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

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Entries Tagged as 'Management'

Hardware is the New Software

May 28th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The world of computing has turned upside down. In 2001, Marc Andreesen noticed and noted, “Software is eating the world.” Here I am to notice and note, “Hardware is the new software.” Everyone wants to buy computer hardware. Prices of computer hardware are shooting upwards as demand far exceeds supply. If you […]

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Tags: Computing · Hardware · Management · Money · Software · Technology

The First Version (Sometimes Is the Best)

April 30th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips As much as we “have a better idea” and want to revise, sometimes the first version is the best. The first draft. The bane of writers of fiction and non-fiction. Let’s fix it. Okay. That’s the first version. Let’s revise as we become “smarter.” Are we always becoming smarter? Sometimes not. The […]

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Tags: Communication · Management · Publishing · Reframe · Review · Writing

Too Soon

April 23rd, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Endeavors have fine, precise adjustments. The details matter. There, however, is a time for details and fine, precise, adjustments. The early stages of work is not the time. I wish I was smarter. I wish I knew all the details and adjustments and the little factors of success at the start of […]

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Tags: Adapting · Humility · Learning · Management · Thinking · Time · Wishes · Work

Mistakes: Allowable and Not

April 2nd, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We all make mistakes. Some are allowable and some not. There is the mistake budget. We all make mistakes. The sooner we acknowledge and live that the better we will be (IMHO). Some mistakes, like typographical errors in blog posts, are embarrassing but that’s about the cost. Other mistakes, those that cost […]

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Tags: Accountability · Agreement · Government · Leadership · Learning · Management · Mistakes · Money

The Bottleneck

March 16th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips These new tools, ahem all that AI, are boosting productivity in our work. And then we hit the bottleneck and come to an emergency inducing crisis. Yesterday and today I have been using one of these new tools (some folks them AI, I don’t). I have accomplished in an hour what would […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Chaos · Emergency · Failure · Management · Tools · Work

AI, Productivity, and Choice

March 9th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some AI tools increase productivity in some areas. Okay, I’m done with this task. Now what? That choice can be vexing. I used an AI tool (won’t mention which one). I completed a two-day task in an hour. Now what? Hey boss, tell me what to do now. One answer: go to […]

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Tags: Analysis · Artificial Intelligence · Choose · Management · Time · Tools

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

Working Now

February 19th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is time later for thinking deep thoughts. Now, however, is the time to accomplish the work, now. “We could do this better”—said me, many times. I know, I know, boy, do I know. We could do this better. “Let’s do better,” is a phrase I often use at the end of […]

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Tags: Accountability · Improvement · Judgment · Learning · Management · Process · Work

I Just Thought of Something

February 9th, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I like to plan my work and work my plan. Sometimes, however, thoughts hit me and that plan gets all jumbled up. Plan for, “I just thought of something.” I like to plan and work the plan. I like process. I like procedure. Let’s do this before that. Why? The past has […]

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Tags: Change · Chaos · Management · Planning · Process · Thinking

Risk and Research

February 2nd, 2026 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It seems there is a fundamental misunderstanding about the product of research. There seems to be a misunderstanding about the product of research. I saw this article about risk in research. The idea is that researchers are often risky. Huh? Risk management asks, “What could possibly go wrong?” That is something we […]

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Tags: Knowledge · Learning · Management · Research · Risk