Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Sometimes, the one thing needed for a person to do something new and frightening is simply permission.

Here is how to write a book:

• Write the first page
• Write the next page
• Write the next page
• Continue that
• Write the last page
• Stop

Simple? Yes. Works? Absolutely, I have done this about a dozen times. You start. When you reach the end, you stop.

But what about…? Yes, we can ask dozens of those “what about” questions. And yes, we should probably answer them if we expect anyone to successfully write a book (whatever “successfully” means).

Still, for some persons, this is all the instructions they need. They have a book in them and all the resources needed to put the words on paper. What they lack is permission. No one has ever told them that they have a book in them and all the resources needed to put the words on paper. Once they hear that, once they have permission, they will write the book no matter how simplistic the instructions.

This is writing a book. I know something about writing a book. There are many other endeavors for which I just shrug my shoulders. Start a business? Invent a new medicine? Retire? It doesn’t matter. What many people need is permission. They will figure out the rest.

Give permission. We can do this.

by Dwayne Phillips

We can have too many people in the room to discuss something. We can also become locked in an inner circle where no one else understands what we are doing. There should be a balance.

There are too many people in the room: Twenty people (pick a number) is too many. There are too many ideas. There are too many side conversations. We need focus. Let’s just have four people (pick a number) present who understand others and can represent the desires and thoughts of others. We can reduce many of the distractions and “get somewhere.”

Only the inner circle understands: A small (pick the size) select group meets and meets and meets again. This small select group arrives at an understanding of the situation and what to do next. Great. Now the small select group tells everyone else what to do. No one else understands what the small select group understands. Nothing works.

Okay, neither edge case works well in all cases. What do we do now? Surely there is some compromise or consensus or something on how we do things well. Huh?

Here is one method: each person in the small select group spends a week explaining to one person. The number of people who understand has now doubled. Repeat this every week. The first week, four people understand; then eight; then sixteen, and after four weeks 32 people understand. A little slow, but it probably works.

Here is one method: the all-knowing supreme leader holds calls a hundred people into one room at one time. The all-knowing supreme leader masterfully explains the concept held by the small select group. In an hour, a hundred people all understand. A little hopeful, but it probably works.

Of course there are other methods, and some of them might work. Still, the more important step is to understand the problem of the inner circle and the problem of too many people in the room. We can do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

It is easy to use vocabulary that is popular at this moment. It is a bit more difficult to explain the situation in plain English. That exercise, however, is often well worth the effort.

Here is some popular vocabulary in the endeavor of software development:

• DevSecOps
• Kubernetes
• Git
• Aggregation
• Anonymization
• and so on

It’s nice to toss out one or two of these per sentence. It’s a shorthand. Say one word that is short of 1,000 more words. All good.

Then there is, “Please explain what you mean when you use that word.”

Gosh, what are you, stupid? Don’t you recognize the currently popular vocabulary currently used by the currently recognized experts? Why if you were in the know, you would know.

Perhaps I am a bit slow. Still, I would appreciate someone explaining all these things in plain words commonly found in the English dictionary. Sure, that is difficult, but it shows a fundamental understanding of what is happening, and a fundamental understanding is usually worth the effort.

Many years ago, a much younger version of myself asked a person developing software if his group used Design Reviews. He wrinkled his brow at the question. We walked down the hallway to a room. “We all sit in here,” he started. “When we are about to work on something new, we stand at this white board. Someone draws a few figures with boxes and arrows. We talk about the figures and redraw them until we all seem to understand and agree that we have a pretty good notion of how things will work and how to build them.”

Ah. Plain English. They didn’t know the then-popular vocabulary, but they knew what they were doing. Yes, they succeeded.

We can all do better. Let’s skip the popular vocabulary and speak English. Please.

by Dwayne Phillips

The most important computer processor ever made was the Intel 8087 (well, a little exaggeration). Spend more money on hardware or more money on smarts? The decision is still with us.

It was 1980. Intel had just released the 8086 CPU—a computer on a chip that worked on 16 bits at a time. WOW! Great for powerful computing, so long as you only used integers (fixed point as we called it). Want to use real numbers? (floating point) Well, buy the 8087 co-processor. It only cost a couple hundred more dollars. Uh, well that increased the cost of the computer 10% or 20% or something.

Ten years later, I was writing software in the C programming language to process images. It was the kind of things that Photoshop did. There were several companies producing co-processing boards to pop into the IBM PC and the clones of the time. The co-processing boards cost several thousand dollars, but if you wanted to really do amazing things, you spent the money.

Well, I didn’t have the money and I wanted to really do amazing things. Solution? I figured real hard and used integers to do everything. I took great pride in telling people that my software removed the need for these extra processing boards. And this all worked. It actually did.

Spend money on hardware? Spend money on brain power? The question never leaves us. We are still trying to decide if we use super-large language models or think a while and use smaller language models. Do we have the hardware to do what we want? Can we afford that? Maybe we should just think more. Same questions.

The answer? Oh, I am sure someone has modeled this question and can show curves of hardware and time and brainpower and all that. They have the universal answer. Did they run simulations on state-of-the-art hardware or think about it a lot? Oh, same questions.

by Dwayne Phillips

We have computing power a thousand magnitudes greater than what took us to the moon and back. And we use it to play checkers.

Sitting here in the coffee shop writing these blog posts, I look across the room and note someone playing checkers on their new Windows 11 computer. Also on their screen are a dozen open apps meant to do something “more worthwhile.”

The person’s computer is a thousand orders of magnitude greater than the computers that took us to the moon and back. The same is true for my computer that I am using as a typewriter.

What are we doing? We have all this computational power and yet we play checkers and type words. Surely there is something better we can do with this. Perhaps playing checkers is a worthwhile endeavor as it uses the mind and untangles the gazillion combinations that a game of checkers brings. Perhaps typing words explaining how typing words is a worthwhile endeavor as it communicates to the world how worthwhile are worthwhile endeavors.

Alas, we are an odd lot. Still, we seem to do some good things for others. That is a worthwhile endeavor.

by Dwayne Phillips

Hiring new people? Want to them to know everything that people who already work here know? There is no easy answer, but there are some answers.

When look at the Help Wanted ads, I frequently encounter employers who want to hire people who already work for them. The ads are easy to decipher as they list all the tools, many of which are obscure, they use on the job. They want people with five years experience in the tools in combination with the other tools in a unique way that only people who have been working for them for five years could have and such.

Sigh.

Let’s go back to Brooks’ Law: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.

Oh, you mean when you hire people you have to show them what you are doing, how you are doing it, and all that. I mean, that takes time and effort to show new people all that stuff. Shouldn’t they just know it? I mean, shouldn’t they be able to read our minds from a distance while they drive to work on the first day? Huh?

Nope. Doesn’t work that way. People will have to learn. Also, people will learn and then do a fine job.

Do you want to shorten the time to learn? Simple, always be ready to teach.

But our employees are busy working. They are good at their jobs. They aren’t teachers and preparing to teach would be a waste of their time and we prefer wishful thinking to reality.

Grow up. Admit reality (reality always wins over fancy). We’re the managers, the persons “in charge.” We should prepare for the teaching so the learning happens faster and more efficiently. Come on, let’s do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

I have a concept, an idea, just the right thing. Now “all I have to do” is put it into words.

I have a great idea. Here, you write it up and we’ll share the money.—Many a person who thinks they are a great thinker.

A famous author (I can’t think of the name at this time, if anyone knows it, please tell me) once said something about such “great thinkers.” It was something like, “I have great ideas all the time as well. Sometimes I actually write all the necessary words and have a ‘great novel.'”

The great idea is a concept or an idea. First, I scribble some thoughts around the idea. Okay, I have some scribbles on a sticky note or a Starbucks food sleeve (those things are great for scribbling). Now what?

Oh, someone has to write all the words so that my great idea is understandable by others. Others will find it entertaining and maybe even throw money my way.

“All I have to do” is write all the words. Sometimes that takes five minutes. Sometimes it takes a lifetime. Sometimes I think this should be easier, but it isn’t. It still is worth a try.

by Dwayne Phillips

Sometimes the better solution is to not provide a solution. After all, who decided that this was a problem and I was the person to solve it?

“Here is your problem, and here is my solution. Use it,” said a confident problem solver.

I’m a smart guy. I can see things others usually miss. I see problems in the lives of other people. Sometimes I even see the problems in my own life. I pass along solutions. Who wouldn’t want to solve their problems?

Two items here.

First, who appointed me to be the problem recognizer and solver of the world? Keep my mouth shut, keep my eyes closed, and work on my own life (if I want).

Second, sometimes a person’s problem is a key part of their life. If the problem went away, their life would go away. Do I want to take their life away from them. Then what would happen?

There are many times when the best “solution” is not to provide a solution. Can I accept this other person as they are? If not, that is my problem. Oh, another problem. Do I have a solution to that I-can’t-stop-providing-solutions problem? Where was I? Oh yes: move on.

by Dwayne Phillips

This is impractical. Still, someone wants to do it with their own resources. Please, do it.

I want to write a novel. Why? We already have a zillion novels. Go to the library and read a few.

I want to make a movie. Why? We already have a zillion movies. Go to PrimeFlix or something and watch a few.

I want to build a computer. Why? MicroBuy already has a zillion computers. Go there and buy one.

I want to fill-in-the-blank. Why? We have enough of that already, don’t we? Do something practical, huh?

Use your resources as you choose. Go ahead and do it. Who cares if it is impractical? Practice.

by Dwayne Phillips

Let’s review some basics on telling another person about something they do and did that affects me and us.

The basis of this post comes from consultant and writer Esther Derby. Over the years, we’ve discussed this topic, and I have learned much. I hope to pass along some of Esther’s thoughts. We can do better; I certainly can do better.

The out of providing feedback to another person is:

• Create an opening
• Describe the behavior or events
• State the impact
• Make a request

I want to talk with you about something.

Last week’s meeting, last month’s PowerPoint, yesterday’s lunch…

Did you notice how John left in the middle of everything? John is important to this project, yet he was so angry that he left. Without John’s support, this won’t work. Let’s try to make it work.

In the future, let’s meet before the meeting and discuss how John might receive what we are trying to convey.

This isn’t difficult. This isn’t easy; at times it is the most difficult task in the world. Still, it seems to work better than the other things I have done on many disastrous occasions. Let’s all do better—especially me.