Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips This is interesting to me. Is it interesting to you? interesting, adjective, something that attracts your attention, arouses your curiosity, or holds your interest because it is unusual, exciting, or engaging. It is highly subjective, meaning what is fascinating to one person may be dull to another.—Google search The answer to my […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips An old saying remains true: the later we find a mistake, the more expensive it is to fix. The later we find a mistake, the more expensive it is to fix. That is an old saying. It is still true. The saying is most-often attributed to Barry Boehm as he described it […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Influencing behavior via modeling instead of coating with chocolate syrup. I recently read an article written by a mother describing how she had her children eat vegetables. The answer applies to all behaviors that are distasteful to some persons. There is an old joke about a farmer who fed his dogs spinach. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes I can do more than my job. I can exceed and excel. I recommend caution. I read an editorial recently about newspapers. Perhaps that editorial was agreeable or not as it delved into the politics of the English language (thoughtful and fraught with peril). The topic was journalism, journalists, and journal-ing. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Yet another rant by an old man about something we used to do. etiquette: noun, the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group. Hat etiquette. See above. I am old. I still have scars from my parents and grandparents and school teachers. Take […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Experts know heuristics or “rules of thumb.” Consult these folks before attempting something of importance. Did you know that a pizza will feed three people? Did you know that you should have half the food cooked and ready to serve at a picnic before the picnic-ers arrive? Did you know that sandstone […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips The first rule of consulting involves how much improvement a consultant can suggest at a time. Recent news highlights this rule and the peril caused by ignoring it. There is an unwritten rule among smart consultants that you only suggest things that improve a situation by about 10%—no more. If you suggest […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips A different take on the technology roadmap. This story goes back some 25 years (yes, I am that old), but it still applies. There were guys trying to do a technology roadmap that was nice and linear and just right. You know, this year we are using this technology, we will move […]

[Read more →]