Working Up

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

Working Up header image 4

Entries Tagged as 'Communication'

Compliant vs Compelling

January 24th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Compliant meets the minimum requirements while compelling puts some excitement into a product. Still, I would be satisfied with compliance when it comes to dishwasher delivery and installation. I ran into the phrase that inspired the title of this post one day last week. We were writing a proposal for a contract. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Expectations · Work · Writing

The MOI Model – part 4 of 3 – The Jiggle

January 17th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The MOI Model has one more part – the jiggle. Use it to restart the group when you hit the flat or descending part of the MOI curves. The MOI Model has three parts – motivation, organization, and information. Recent posts have discussed how more of these helps until we reach a […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Management

Get It Done (or not): Government vs Industry

January 13th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In my industry job, I see people making phone calls to obtain answers to questions right now. I never say that in 28 years of government. Here are some thoughts on the practice. I worked in government for 28 years. I have since worked in private industry for two years. A current […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Culture · Government · Management · Meetings

Thinking vs Talking Postures

January 10th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips People use one set of postures for thinking. There are another set of postures that make it easy for other people to hear what you are saying when you are talking. Please try to switch postures when thinking and then talking. This request is especially strong when in meeting with other people. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Meetings · People · Work

The Three (or Four) Questions

December 13th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Three questions I use as a basic framework for writing. One of the questions that people ask me about writing is: Where do you start? When asking this, they are seeking a basic framework, a place to start when they have a blank piece of paper and need to write something on […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Writing

“Oh Yeah?” The Reality Check in Writing (and everything else)

December 9th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips After writing about how to do something, apply a reality check. I write a lot. I have written several books that explain how to do things like manage projects and other human endeavors. There are lots of nice, neat formulas and techniques that I describe in the books. Towards the end of […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Management · Writing

I’ll Know It When I See It

June 10th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some people don’t know what they want until they see it. This can be agonizing for those of us who decide what we want and then do it. There is a way for the two of us to work together. The conversation usually proceeds like this: Me: You tell me what you […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Differences · People · Process

Meeting Good People

April 19th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A recent peek into the world of grad students in engineering and related fields reveals a group of people with a strong desire to work for the benefit of others. I have been working with grad students on writing. This took many months to arrange, but for the past couple of weeks […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Learning · People · Technology · Volunteer · Work · Writing

Taylor 3 3983

April 15th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The title of this post is a telephone number – the way we used to say telephone numbers. Much has changed in telephones, and much of the change is for the better. Still, we have lost a lot of our culture about telephones. The title of this post is a phone number. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Change · Communication · Culture · Technology

A National Broadband Plan

March 18th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The FCC released its National Broadband Plan this week. Sigh, where do I start with this thing? The Front Cover The PDF version that I downloaded from broadband.gov has no date on the cover. Does anyone at the FCC understand configuration management? Silly question. Go to the first line of the Preface: […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Broadband · Communication · Government