by Dwayne Phillips Fail fast, fair early is a mantra in today’s knowledge work. Sometimes, however, we are confused about what is a failure. Fail fast, fail early! (Some persons say it the other way around and mean the same thing.) The idea is simple: Try something Learn something Adjust Go back to step 1. […]
Entries Tagged as 'Improvement'
Fail Fast, Fail Early (at what?)
September 21st, 2020 · No Comments
Tags: Engineering · Experiment · Failure · General Systems Thinking · Improvement · Learning · Practice
Energy to the End
November 14th, 2019 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Fatigue still wins. Every endeavor requires energy to the end. Every step receives the same resources. In any endeavor, we must exert the same energy to every step. Starting fast and waning with fatigue will not suffice. For example, in writing, I should apply the same full energy to… every page every […]
Tags: Commitment · Energy · Improvement
The Dry Run
April 15th, 2019 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes the best thing to do is practice once or twice. The object of the exercise is not good performance; it is learning. The “dry run” is a term that comes from the performing arts. It is basically a rehearsal. Practice the thing a few times. Simple enough. What we tend to […]
Tags: Dry Run · Improvement · Learning
Rejoice when the Minions Revolt!
April 4th, 2019 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Those who are supposed to do what I say are revolting. Rejoice. I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. When I was 21, I was clueless at work. I had no idea what I was doing or was supposed to do when I walked in the building in the morning. These older […]
Tags: Improvement · Influence · Learning · Management · Teaching
Behold the Marvel of the Crease
February 25th, 2019 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips No new materials. A simple pressing. Structure appears. Value from almost nothing. This is a primary task of a manager (and the rest of us). Fold something. Press the fold. It becomes a crease. And now there is a structure that has strength and increased utility. And how did that happen? A […]
Tags: Analysis · Change · Concepts · Improvement · Management
Guilt-Free Improvement
June 18th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I like to improve. I find most persons like to improve. Let’s do better with less effort and less time. Pretty good goal, but how do we reach that without stomping on persons? Process improvement. I like that. Lots of persons I know dislike it. Why? Don’t we all want to do […]
Tags: Improvement · Review
Improve What You Touch
May 28th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Confronted with a big mess? What do you fix first? What order? Try this suggestion. I once entered a job where everything was a mess. Chaos? Well, I won’t write that chaos reigned as that implies there was some order someplace. I found none. It was a mess, where to start? I […]
Tags: Analysis · Improvement · Work