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

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Entries Tagged as 'Management'

This Project vs. the BIG IDEA

August 13th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips What interests me today? The project that I am working today? Perhaps not. I know I am working on this project today, but it is just another project. Sure, I want it to succeed, but really, it’s just another one. What really interests me is finding the BIG IDEA. That thing that […]

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Tags: Ideas · Management · Work

This isn’t Technical, It is Managerial

July 2nd, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I am a person working technology. That is my identity. Oh wait, maybe not. Yikes. Am I involved in management? Probably. DevSecOps is the current buzzword among those of us who write computer programs. It is an abbreviation for combing development, security, and operations. It is all sorts of technical things that […]

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Tags: DevOps · Management · Technology

I Hope Nothing Comes Up in Today’s Meeting

February 27th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is something called the “hope nothing” meeting. In it, I hope nothing comes up that causes me pain, effort, and general angst. Hope nothing meetings are pleasant, but can be deadly. I sit in meetings. People tell me things. Sometimes they tell me things that cause me work. Sometimes they tell […]

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Tags: Communication · Information · Learning · Management · Meetings

The “Get Well” Project

February 10th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is a type of project that will not only create a product, but will also cure all ills in an organization. “Get well projects” exist largely in fantasy. There is a type of project that some of us know as a “get well project.” Such are usually found in organizations that […]

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Tags: Fable · Fairy Tales · Management · Patience · Time

Micro Communicating

January 9th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It is often necessary but seldom practiced that a high-ranking person takes the time to tell everyone else what is happening and why. Let’s call this “micro communicating.” Consider what I shall call “micro communicating.” I found this practice, not the term but the practice, many years ago. An executive-level person was […]

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Tags: Communication · Management

Cost, Schedule, Performance

October 17th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are other words, but there are three basic things to consider in projects and project management, so let’s review these basics. Time goes on. We have new methods and methodologies (let’s toss in a couple of extra syllables to trick in unknowing into thinking that we are thinking), but there are […]

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Tags: Calendar · Concepts · Management · Risk · Scope

Meta-Mistakes and Management

September 16th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we can do it right the first time. Other situations render this nearly impossible. Let’s understand the difference and manage accordingly. There is an old saying that goes something like: We don’t have time to do it right, but we seem to have time to do it twice. Some say the […]

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Tags: Agility · Learning · Management · Mistakes

Looking Like I am Working

September 12th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Appearances are often deceiving. As managers, we know this, but… A long, long time ago, I was sitting in a chair against the wall in a meeting. The important persons were huddled around the meeting table discussing what important persons discuss around meeting tables. To this day, I have no idea what […]

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Tags: Appearances · Employment · Expectations · Management · Meetings

Organizing or Organi-mizing

July 25th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Organizing is pretty easy. Shuffle some squares and you have a company. Creating an organic system where persons can thrive is much more difficult. The results, however, are amazing. I made up the word “organi-mizing.” At least I think I did. I found some pages on Pinterest that had the word. So […]

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Tags: Management · People

We are Talking about This

June 17th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We are talking about this because this is what we are talking about now. The preacher—the person on TED talks, the motivational speaker, the person next to you at the bar— preaches on the topics that we talk about in the parking lot, the hall ways, the grocery store, etc. At work, […]

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Tags: Conversation · Learning · Listening · Management · Notice · People