by Dwayne Phillips This is the key to information—what separates just more data from something that enables a good choice. Of course we all want to find this. This is the stuff of basic science that most of us understand. Let’s walk through a silly example: I am gaining weight. Why? I eat 12 hot […]
Entries Tagged as 'Differences'
The Difference that Makes a Difference
November 16th, 2015 · No Comments
Tags: Change · Diet · Differences
That is for Someone Else
February 18th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Let’s be practical, but let’s still try to attain what we wish. When told that something is “for someone else,” question to motives of the person telling you that. I first encountered this practice when I was in high school. I attended a small, rural high school in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana (Loranger […]
Tags: Change · Choose · Differences
Hyperventilation, Hysteria, and Commitment
November 3rd, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Hyperventilation and hysteria are shows of emotion, not commitment. A recent post from Seth Godin reminded me of the above. I have been the victim of the “why aren’t you going berserk?” syndrome over the years. I was once reprimanded for concentrating on performing the work instead of yelling and screaming at […]
Tags: Choose · Communication · Differences · General Systems Thinking · Reaction
Be the Best – A Misguided Goal
February 20th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips “Be the Best” is a misguided goal because it is based on other people. A few years ago, I worked for a government agency who proclaimed loudly and often that it was the Best fill-in-the-blank agency in the Federal government. I tried in vain to convince people that was a misguided goal. […]
Tags: Choose · Differences · General Systems Thinking · Success
Preventing “They”
April 15th, 2013 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips “They are against us” can be prevented. They want to take away our right to… They are coming to get us. They are going to tax us. They are going to do all sorts of harm to us. Whatever the issue, whatever the time, whatever the place, we tend to find ourselves […]
Tags: Change · Communication · Differences
A Genius of America
September 10th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips America breeds misfits. These people sit in the back of the classroom and laugh. Then they grow up and invent things that no one else imagined. Part of the genius of America is that we breed misfits. These persons sit in the back of the classroom. Some of them laugh all day […]
Tags: Adapting · Differences · Fun
Some Thoughts from Germany
June 11th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips My wife and I are visiting our son in Germany. Being a good, bad Ugly American, I have thoughts that capture the entire country ( 😉 My youngest son has been teaching English in Ludwigshafen, Germany this school year. Since the year is almost over, my wife and I are visiting him. […]
Tags: Differences · Family · Vacation
Hardware, Software, and Design
August 4th, 2011 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One of the differences between hardware and software is that hardware requires some design before building begins. Software, however, can begin at any moment without design. I was a bit surprised the other day at work, but people were debating the differences between building hardware and “building” software. (I guess that is […]
Tags: Design · Differences
Identity Rules
June 6th, 2011 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips An identity rule is something that I must have or must do or must be to maintain my identity. If you violate an identity rules, you lose your identity. People have rules, I know I have my own rules. Have you ever tied the shoe laces of another adult? That would be […]
Tags: Culture · Differences · Expectations · General Systems Thinking · People
Learning How to be Smarter
March 17th, 2011 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips. I have multiplied my “smartness” in the last couple of decades due to techniques I learned from two peolple. I always wanted to be smart. Then I wanted to be smarter than that. I guess I am still working at being smarter. I recently switched to paying for Starbucks coffee using an […]
Tags: Differences · General Systems Thinking · Learning · People · Thinking