by Dwayne Phillips We have a #1 response of any bureaucracy in the 21st century. Any time a bureaucracy has a flub up (technical term), the response is the same: We will address this item as we change the training. This is the #1 response to any situation in the 21st century. Gosh. At least […]
Entries Tagged as 'Thinking'
Change the Training
August 21st, 2014 · No Comments
Tags: Change · Education · Employment · Thinking
Mental Concentration and Awkwardness
August 14th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Looks are often deceiving. Especially how you look when you are concentrating. Many years ago, a college professor told a calculus class I was in something like, “People think you are wandering the campus absentmindedly when the opposite is true. You are in deep concentration.” I often find myself standing to walk […]
Want Time to Think?
June 30th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips If you want time alone to think, do something distasteful to your colleagues. They will leave you alone. A few years ago I was in a job where we had a small refrigerator of soft drinks in the office. One thing that comes from such is that someone has to refill the […]
There is a Diagram for That
April 17th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There is an old diagram that helps explain what a system does. Sometimes, these old diagrams are lost and need to be found again. Apologies to Google and the Chromecast, but it is a good example to mention. Me, i.e., old engineer: What is that? Young Engineer: It is a Google Chromecast. […]
Tags: Communication · Systems · Technology · Thinking
The Purpose of Testing
April 7th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A good test provides information—no more and no less. Let’s take a step back to the fundamentals of engineering and building things. Part of building some thing is to perform some tests on the thing. Why perform a test? The oft-cited answer is, “to show that the thing works.” Deep sigh. We […]
Tags: General Systems Thinking · Systems · Thinking
The Napkin (or Envelope)
February 17th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The napkin or envelope is still one of the best tools for the engineer or manager or fill-in-the-blank. I have a(n old-fashioned) laptop computer, a smartphone, and a tablet – and I still write notes on a napkin. Yes, I am old, that is part of the explanation. Yet, there is something […]
Tags: Design · Estimation · General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Notebook · Thinking · Writing
Six-Word Stories
November 22nd, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I try to write a few six-word stories and learn a few things. I have heard about six-word stories and stories written with only a few words. Okay, enough thinking and waiting; here are a few attempts. The window broke; I jumped out. I woke, he died, me too. The grandchildren visited. […]
Tags: Communication · Thinking · Writing
Failures at the Boundaries
August 6th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips If a system fails at one boundary, it will probably fail at another boundary. Hence, if you find a boundary failure, start looking for other boundary failures while you still have a chance at prevention instead of correction. A few years back I had a problem with my van. I couldn’t reliably […]
Knowing My Limits
June 21st, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One of the best things to know is what I don’t know. A next best thing to know is what to do when I don’t know what I’m doing. I have my shortcomings. Yes, hard to believe, but true. One of my shortcomings is admitting when a situation highlights one of my […]
Tags: Thinking
Contemplative Writing
March 1st, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Contemplative writing is a valuable practice. It is far more valuable and far less used than shallow meetings. In my 28 years working for the government, I attended countless meetings where much of nothing was discussed. I avoided far more if these meetings than I attended. Meetings are a characteristic of government […]
Tags: Management · Meetings · Process · Thinking · Time · Writing