Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Americans are coming out of isolation from our reaction to the virus. One result is a growing trend to form unions.

There is a growing trend in America to form unions for workers in coffee shops, restaurants, warehouses, etc. The obvious explanation is that these places have become rich and have not shared those riches with the workers who enabled the riches. It is time to redistribute the riches!

Here is another explanation borne of old age and perspective: this is a result of our reaction to the virus. Everyone—well, most everyone—stayed home and stayed away from other people. We were isolated. We didn’t belong to anything.

One of the things that a worker’s union does is provide a place to belong. People gather in a room and vote on a union. “Most of us are in favor of forming a group of us. We will all belong to us!” WOW! This is exciting! We all now belong to all of us!

Enough exclamation points, but this is how it is. People stand and shout and cheer and hug. And, well, we haven’t hugged anyone in two years, so this is great fun!

And all this union forming shows a great failure of other institutions. The obvious choice is a failure of the managers to create a workplace that everyone enjoys. You don’t turn a workplace upside down if you like it, right?

Here is another explanation: this is a failure of institutions where they used to belong. Those places practically closed due to our reaction to the virus. People lost a belonging place. They want a belonging place. None there? Form one. In walks a union organizer. Hey! This is a belonging place.

Most folks joining these new unions know nothing of Flint, Michigan and a sit down strike or anything else about the history of organized labor. They just know that they want to belong to something and all their old belonging places ceased to exist.

Sometimes we choose a reaction to an event. Most of the time, we have little thought behind our choices. Odd things happen afterwards. I have yet to find an essay that said the virus would bring back labor unions. As usual, the experts were wrong.

by Dwayne Phillips

It helps to have someone standing next to you. This is a simple, old, and often overlooked aid to working better.

A buddy is someone standing next to you whom you assume knows what they are doing. Often, a few moments later, you both realize that you both assumed the other is the one who knows what they are doing. In fact, neither knows what they are doing.

Despite have two people standing together when neither knows what they are doing, the situation works to a good conclusion. And how can that be? Zero plus zero equals zero. Sometimes, however, in the state of human endeavors the zero sum becomes something far greater than zero.

There is something about us folks that having a buddy next to us changes everything. Logic does not apply. Math does not apply. The buddy overrules all else.

It is at this point in the blog post where the writer offers insight into how this actually works. Sorry. Not today. Not on this blog post.

I have no clue as to how the buddy changes the outcome. I only relate this as I have seen it work well countless times in my life.

by Dwayne Phillips

The basic yes-no question is quite easy to answer. It is either “yes” or “no.” Recognizing the question is a bit more difficult, but not impossible.

There is a type of question for which the answer is either “yes” or “no.” It is quite easy to answer as there are only two answers with one alternative. Okay, right?

There seems to be a difficulty here as many question answer-ers don’t recognize the yes-no question. They want to answer with an explanation containing many words (many “if,” “and,” and “but”).

The yes-now question centers around the English form of the “to be” verb. Examples include:

• Do you have …
• Did you …
• Is this a …
• Can you …
• Are you …

Once we hear those types of words, we only have to say “yes” or “no.”

Often there is another question following the yes-no question. Continue with the discussion, but only after answering the first question first.

• For example, “Did you analyze this?”
• Answer “yes” or “no.”
• If “yes,” the next question could be, “Did you write a report on the analysis?”
• If “yes,” the next question could be, “May I have a copy of the report?”

Pretty simple, huh? If a “no” answer arises, we may take the conversation in one of many different directions.

The answer to, “Did you analyze this?” is not “Well, I could if you want me to.”

The answer to, “Did you write a report on the analysis?” is not “Not yet.”

Let’s keep it simple.

A big part of this simplicity is trust. Both persons trust one another to be honest. Both persons trust one another to have good intentions in the questions and answers.

Once again, we encounter the adage that if you don’t have trust among colleagues, nothing else matters.

by Dwayne Phillips

Start at the beginning and build from there. That sure is boring. That is the standard configuration. If, however, resources are scarce and the desire to accomplish new work is high, it is a good place to start.

I recently restarted a new job. That is a long story for another day. Part of that story was the “onboarding” process. That is the stuff you do the first week on a new job. New insurance, new email, new computer (if you are lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it), and relearning all the usual things. If you are really unlucky (as I was), the onboarding took over a month. Yikes.

Now we come to the standard configuration. “Ah, you are new. Your job has unique traits, but it also fits into the same old stuff that most jobs have. Let’s apply the standard configuration to you and then modify it to fit your uniqueness.”

That was simple to write. Somehow, however, it seems difficult to do because it wasn’t done for me in this restarted new job. Everything onboarded for me was unique to start and unique to modify and unique to struggle and … I don’t like being unique. It is too frustrating for me. That is especially true as others felt I should be accomplishing real work.

The standard configuration comes from the standard operating procedure.

Step 1: reset the system to the standard configuration.

Step 2: see the flowchart on page 2 of the standard operating procedure.

Step 3: decide where you want to go on the flowchart.

Step 4: change the standard configuration to fit your needs.

Boring? Yes, it is boring. It does, however, work well. It is an old, old, and even older procedure that worked way back then and still works today. After the first week, you are accomplishing real work.

All these “standard” things (standard operating procedure, standard configuration, standard standards, etc.) come from lessons learned. And we all want to be part of a “learning organization,” right? Isn’t that still something that is bandied about these days? Just more standard stuff (that works).

By Dwayne Phillips

We all have a less-than-perfect memory. Let us admit that and use little gadgets that help us remember to do what we know we should do.

I keep noticing professional and other high-level athletes wearing giant wrist bands. I guess ”wrist band” is incorrect as these things cover the entire forearm of the person wearing them.

Those wrist bands are the athletic and rugged outdoor version of the teleprompter. The teleprompter is that machine used by broadcasters and public speakers that shows them what they are supposed to say.

These gadgets remind persons what they are supposed to do and say. Their jobs are complicated, they want to do the job well, so they use gadgets to help them.

Sounds like a pretty good idea. Difficult situation; use a gadget to help.

Now and then I advise people on how to conduct meetings and interviews and such. “Keep some 3×5 cards in your hand. Flip through them. They will remind you of what to say at a crucial moment.”

People rarely follow that advice. They don’t want to ”look weak” or something in front of everyone. They believe that they should have it ”all upstairs” in their brain and have instant recall.

Remember those professional athletes—some of whom are paid $40 million a year—who wear those giant wrist bands. They don’t remember everything and they are paid much more money than anyone I have ever advised. They don’t mind admitting to less-than-perfect memory. If they can admit that, the rest of us can admit that.

Whether we us 3×5 cards, wrist bands, necklaces (yes, there is a way to bring notes on a necklace), or make dots on our knuckles with a Sharpie, let us admit to a less-than-perfect memory and bring something that helps us remember to do what we know we should do.

By Dwayne Phillips

A buddy is someone who is standing next to me whom I assume knows what they are doing. They are carrying me. Then I learn otherwise.

We all need a buddy. We all need someone standing next to us for support, advice, know how, etc.

One problem with having a buddy in many situations is that I assume that anyone standing next to me fulfills the definition and capabilities of this definition of a buddy. I sure am glad they are there with me. Otherwise, I would be lost. When something happens, they will know what to do.

Then I discover that the situation and the person standing next to me don’t fit my ideals. They don’t know what they are doing here and now.

What is worse, I learn that they have applied the definition of ”buddy” to me and are awaiting my knowledge to step forward and handle the situation.

We are both left standing next to each other waiting for the other to do something useful.

Yikes! This doesn’t work. Well, it shouldn’t work, but it does work the great majority of the time. Just having someone stand next to me facing the same direction I am facing makes all the difference for me. Just me standing next to the other person and facing the same direction they are facing makes all the difference for them.

I find it odd how this works. I find it ”odd-er” that this works a great majority of the time.

I must remember to bring a buddy with me and not wander away from that buddy.

By Dwayne Phillips

What is urgent and what is relevant often do not match. Should I balance them or is that not relevant?

What are you saying or doing today? Is that the most urgent thing you can say or do today?

No, but we have a plan. We are working towards something big, we cannot allow the urgent to rule us.

But what about relevance? Where are we today? What are we doing today? Are our actions serving our needs and situations today? What is relevant? Let’s be and do that.

And how do we balance these? There is something that is needful today, right now. It is both relevant and urgent. Let’s do it now. Or is it relevant? My teenager needs counseling on college and career and happiness. Our dinner is burning in the oven. My teenager’s life is more important, more relevant … sorry, gotta’ pull dinner out of the over and baste it and cool it and … what was I talking about? Was I talking to someone? I’m the only person in the kitchen. What just happened?

What is relevant and what is urgent often do not match. I can’t let dinner burn. The lives of my children are primary. Tonight’s ham is not, but I cannot let …

This should be simpler, right?

by Dwayne Phillips

The edge is that area between the center of two places. Things are different at the edge. Try to remember the difference.

I recently spent a few of strenuous days cleaning a fence row. A fence row comprises the ground a couple feet each side of a fence. In my case, the fence separated a lawn from a patch of woods.

There is brush, weeds, and overgrown weeds in a fence row. It is quite difficult to clear all this—especially at my age with the limited set of tools I had.

Brush doesn’t grow in the woods. There isn’t enough sunlight reaching the ground for that type of growth.

Brush doesn’t grow in the lawn. You mow the lawn regularly with a lawn mower and the brush doesn’t have a chance to take root and grow.

Brush grows in the edge—not in the center of either side.

The edge is not like the center. Things are different there. Lessons from the edge should not be applied to the center. I find it wise to know when I am at the center and when I am at the edge. The edge is not like the center. Things are different there. Lessons from the edge should not be applied to the center.

by Dwayne Phillips

We all make mistakes. Some of us learn from some of our mistakes some of the time. The choice is ours.

We all make mistakes. That is part of being imperfect humans. How many mistakes did I make this week? How about just this morning? (Forgot to bring my laptop’s power cord, sent an email to the wrong person, left off a person from the CC line of an email, pasted the wrong URL into a document, spent too much time on one document, etc.).

We learn from our mistakes.

Whoa! Let’s back up on sentence. We should learn from our mistakes (is that correct?). We usually learn from our mistakes (still not certain about that). How about

Some of us learn from some of our mistakes some of the time.

Perhaps that is a little closer to correct.

If we make mistakes, we are human. If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we are or may be wasteful humans.

Then again, not learning from a mistake is a mistake itself and shows that I am human.

by Dwayne Phillips

Automation and artificial intelligence promise to take away the bane of some work and make us free for more meaningful work. Do we want that?

Automation frees us from that old work that is just the same old same old. We will have time on our hands and be free for more meaningful work. This is the promise of automation. This is the promise of all that Artificial Intelligence. This is the promise of digital transformation. Really?

Consider each word: free, more, meaningful, and work.

The promise of a future “free” means I am enslaved by something. You are paying me to be your slave. I don’t want to work here if that is your attitude.

More? More more more… all you want is more more more from us. Have we ever satisfied you?

Meaningful. What I am doing now has no meaning? I like ensuring that all is in order. I like ensuring have enough sugar, flour, eggs, and cups to run the bakery. That brings me meaning and satisfaction. I am already meaningful. I am already doing meaningful work.

Work work work. All you talk about is work. I enjoy being here with these folks, and all you want to do is shape things the way you enjoy them. Please. Enough is enough.

Will automation remove the tasks that I don’t like? If so, I like automation. If automation removes the tasks that you don’t want me to do, well, let’s discuss that. Please don’t tell me what I find meaningful. Please don’t tell me that in the future I will do what you want, not what I want. If I am not doing what you want, tell me. Either I will do it or try to move to another job. Thank you.