Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I forget the fundamental requirement of knowledge management. Maybe that was it.

I recently met a person who declared that she took great joy in formatting Microsoft Word documents. She loved they way she could align everything on the page and mis-align a few things in just the right places.

I had just met an expert in knowledge management.

This person knew how to organize information. This person knew how to organize and manage knowledge. Others would be able to find what they needed to do their jobs and simply make it through the day.

We have plenty of Microsoft Word documents where I work. That is one format. We have plenty of HTML files, and plenty of spreadsheets, and plenty of everything else.

We have no lack of knowledge.

The trouble we have is that we are we. We simply forget much of what we know, much of what we need, and when we need it.

That is the essence of knowledge management: put the knowledge where I can find it when I forget what I already know.

Of course I already know it. I created the Word or HTML or whatever file. And not only have I forgotten what I put in the file, I also forgot where I put it. I need persons who love to format things, organize things, and manage knowledge.

by Dwayne Phillips

Things, even food, are much easier to carry than people. What does that say about us?

Uber and others have discovered that it is far more profitable to carry meals than to carry the consumers of meals. People can be such a nuisance. We want the car to have the right odor, the right decor, no crumbs on the carpet (when did we start assuming that cars would be carpeted?), and all sorts of things we don’t even mention until they aren’t present.

Hauling food pays more than hauling persons. Sure, food is important (can’t live without it), but aren’t people more important?

What does this say about us? (1) Have we over-regulated and over-expected the transport of persons? (2) Have we under-regulated and under-expected the transport of food? (3) Have we ourselves become so much of “a pain” to one another that we are much happier without one another’s company?

I know little about (1) and (2), so let’s consider (3). A large sack of food in the passenger seat (note how we call it a “passenger” seat and not a “cargo” seat?) never complains, never comments, never bothers the driver. The sack of food also never thanks the driver. Does the passenger thank the driver beyond a quick obligatory mumble while exiting the vehicle?

The sack of food has few expectations of the driver. Does a human passenger have expectations of the driver? Wouldn’t we just be happier if the vehicle drove itself?

The driver has the life of the passenger in hand. That isn’t important? I guess not, and what does that say about us?

by Dwayne Phillips

Perhaps we can find enjoyment anywhere at any time. It is worth the attempt.

Several years ago I had several conversations with the late Jerry Weinberg, one of the best computing consultants we ever had. Jerry told me about how he played golf.

Jerry started playing the game most familiar to everyone. Use clubs, hit a ball, chase the ball around the course and all that. Jerry progressed to playing golf with the clubs, but without the ball. He enjoyed that game more than the usual. Jerry further progressed t playing golf without the clubs as well as without the ball. He would walk through the course and play an enjoyable round. You can guess the next progression—don’t even go to the course. Simply play a most enjoyable round of golf from anywhere at any time.

Alan Bundy is my father-in-law and is one of the great men I have known in my life. He is an avid, life-long angler (fishermen). He has told me about how he relaxes by standing in water and fishing. He also does this from anywhere at any time.

Hmm, perhaps there is something to this. Here is a short list of things that could be done anywhere at any time.

• write a novel
• direct a movie
• teach a class
• play guitar
• chat with a friend

The list could continue. The only limitations are my mind. I could add to the list anywhere at any time.

by Dwayne Phillips

Once again, we observe that physics—notably gravity—wins.

Sometimes I venture outside the suburbs of Federal Virginia go into “downtown” Washington D.C. I see them, those funny-colored little skateboards with handles. These are the eScooters or whatever we choose to call them this week. They have little electric motors and speed pedestrians (I guess we can’t call them pedestrians if they are riding a motor-moved vehicle) about the sidewalks faster than they could otherwise walk.

Evil wears a disguise.

These “scooters” can’t fool me. They are skateboards.

Two of my sons used to ride skateboards. I tried those things a little, but gave up. My balance isn’t what it once was as a kid, or maybe I don’t bounce off the pavement as I did as a kid.

Trouble with the scooters in the city is that kids don’t ride them. Adults ride them; at least the birth certificates of these riders indicate they are “adults.” Their activities causes me to wonder.

Now to physics. The wheels on the scooters are small. There is something, I can’t recall if it is angular momentum or something, in physics that screams CAUTION if the wheels are small. Then there is center of gravity. When an adult stands, the center of gravity is a couple of feet above the pavement. This is a large number compared to the diameter of the wheel when it is only a couple of inches.

Physics tells us that this is a bad combination.

Then there is gravity. It is still 32 feet per second per second. An adult requires about one second to fall to the pavement. So, five miles per hour forward velocity combined with 32 feet per second downward velocity and the adult hits the pavement really really hard.

Adults don’t bounce. Adults go to the hospital.

News reports confirm the predictions from physics.

Why is it we doubt physics?

by Dwayne Phillips

Perhaps we all grew up at age 12 and have been coasting ever since

A few years ago I noticed something about teenagers in high school

They do what they have to so they can do what they want.

If they want to play sports, they study enough to get the grades required to play sports. If they want to dance in the halls, they recruit friends to be look outs.

And then we consider adults. Uh, we do what we have to so we can do what we want.

Why go to a boring job everyday? The paycheck buys food, shelter, and clothing. What’s more, it pays for the cups of coffee I drink at a coffee shop on my way to and from the office.

Why do I drive a boring car? It costs less. The money I saved lets me go to a nicer hotel and a nicer vacation.

Why do I… Same as teenagers. Perhaps we don’t grow up. Perhaps we grew up at age 12 and have been coasting since then.

by Dwayne Phillips

No new materials. A simple pressing. Structure appears. Value from almost nothing. This is a primary task of a manager (and the rest of us).

Fold something. Press the fold. It becomes a crease.

And now there is a structure that has strength and increased utility.

And how did that happen? A simple fold.

And now we…go on in life looking for places where we can make a crease and expand utility with a little effort and nothing more. And is there anything more important a manager can do than making a crease?

by Dwayne Phillips

We have moved from “everyone is a censor” to “everyone is a reporter.” All these reporters work for me, and the rest of us, for free.

In our not-too-distance past, we entered the age of “everyone is a censor.” Everyone had a camera in their pocket. Everyone had a thermometer in their pocket. Everyone had…and so on. We were all collecting information and eventually putting it in a place where we could access it later.

We are now in the time where everyone is a reporter. We easily report the information we collect and we report it right now

I don’t need a weatherman. Someone on Twitter just posted that the wind shifted from the North and the temperature is dropping. I don’t need SportsCenter or whatever. Someone just posted the final score of the game (including the local high school game that the national folks don’t report). And someone posted the closing numbers on Wall Street, the new clothes at Kohl’s, the stores that closed at the mall, and everything else.

It goes on. Read the newspaper? Why?

And now we come to the hard stuff. Pay graduates of journalism school to, uh, er, what would they do? Expert opinions? How much of an expert do you have to be to tell me that it is raining?

But what about analysis and insight and those really difficult things that take time to consider and explain? I read those at no charge on the blogs of the experts.

Sorry. Everyone is a reporter. And they work for me for free.

by Dwayne Phillips

Experts are far more productive than the average. But if we eliminate the average, how will anyone become an expert?

Expert managers can manage 10 times the work of the average manager. Expert fill-in-the-blank can do 10 times the work of the average fill-in-the-blank.

But how will the expert become an expert without the time in the average job?

Consider the recent partial government shutdown—do so cautiously. One person could replace eight or ten. But how would that one person learn to do so? Where and when does the learning and growing occur?

by Dwayne Phillips

All things don’t happen automatically by automaton. Some special person does the work.

Someone has to type the words

Someone has to stand in front of the classroom

Someone has to carry champagne to the table

Someone has to crack the eggs

As much as we wish it to be different in this world of 2019, some person has to actually do something for all this wonderful-ness to happen. Cherish that person. They aren’t a cog in the machine. They show up everyday, smile, and do the work.

by Dwayne Phillips

One of the reasons I write (there are many) is that persons simply grow weary of the sound of my voice.

I like to tell stories—some true, some not so. There are a few people in my life, see, e.g., my wife of 35+ years, who have already heard most of them. The same is true for my adult children. (This is one of the great things about having grandchildren: they haven’t heard all the stories yet.)

These kind persons are tired of hearing my voice and my stories. Hence, I write. Sometimes I write the old stories; sometimes I write variations of the stories. The page, the computer screen, whatever, never tires of the same stories and their variations.

One bonus: writing the stories or talking to the page allows other persons to hear them. Some of these other persons even pay me a little money (25¢ or so) for the stories.