the writing? Simply delete the last phrase of a sentence the last sentence of a paragraph the last paragraph of a page the last page of a chapter the last chapter of a book the last section of […]

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Tags: Communication · Writing

The Word We Choose and Use: Complaint versus Wish

August 13th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes if we change one little word to another littler word, the message is received. I write this post from a local coffee shop. I have been coming to this local coffee shop to viewing the Internet and write various things for about ten years. Every now and then, one of the […]

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Tags: Communication · Writing

Brevity, Clarity, and Explanations

August 6th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If I cannot explain something with brevity and clarity, I am not ready to explain it. Gosh, that summary is a killer. I am ready to explain something. I have this earth-changing wonderful great super-duper (note the lack of brevity and clarity) idea that the world needs to hear and implement just […]

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Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Ideas · Learning · Patience · Thinking

Oversight versus Hands On

July 30th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Another troubling thing recruiters often say. Recruiter: Oh, so you’re interested in an oversight position as opposed to hands on. Me: No, I am not looking for an oversight position. I really don’t understand what that is. Since it is your word, would you please explain it to me? Recruiter: …silence… Me: […]

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Tags: Communication · Concepts · Work

Talk to the Thing and Leave Me Alone

July 19th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Let’s not attribute to things that which belong to persons. The sign on the door read, This bathroom is out of order. Sorry! *MANAGEMENT* Just a simple little sign, and they said they were “sorry.” Who, however, was “they.” The writer of the sign was “MANAGEMENT.” (yes, that was written all uppercase) […]

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Tags: Accountability · Communication

Persons and Messages

July 2nd, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The message to a person should be the same as the message about a person. What I say to a person is the same as what I say about a person. At least it should be. In other words, I say the same thing when the person is in the room as […]

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Tags: Communication · Management · People

Hiding in the Bathroom

May 7th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Hiding from bad news is a common situation. I had to realize, however, that worse than bad news was no news. Yes, I did this. I was managing a project where I would hide in the bathroom. Everything was awful. The only place I could go and not hear terrible news was […]

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Tags: Communication · Failure · Information · Reframe

Dental School or Pulling Information

April 30th, 2018 · No Comments

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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Tags: Authentic · Communication · Conversation · Listening

Please Draw Me a Picture of This

April 16th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If we can’t provide a simple representation of a system, perhaps we have a mess and not a system. A: Can you draw me a picture of this? Something that shows how all the parts fit together? B: Uh, well, no. No one has ever asked for such. A: Well, I’m new […]

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Tags: Communication · Conversation · Systems · Technology · Visibility

The Problem Describer and the Problem Solver

April 9th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In many cases it is a bad idea to have the problem solver in the room when a problem describer describes a problem for the first time. About a generation ago, there was a movie about engineers and scientists at work in a small tech company. A couple of consultants arrive and […]

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Tags: Communication · General Systems Thinking · Problems · Time