Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips It is an old concept, the secretary or admin assistant, but are we misusing our resources? I remember when there where persons in the workplace called “secretaries.” I remember when we stopped using that title and started using “administrative assistant” instead. I find it unfortunate that we often have other persons now […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We like to hold really big events. What is their purpose? Who benefits? How might we do them differently? We like to hold really big events where a throng gathers and one person (who is really important) stands up in front and talks. I know we like to do this because we […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We do this time and time again—hold a retreat, find great ideas, and then have a disaster. When will we learn? A bunch of us spent the weekend away discussing this and that. We came up with some great ideas that the rest of you will love! Disaster ensues. This happens time […]

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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 […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Hushed voices in the workplace and what they tell us about our workplace. It happens around me—too often. Several persons near me in the great cubicle farm are talking in a “normal tone of voice.” Then the tone changes. They voices become hushed—almost whispers. My “colleagues” have something to say and they […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Don’t like micro managers? Who does? Beware, however, the built-in excuses of the hands-off manager. “I give you a task. I expect it to be done.”—the charge of the hands-off manager. Who wouldn’t want to work for the person above? Freedom to use my own judgement and do what I think is […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I forget the fundamental requirement of knowledge management. Maybe that was it. I recently met a person who declared that she took great joy in formatting Microsoft Word documents. She loved they way she could align everything on the page and mis-align a few things in just the right places. This person […]

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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 […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Of course no one agrees with me when we read, hear, see, etc. the same thing. We are in different places in different times while in the same place at the same time. As a kid, the most enjoyable episodes of my favorite programs were the ones where they played one scene […]

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by Dwayne Phillips It can be disappointing to admit, but if we want significant change, we must bring it about slowly. Significant change—the kind that brings big benefit over a big period of time—occurs slowly. Those two adjectives concerning change—significant and slow—appear inseparable. I don’t like that. When I have a great idea for a […]

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