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Working Up in Project Management, Systems Engineering, Technology, and Writing

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Entries Tagged as 'Jobs'

Our New Scapegoat

March 5th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Every now and then we need a new scapegoat, i.e., something that receives the blame for all the faults and mistakes of society. We have one. Ah, the datacenter. It is big, noisy, ugly, and raises my electric and water bills. I hate it. It is the cause of all ills in […]

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Tags: Accountability · Chaos · Computing · Datacenter · Information · Jobs · Technology · Wealth

The Middle Manager and the Entry-Level Employee

March 2nd, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The middle manager has been replaced by the entry-level employee. What? Ah, the bane of 20th century civilization—the middleman. The middleman was the person in the middle who did nothing but pass a product along from the producer to the consumer. The middleman did nothing of value, but took a good 10% […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Computing · Jobs · Management

AI, Tools, and Jobs

November 17th, 2025 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Here come new tools. Adopt them or lose your job? Probably not. Yet more recent news about big tech eliminating jobs due to AI. Or perhaps they were eliminated because those companies simply hired too many people and they weren’t doing much of anything on the job. Here are more thoughts on […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Jobs · Technology · Tools · Work

Predictable (yikes!)

October 23rd, 2025 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It isn’t flattering to understand that what I do is quite predictable. Ah these AI chattering bots—they are amazing. Type a question, they call it a prompt, in plain English and out pops answers, sometimes as long as books, in plain English. This is amazing! Well, the software looks at a bunch […]

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Tags: Analysis · Artificial Intelligence · Context · Jobs · Problems · Work · Writing

But That’s Your Job

September 15th, 2025 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Managing work and leading people isn’t easy. It is, however, the job of managers. I have recently seen several articles about the struggle to bring people back into the office two, three, or even five days a week. And there are requirements to prove that a person actually came to the office, […]

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Tags: Jobs · Leadership · Management · People · Work

AI,Jobs, and Poor Decisions

July 17th, 2025 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Replace people with AI? Cut human jobs? Deciders at companies are deciding these things. It is unfortunate, but deciders at companies have a history of choosing poorly. Replace people and their jobs with AI. Think of the benefits. Save money. Better the bottom line. And remove some of those pesky people whose […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Change · Choose · Decide · General Systems Thinking · Jobs · Management · People · Systems

Essential and Nice to Have

April 28th, 2025 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips When spending someone else’s money, there are essential things and nice to have things. Focus on the essential. I am not naive. This topic is in the news and involves politics. That can take it from general management consulting to all sorts of hyperbole and worse. Let’s try to consider something. As […]

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Tags: Accountability · Choose · Government · Jobs · Management · Money

Punctuality and Interviews

December 26th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are many ways to show respect. One is simply to be one time for interviews and other meetings. I hope to be employed by an employers by the time this post is posted. I have interviewed with many people these last six months. Some folks are courteous and respectful. Some, well, […]

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Tags: Accountability · Jobs · Meetings · Respect · Time

Trying to Hire Someone Who Already Works Here

November 21st, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I encounter this situation often when reading the Help Wanted ads (the kind we have today online). The job description and requirements are far too specific. I have experience being unemployed and trying to find a new job. I don’t like the experience, but I learn a few things now and then. […]

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Tags: Analysis · General Systems Thinking · Jobs · Thinking · Work

Of Course Middle Managers Aren’t Brilliant

January 15th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Why do we wonder why middle managers don’t seem to do anything useful. That is the definition of “middle.” We disdain the “man in the middle.” He or she doesn’t seem to do anything but cause greater expense. We disdain the middle managers. They don’t do anything but add levels to the […]

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Tags: Accountability · Jobs · Leadership · Management · Work