Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Knowledge comes with age. Older colleagues don’t need to be taught some things that younger ones do. There are, however, times when you want older colleagues to attend events that are not necessary for them. Explaining the reasoning makes attendance easier. I’m in my 50s. I know much more than people in […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips People attend meetings. People make decisions in meetings. Two days later, people rarely agree on what they agreed on in the meeting. This doesn’t have to be the norm. I lived through one agonizing week a few years ago because notes were taken in a meeting, but they were not done visibly […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips On Internet coffee shops and my preferences for such. I frequently visit places that sell coffee and have Internet WiFi service. On a regular weekday, I will usually visit two of these places. There are several personal and professional reasons for this habit, but that is not the subject of this post. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Organizations tend to highlight their differences. The differences set them apart in the marketplace. Concentrating on the differences also can dim thinking. Perhaps it is good enough to merely be good enough. In my experience, organizations tend to highlight what makes them different from all other organizations. They concentrate on the differences. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Managers and leaders should encourage their colleagues. Sometimes the well of compliments runs dry. There is, however, one fundamental compliment that is always appropriate. I was wandering through a new, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable place hoping to find something on which to anchor myself. Then I heard someone call my name. All was […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Adjectives describe our work and the results of our work. Hence, our worked is judged by the adjective. More to the point, our work is described by the person who selects the adjective. ad·jec·tive n.   Abbr. a. or adj. The part of speech that modifies a noun or other substantive by limiting, […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips The familiar is comfortable. The comfort, however, sometimes hides risk and impending doom. Take care. I have been on the road for two weeks walking mostly through rural Alabama. This weekend I am in Tuscaloosa. This is a university town, so it differs from most of the places I have been. I […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Customers don’t always act like responsible customers. Managers don’t always act like responsible managers. This is the real world, and often less-than-adult behavior exists. Sometimes you soothe people by giving them something they really want, even if it isn’t good for them. Here is a true story. I was the engineer. I […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips A recent manager wrote his thoughts in the air with his finger. There was some good, some bad, and some annoyances with this habit. But, as with most things people do, there was plenty to learn. I worked on a short project recently where the project manager wrote in the air. To […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Handwriting is not dead. It lives on despite the computer age. Cursive, however, is on the way out, and I for one am happy to see it go. (Start writing comments about how bad a person I am) Time magazine mourns the death of handwriting. That is a nice headline, but I […]

[Read more →]