Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Is faster or slower better or worse? Or is it simply different timing and rhythm? And are there advantages to changing the timing and rhythm? This past week I was in an office in a different city. Frustration, angst, and generally a lousy week of poor productivity. Just before the week ended, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Before embarking on a new database, or any new system, learn what it is we want and need. “Let’s create a database to track this,” said an eager and well-meaning person. “But,” interjected another well-meaning person, “do we know what we need or want or anything?” My livelihood has been technology. Of […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We do this time and time again—hold a retreat, find great ideas, and then have a disaster. When will we learn? A bunch of us spent the weekend away discussing this and that. We came up with some great ideas that the rest of you will love! Disaster ensues. This happens time […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I read that some “young people” don’t stay in their jobs long. They don’t want to waste their life in something they dislike. Enjoyment often requires time. No job is enjoyable the first month. Or day or week or six months. When in a new job, I don’t understand what is really […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Need a decision? Know the last possible minute. Little Me: Here is the situation. I don’t have the authority to decide the direction. Please decide. Big Boss: Not today. Little Me: But, I, we, need… Big Boss: If I don’t decide now, will we all cease to exist? Little Me: long pause…I […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we recognize our failures. Then—for some strange reason—we attempt something that will fail an order of magnitude more. We have failed to manage our $1 maintenance budget. Let’s correct this by starting a $10 development budget. We have failed to communicate in daily operations. Let’s correct this by starting a large […]

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by Dwayne Phillips In many cases it is a bad idea to have the problem solver in the room when a problem describer describes a problem for the first time. About a generation ago, there was a movie about engineers and scientists at work in a small tech company. A couple of consultants arrive and […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Often it is not the thought that counts but the second thought that really counts. I got a great idea! Wow! Here we go. Two days later…well, that wasn’t such a great idea. It was a good idea, but after a good meal, a bit of exercise, some time doing something completely […]

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by Dwayne Phillips A little future prediction about what we used to call automobiles. When the self-driving car actually arrives. We will no longer have: Rear-view mirrors – we’ll have lots of sensors “looking” in all directions. Steering wheel – what would we do with that? Front-facing seats – car interiors will be rectangles that […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I try hard at everything. Sometimes I try hard too much. <start advice> Slow down. Back away. Breathe. Drink a cup of coffee. Relax. Take a nap. Find your own little zen thing that helps you to not try so hard. <end advice>

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