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Entries Tagged as 'Ideas'

Look at a Person and Say It Aloud

January 28th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Great ideas have a different and necessary perspective when I look at another person and say the words aloud. The man with 30 years experience and accolades as an expert in his field sat across the table from me. He looked me in the eye and, before he opened his mouth, had […]

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Tags: Communication · Ideas

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

In Praise of the Sticky Note

June 11th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The Sticky Note exemplifies the temporary idea. Nothing is a useful and, at the same time, as benign as a temporary idea. I guess you aren’t supposed to write about Sticky Notes. They are temporary by nature. Hmm, temporary. Temporary things seem to ease the fears of many even though these many […]

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Tags: Change · Fear · Ideas

Great Ideas

November 13th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Great ideas are all about us. We just have to notice. Sometimes we have to assign someone to be the notice-er. There is something I have noticed about great ideas, i.e., the ideas that make our days better and make it easier to sleep at night: Great ideas come from unexpected places […]

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Tags: Ideas

Say it Aloud First (in a safe place)

October 16th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Advice on preparing to bring a concept to others. I have a great idea! I have a informed observation! I have something that others should hear or read! It’s obviously worthwhile. What should I do first? Say it aloud (in a safe place). There is something about saying the words aloud that […]

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Tags: Communication · Ideas · Learning

The Plan versus the Idea

June 1st, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Often “plans” are merely “ideas.” Ideas suffice if they are small enough. We have a lot of plans where I work and recreate. The trouble is, I can’t ever seem to find them. No one can produce an artifact that records the plan. Truth is, the plan is in the mind of […]

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Tags: Analysis · Clarity · Communication · Ideas · Planning

Everyone Agrees about That, So…

February 6th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Take great care when everyone agrees about something. Once the world was plagued with the longitude problem. Long-distance sea travel was dangerous and fraught with the great unknown, “where are we?!?!?!?” Everyone agreed on the solution to the longitude problem. Everyone, that is, except the carpenter who solved the problem. For background, […]

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Tags: Engineering · General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Observation · Science

Explaining

November 28th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes, all that is needed is to explain the other people. This may be the most difficult task in the world. Some people just don’t understand some other people. Why not? Because those are other people who are somewhere else. The two groups of people need someone who lives with one group […]

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Tags: Clarity · Communication · Differences · Group · Ideas

Top Workplace!

October 27th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The heartlessness of the common job advertisement. If you issue such ads, please consider your audience—the unemployed. Join us! …reads the job listing title. The listing continues with… As we create wonderful wonderfulness in a wonderful workplace! GREAT! When do you want me to arrive? When do I receive my first paycheck? […]

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Tags: Communication · Ideas · Work

An Idea Person

June 27th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is the great idea, then there is the great execution that brings the idea to fruition. In my experience, the idea is greatly over valued. I worked 28 years inside government. I was bombarded with examples of, “Oh, so-and-so is a great idea person. We need you to work all the […]

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Tags: Government · Ideas