Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Instead of wiggling around so we can call our efforts “AI,” let’s focus on useful and helpful software. Over a decade ago (yes, that long), I was working with a graduate student on their writing. They had difficulty describing their research to others. Their work was wonderful. They had developed a concept […]

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by Dwayne Phillips “We have a process we use here” usually means one person declared the process and that process will disappear the day the person leaves. I have recently encountered organizations where “process is everything.” I hear boasts of, “WE do it this way all the time.” In my experience of 45 years (yes, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Should we be having this meeting? Here is another test that would eliminate many meetings. Should we be having this meeting? Should all of us be sitting around a table or standing in a circle (stand up meetings are supposed to be short and necessary, right?)? Here is one type of meeting […]

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by Dwayne Phillips There are times when we do some things quietly to minimize the hurt. We should, however, decide whose hurt we are minimizing. Someone has made too many mistakes. We are dismissing the mistake maker. Let’s do it quietly to minimize the embarrassment and hurt of the mistake maker. Well, there is no […]

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by Dwayne Phillips It is only healthcare and security in old age. Not very important, huh? In the recent past, I joined Medicare (yes, I am that old). Let’s see, just go to a government website, fill in the blanks, and viola’. Well, being a technically savvy person, I did that, or tried that. All […]

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by Dwayne Phillips The aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the mountains of the east coast reminds us of a basic. Hurricane Helene hit the Gulf Coast of Florida recently. It hit the coast hard. The worst damage and the most deaths, however, occurred in the mountains up the east coast of the US. This is […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Let’s review some basics on telling another person about something they do and did that affects me and us. The basis of this post comes from consultant and writer Esther Derby. Over the years, we’ve discussed this topic, and I have learned much. I hope to pass along some of Esther’s thoughts. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Excellence is an exception. It is also a pleasant surprise. Enjoy it. Sometimes I am surprised in that I walk into a new situation with a new group of persons and, WOW, they are doing things well. Best practices, best tools, high expectations, high satisfaction. It is all here. They are well […]

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by Dwayne Phillips History is filled with great accomplishments accomplished by people who shouldn’t be able to accomplish them. While not accomplishing great accomplishments, I find that I was almost always under qualified. I read history. Some would tell me that I read and reread too much history. One item I read repeatedly is someone […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes, the better thing to do is let people do what they think is best or at least what they think is better on any given day. “We are a fill-in-the-blank organization. We use best fill-in-the-blank practices as described by fill-in-the-second-blank who described fill-in-the-blank in the seminal blog post on fill-in-the-blank,” said […]

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