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

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Entries Tagged as 'Thinking'

Accelerate the Learning

October 19th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Learning is good as it leads to better performance and other beneficial things. There are tools available that accelerate learning. Let’s use those. I try to learn. Sometimes I forget to learn. Yes, fatigue clobbers my mind and I simply forget to notice things, store them, and use them. There are tools […]

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Tags: Competence · Energy · Fatigue · Growth · Humility · Improvement · Learning · Thinking · Tools

The Meeting Is Over, Now

October 12th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Once a meeting ends, the after meeting begins and the real work is done. Can we do this better? I’ve seen it a thousand times—literally a thousand times. I’ve attended that many meetings. The meeting has its agenda and participants. The meeting is conducted. We are finished. People stay in the room […]

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Tags: Adapting · Change · Learning · Management · Meetings · Thinking · Work

Ask the Next Question

October 2nd, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One basic way to think through to the end is to ask the next question. “And then what happens,” a four-year-old child’s question that is asked repeatedly. Yes, some four-year-old children have endless curiosity. That is wonderful. That is learning. Let it flourish. Adults? Sometimes we just want the meeting to end […]

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Tags: Learning · Meetings · Problems · Questions · Thinking

Not a Writer (?)

September 11th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Are you not a writer? Really. Just type the words you say. “You must understand, Dwayne, you are a writer,” several people over the years. Yes, I am cursed or blessed to be “a writer.” What do I do? I put my fingers on the keyboard and type the words that come […]

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Tags: Communication · Technology · Thinking · Tools · Word · Writing

Rehearsing for the Rehearsal

August 28th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is the meta-plan or the plan about the plan. There is the meta-rehearsal or the rehearsal for the rehearsal. There are many other meta-this-and-that. They are quite useful. My wife and I have been married since 1983 (40 years as of the writing of this post). I recall our wedding rehearsal. […]

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Tags: Learning · Management · Patterns · Planning · Practice · Process · Review · Success · Thinking · Work

Understanding What I Should Understand

July 10th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Meta understanding is understanding about understanding. This is rarely practiced. That lack of practice is perilous. I once worked with a man who had a high school diploma and nothing else as far as formal education. Still, this person rose in the ranks of government service to the level of Senior Executive […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Knowledge · Leadership · Learning · Management · Thinking

The Simplest Thing

June 12th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips New problem? Need a new solution. First, try the simplest thing. It happened again at work the other day. We have a new problem (new day, new problem). We need a new solution. What will we do? Hmmm, there are so many options. Each option with its good things and bad things […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Leadership · Problems · Process · Solutions · Thinking

Wrong People, Wrong Forum

April 10th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In order to accomplish a desired goal, first gather the right people in the right forum. Otherwise, grievous vexation will result. I have something to accomplish. How will I accomplish it? Perhaps I need others to assist. Who? How? What forum? It is easy to have too many people in the room. […]

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Tags: Decide · Design · People · Questions · Thinking

Understanding by Walking Around

March 16th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It is rare that we can understand something from one and only one perspective. We need to walk around the other sides to gain other perspectives. There is a method of describing something called the DoD Architecture Framework or DoDAF. Sometimes DoDAF is quite useful, but sometimes persons misuse it and … […]

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Tags: Communication · Design · Scale · Systems · Thinking · Visibility

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, …

February 20th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Events occur in a set order, unless they don’t. Thought is encouraged. The title is from a nursery rhyme (origin unknown by me). The third event is a baby in a baby carriage. Events occur in a set order. Breakfast-lunch-dinner. Entree then desert. Eat breakfast, then brush your teeth (or is that […]

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Tags: Design · Learning · Rest · Systems · Testing · Thinking · Work