Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

When teaching and demonstrating systems, it is better if there are errors.

Teaching how to use a system is better when there are errors.

No, that prior sentence is not a typo. I want errors to appear when I am showing a person how to use a system—anything from software to a toaster oven.

Errors, problems, uh ohs, etc. occur in real life. Users of systems need to know what to do when errors occur. If a user is taught how to use a perfectly performing system, they will flop in real life.

For example, when a system doesn’t connect to the Internet like it should, what do you do? Well, there is a work around—a way to go behind the scenes and force the system to connect to the Internet. They only way to teach that workaround is for the system to fail to connect to the Internet in the middle of class.

Note to System builders: please build ways for teachers to make the system fail so they can demonstrate how to use the system in the real world.

by Dwayne Phillips

Thoughts about all those folks out there who seem to be doing something that the experts don’t like.

1980—it was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away when I heard a woman telling foreign dignitaries about the common person in America. I didn’t approach her and hit her with a two-by-four—mostly because I didn’t have a two-by-four handy.

Today, “The common person gets their news from Facebook. Can you imagine the ignorance?”

The person making that statement used to be paid to write for a newspaper or the web version of the newspaper. The common person now talks to trusted friends instead of reading this former “journalist” who shot himself in the foot by writing nothing but editorials instead of being a journalist. Now this former journalist is unemployed and is lashing out at “the common person.”

Never underestimate “the common person.” The adjective “common” means there is a lot of these folks.

This isn’t yet another praise of “the silent majority” or populism or something. Just a reminder that there are plenty of persons “out there” (they must be out there because if they were in here some of us wouldn’t be worried about them) who don’t see things the same way we or me or someone else sees them.

Those folks out there are not ignorant. They simply disagree with some other folks.

by Dwayne Phillips

All organizations have management processes. Do they matter?

All organizations have management processes. Some organizations codify them, teach them, spread them, proclaim them, and even sometimes use them.

Do things management processes, i.e., “the way we do things around here,” matter? Of course they do.

And sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the personnel, the idea, the breakthrough is so good that everything works. The organization succeeds wildly beyond everyone’s imagination. Everyone gets rich and famous and (sometimes even) lives happily ever after.

Then someone goes back and claims, “Well, you have to understand that we created the environment or infrastructure or something-or-other that enabled our success. Let me explain.”

Then that someone writes a book and publishes posters and sells all that stuff and holds big-dollar seminars exhorting others to adopt their wonderful wonderfulness.

And really, it was simply a breakthrough idea that was 99.9% of everything.

Beware the organization that fails at a product but produces a process.

Also beware the organization that succeeds at a product but produces a process.

Same thing, just a different first step.

by Dwayne Phillips

Our mistakes put us in this situation, a tree didn’t fall on us.

“How did we get here? What happened?”

Simple, we decided to do this and that and some other thing, and we were mistaken. No one made us do what we did. We chose on our own. So, here we are, in a bad situation.

We make mistakes. We all make mistakes. We stumble and bumble—some days worse than others.

Accept our fallibility. Plan for our fallibility. Ask, “If this is a bad decision, where will we be? Will we be able to recover? Will this take all our resources? Is this fatal to our organization?”

Some call this “risk management.” Others call this common sense. Others call this pessimism. Whatever we call it, we should probably do some form of it. After all, we make mistakes—some worse than others.

by Dwayne Phillips

Who wants whom? Who wants someone else’s attention or expertise? People tend to forget the answers.

You called me.

We called him.

These mean something—important. We called him. We want his time, attention, expertise—we want something he has and we don’t have.

The same when you call me. You want something of me.

Then things roll downhill or around the hill or something. Things become confused. Now you are doing me a favor. Wait. What? You called me. How is it that you are doing me a favor. Wait. What? We called him. How are we doing something for his convenience?

“Sir, I called you because I think we can help each other. This will be good for both of us.” Yes, mutually beneficial, but still, I called first. Let’s not forget that.

by Dwayne Phillips

We are often the way we are because of our situation, not by a choice. Sometimes our situation forces us into “good.”

Slim and trim are good. At least being slim is seen as good by most of western society at this time in the 21st century. Obesity is not good. Again, that is the current opinion of western society.

How many people around the world are slim by choice, i.e., diet and exercise? How many people around the world are slim by situation, i.e., they simply don’t have a lot of food to eat? I think that most slim people on planet earth today are slim by situation, not by choice.

New technology companies in the last half of 2020 are working from home using Internet tools and skimping on expenses of office space. Choice or situation? The working from home part is mostly from the situation, i.e., our reaction to the coronavirus. The Internet tools are also stemming from the situation. Some commentators comment that this work-from-home and saving on overhead expense are great for new companies.

A good choice or simply the situation? I believe that most of these good business choices are simply results of the situation.

Is it good to lose choice and be commanded by situation? Well, the chooser doesn’t have to spend as much time choosing. There is more time and energy remaining to decide other issues. That must be good, huh?

We go on down this path of choice or situation to no end. What is the result? One result is that managers should understand if they are choosing something or merely being pushed into something. Understand the impetus. Understand what is happening. Use the situation to the good of your colleagues, your endeavor, and yourself.

by Dwayne Phillips

Productivity leaps are possible and happening. I am sorry to write that fortunes can be made while employing just a few persons.

I recently learned of a game called Among Us from a company called InnerSloth. In November of 2020, there were 500 million people playing the game.

InnerSloth has four employees.

It was a long, slow climb to this popularity, but the game became an improbable hit. The four persons had savings and lived very cheaply for a few years. There was no guarantee of success. None. It just worked.

Given programming toolkits and cloud computing and imagination and long hours, four persons can make software that is used by half-a-billion. That is not a gain in productivity—it is a leap from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other.

Note to government agencies the world over: get with it.

Jobs? Four of them. Of course there were persons employed to create the tools and the clouds and the smartphones on which the game is played. Still, four jobs.

The new, new economies are like this. When things work, when games become hits, there is a lot of money concentrated in the hands of a few. I wish those at InnerSloth all the best. I hope they make lots of money. I hope they show others that productivity leaps are possible. I also hope they find ways to hire other persons.

by Dwayne Phillips

What did you do during the Wuhan virus lock in of naught-20?

First, I predict that in the future we will look back at this and double blind or blind our inoffensive offensiveness and call this the “Wuhan virus” because that follows the traditional naming convention of such. (Lyme disease is named after a town in Connecticut).

Second, yes it is naught-20 as there is a zero in front of the 20.

Next, we all did something. Doing nothing is choosing to do little instead of much. If nothing else we all chose what to do.

Did you stay in as a good person would do? Did you go out and help others as a good person would do? There was something good to do, and regardless of what we did, it was probably good.

Did you lose your job?

Did you work from home and still get a paycheck?

Were you essential?

Did you feel guilty because you got paid, didn’t get sick, but knew others who were less fortunate?

Did you give money to others who lost their jobs?

What did you do in naught-20?

by Dwayne Phillips

Things are better. Today. The statement is true for everyday if you make it so.

Happy new year. Well, I guess according to the official calendar the new year starts tomorrow. That, however, is just some arbitrary thing. Let’s just act like today is a new year.

The general consensus is that 2020 was a horrible year. I understand why some would agree to that. I also understand why some would say that 2020 was the best year ever (see, e.g., the value of tech companies and ask any of the tens of thousands of persons who own part of Amazon). Different persons; different perspectives.

We end one year; we begin another year. We end one day; we begin another day.

Today will be better than yesterday. There are days in life when something happens that brings grief. Let’s not forget, however, that yesterday is gone and today is just starting. We can do something today; we can’t go back and undo-redo anything yesterday.

I can spend the day on the couch. There is much good in couches and using couches. I can write a novel or at least part of one. I can produce a movie or at least part of one. I can love my spouse and my child and my grandchild. I can love a neighbor. There is much good I can do today to make today a good day.

Happy new day. Happy new year.

by Dwayne Phillips

Sometimes we skim the surface to gather an overview. Sometimes we dive in deep to discover the details.

I like an overview. I like the nitty gritty details. Which do we like? On which day?

For me, the overview is easier. I learn the general idea. I tell people that “all I have” is a general idea.

Sometimes I find myself diving into the details. Once in the details, I am fine. I am working. I am accomplishing something. It is, however, that first look under the surface, that chill of death that accompanies putting a foot into the water, that is painful. I hate that. It hurts a part of me for some reason. I hurts just thinking about it.

Today is one of those days when I leave the comfort of the overview and dive into some details. I don’t anticipate it with joy. Ask me this afternoon while I am in the details. Better yet, ask me this evening after I have finished the details. Then I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I can still dive into details and find difficult, detailed answers to similar problems.

Are you a project manager? You have an overview of what is happening. Do you understand any of the details? Do you remember when you were a “worker bee” thrashing through the details all day every day? Some of us became project managers because we didn’t like the details. Some of us became project managers because project managers were paid more money. Some of us became project managers because we became older and older people became project managers.