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Entries Tagged as 'Thinking'

Chimney, Orange, and Odd Connections

July 19th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The words “chimney” and “orange” rhyme, well, sort of, maybe not, but they are certainly connected. In English, there is no word that rhymes with “orange.” At least that is what I have read. I’m not sure about that. I have heard the same about the word “chimney,” but once again I […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Observation · Reality · Systems · Thinking · Word

Jotted Thoughts

April 26th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Is a thought expressed a complete, accurate, well considered thought or merely thinking out loud? Lots of folks express thoughts in social media these days. I define “social media” as anything that is published in any form without exhaustive peer review. Lots of folks are massacred because of some of these thoughts […]

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Tags: Communication · Listening · Thinking

Agile Nation(?)

April 22nd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Agile thought: do, learn, change, do learn, repeat. Great stuff in some situations. Not great in national policy. Someone recently noted that the Agile Manifesto was 20 years old. This was a fancy way of stating the obvious when it comes to experiments: do a little, learn a little, do a little, […]

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Tags: Agility · Change · Learning · Thinking

Why We Can’t Hire Enough Data Scientists

April 15th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Another variation of Lewis Carroll’s “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” This time we apply it to hiring data scientists. “We can’t hire enough data scientists.” At least I read that almost everyday out there on the Internet. Well, why can’t we? Here are […]

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Tags: Agreement · Certification · Data Science · Jobs · Mathematics · Thinking · Word

The Uninvested Assistant

March 18th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips When problems occur in complex online presentations, those involved struggle to fix the problems. They are invested in the presentation. That investment inhibits thinking. Always bring along an uninvested assistant. I have participated in countless ZoomerTeamer meetings in the past year. Some were simple—a daily chat with a small team of colleagues. […]

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Tags: Breathe · Fear · Judgment · Problems · Thinking

We Know More Now, So…

February 25th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The pandemic has its own phrase for the use of bad or junk science and poor thought and communication. It’s in the “news” almost everyday now. I feel it came about from the pandemic, but there are other excuses we can use. It is that phrase in the title, We know more […]

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Tags: Communication · Ethics · Science · Thinking

Don’t Try So Hard

November 9th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we are trying so hard that we fail to notice the simple and wonderful things right in front of us. Person A: I don’t see. It can’t find it. That idea, that concept, that thing that I’m trying to write. Where is it? Person B: Don’t try so hard. Person A: […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Notice · Observation · Thinking · Work · Writing

That’s Not It!

September 28th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One of the better things to do in a thinking meeting is to find things you don’t want to do. “That’s not it!” is one of the better things you can hear at a thinking meeting. For example, a few years or decades ago—I lose track—I was standing at the white board […]

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Tags: Ideas · Meetings · Success · Thinking · Visibility

Thinking Out Loud

September 17th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some persons “think out loud.” This is okay only when done properly. Some persons “think out loud.” They state a list of ideas quickly. This is a rough draft spoken instead of jotted on paper. The ideas are only partially formed and should be worked and reworked until they make sense. That […]

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Tags: Communication · Context · Thinking · Uncategorized

Silence is Complicity (not)

September 14th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We have another variation of the “silence is agreement” notion. Let’s refute that notion—again. Looking back through this blog, it appears that I have written about this topic every four years. Once in 2012, once in 2016, so I guess it is time again. This time around “silence is complicity” is being […]

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Tags: Appearances · Communication · Conversation · Justice · Respect · Thinking