Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips If you are a leader or manager, the people who work with and for you are watching and listening. Bob Sutton recently had a blog post with the theme being, leaders get the behavior they model and tolerate Most leaders and managers understand this little concept. Most manageres even agree with this […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips On Internet coffee shops and my preferences for such. I frequently visit places that sell coffee and have Internet WiFi service. On a regular weekday, I will usually visit two of these places. There are several personal and professional reasons for this habit, but that is not the subject of this post. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Projects to reduce work, production, or consumption should reduce costs. This corresponding reduction in costs, however, rarely occurs. Instead, an increase in cost often happens. Please be attentive to what you are doing and watch for this contrary behavior. There are many things than many people want to reduce. Consider body weight. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Managers and leaders should encourage their colleagues. Sometimes the well of compliments runs dry. There is, however, one fundamental compliment that is always appropriate. I was wandering through a new, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable place hoping to find something on which to anchor myself. Then I heard someone call my name. All was […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips It seems that it is difficult to find the right type of people to hire into a project. We need people to be creative at some times and pound-it-out to do the work at other times. I found a place where we can recruit lots of such people. Saturday evening I was […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips I like to work alone. Being alone, however, brings a heightened risk. There is great value in having another person to talk to. Absent others, checklists and other reminders are helpful. I have been taking a walk this past week. I have been all alone in doing this. I won’t describe the […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Quick, read the following and agree or disagree: Smart people are wrong more often than stupid people. I believe the above is true. It seems that smart people read, study, think, and propose ideas more often than stupid people. Stupid people seem to sit around and choose-your-own-stupid-activity (e.g. watch TV, surf the […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Customers don’t always act like responsible customers. Managers don’t always act like responsible managers. This is the real world, and often less-than-adult behavior exists. Sometimes you soothe people by giving them something they really want, even if it isn’t good for them. Here is a true story. I was the engineer. I […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips People accomplish most of the work on projects. People don’t need to know every tiny detail from me. They are good at filling in the gaps themselves. Rounding off the details is fine in all work where people play a large role. I am not a mathematician – I am an engineer. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips The guitar player and inventor Les Paul died on August 13th, 2009 at age 94. He influenced my life in several ways and continues to influence the lives of others in an American family. For information on Les Paul, start at the Wikipedia article. It was the summer of 1975. I was […]

[Read more →]