Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Games are simulations of real life. Some games simulate real life better than others. The key is to connect the simulations to real life in a meaningful manner.

Games are simulations. The Monopoly game is supposed to simulate business, commerce, and acquiring wealth or something like that. Tick-Tack-Toe simulates spatial logic and the wisdom and folly of wasting time playing a game that no one can win or something like that. There seems to be a million video games out there that simulate this and that or something like that.

As a simple example, I watch my grandson playing something on his phone. I have no idea what game he is playing or what it is supposed to simulate, but I see his reaction to the game. As always, the reaction is more important than the event. My grandson reacts with joy, angst, anger, frustration, etc.

Whatever game he is playing is simulating real life quite well. Real life is full of joy, angst, anger, frustration, etc.

The key is connecting these reactions to the game to reactions in real life. Having to wait longer than expected and the reaction of frustration is like being frustrated while playing a video game on a phone. The reaction of frustration is the same regardless the source event. Learn from the simulation.

Not sure what is causing troubles with you and your team at work? Play a game, i.e., use a simulation for an hour. Observe events and reactions among the team. Learn. Apply the lessons from the simulation to the real-world work.

We can do better, and simulations can help us if we make meaningful connections to real life.

by Dwayne Phillips

I share an idea for a manual writing instrument that I had several decades ago. Today’s technology might be ready for it.

Several decades ago, I had this idea for a pencil, pen, or white board marker. I shared the idea with a few smart folks. Nothing became of it as the technology wasn’t available. Today, perhaps, someone can make this.

Spellcheckers in word processors are pretty good. The software that guesses what word I want to type on message apps is pretty good. This generative AI stuff is pretty good. The software seems to know what word I want and how to spell it correctly.

Okay, I want this to help me when I am writing with pen, pencil, and especially when writing on the white board in a meeting attended by important folks.

The pen monitors the movements as I write. Those movements translate to the word I am attempting to write. Let’s see, is the letter T double at the end or just single? How many times does the letter S appear in assessments? I can’t remmember.

I want the pen to beep when I have probably misspelled a word. Then the pen’s display or speech tells me how to spell the word correctly.

There it is folks. Someone go out and make this manual writing device. White board writers everywhere need it.

by Dwayne Phillips

Here is one way to begin what is likely to be an unpleasant conversation. It lessens the unpleasantness and moves toward a more productive conversation.

Let’s begin with, “John, I am upset.”

(Substitute the other person’s name for John. That was the most alias of names I could find.)

There, said the ugly part first. I am upset. That describes my state of mind and the feelings burning inside me. I don’t think clearly when I have those burning feelings. Perhaps John will understand some of the stupid things that are about to come out of my mouth.

Excuse? Yes, declaring upset is sort of setting the stage for stupidity and requesting forgiveness beforehand.

Wise? Perhaps. Let’s put this out right now. This isn’t going to be a fun-and-games chit chat. I am about to say some unpleasant things and will say them in an unpleasant manner. I am saying them to you because I respect your ability to handle unpleasantness and work through it with me.

Perhaps giving John a copy of this little post to read will ease the conversation. Perhaps reading it aloud to John will do the same. It may calm my upset and help me to speak using better words and tone.

Regardless, let’s get into this. I am upset, and I’m about to hit you with the reasons.

by Dwayne Phillips

Loving and caring people want to help others. So we put one more thought into the writing and one more statement into the speaking. Delete those.

Here are tips on editing writing that don’t need much thought, but hold true about 98.6% of the time:

• Delete the last word of a phrase
• Delete the last phrase of a sentence
• Delete the last sentence of a paragraph
• Delete the last paragraph of a page
• Delete the last page of a chapter
• Delete the last thing of a bigger thing

Get the idea?

Loving and caring people want to help others. We want to be sure the other person understands, so we add just one more little bit to what we have already conveyed. That extra little bit will help the other person an extra little bit and that will make all the difference.

Sigh. We are our own worst enemies. Brevity often leads to clarity. Delete that extra little bit that we added to make sure the other person understands. The other person understands already. That extra little bit is often more than a little bit, and it doesn’t help.

by Dwayne Phillips

Large Language Models appear to have all sorts of problems. I wonder why companies that build such don’t hire adults to help build them.

I recently learned that large language models (LLMs) have “sleeper agents” in them. Given some inputs, the LLM starts doing crazy things that it shouldn’t do.

Gosh.

LLMs are pieces of simple software that trigger large matrix multiplications and pick words based on the results of multiply, add, subtract, divide, etc. LLMs don’t “act” strange.

What is happening? Here is the simple answer. The well-meaning folks that build the LLMs are not testing them sufficiently before releasing them as products. The input space, all those possible combinations of words, is huge. The builders don’t exhaust the input space and correct mistakes. “Well,” the logic goes, “We tested this thing using a million or so test cases. It’s pretty good. Let’s release it.”

Some business manager looks at the numbers, decides that enough is enough, and releases the product to recoup some cost $$$. Well, that makes business sense.

Engineering? Are you kidding? Systems engineering? Are you kidding? Testing? Are you kidding?

Do these companies hire any old engineers who understand how to build, test, and release products when they are ready? Where are the adults? Where are the people who are old enough to have seen bad things happen?

There is much value in having people who have experienced tragedy on your development team. Tragedy is no fun. It is, however, real life. It does, however, sear scars into the heart and mind. Have such people on your team. Pull them aside and talk with them. Learn what could possibly go wrong and the results. We can do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

We have yet another problem with machine learning. This one, however, has an easy solution.

Several years ago I wrote of a fundamental problem with machine learning. I guess we have yet another problem being called “poisoned” machine learning.

With poisoning, someone knows that I am about to “learn the machine” something using a large dataset. That poisoner knows where the dataset is and they put data into my dataset. Their data will mislead my “learned machine” into making mistakes like the poisoner wants it to make.

Alas, garbage in and garbage out, again.

Solutions? Why in the world is my dataset out there where others can poison it? Don’t I know anything about data? Can’t I keep my mouth shut about what I am doing? What is wrong with me?

Solutions? Don’t I know what data I am using to “learn my machine?” Why am I using bad data? What is wrong with me?

I guess this is all more complicated than I understand. Otherwise, the solutions wouldn’t seem so obvious to me. Perhaps I am just too old to “get” all this.

by Dwayne Phillips

In our personal lives, we often take all the risk without asking others to share it. The basic, but rarely asked, question is, “What does each person have to lose?”

I am sitting here sipping coffee pondering what to do. Someone is asking me to wait, and wait, and wait. Perhaps they will show up, perhaps later. If they don’t show up…sigh, I have wasted the morning. That is what I have to lose, the entire morning.

What does the other person have to lose? Nothing. They are late because they are busy doing something else that is productive and rewarding for them.

I have my morning to lose; they have nothing to lose. I am risking my morning; they are risking nothing.

The stakes are low. Let’s go on.

Now let’s multiply the stakes. Instead of risking a morning, I am risking several months salary. The other party is still risking nothing. Uh, we are not sharing risk. I am bearing all the risk.

Let’s negotiate this a bit. Let’s make the risk carried by each party explicit and discuss ways to even the risk a bit. If the other party is not willing to share risk, the conversation ends. Nice knowing you, goodbye.

Sometimes carrying all the risk myself is worth it to me. I really want to have that meeting or that job. Sometimes carrying all the risk myself is not worth it to me. I am able to walk away.

Suggestions: (1) If I walk away, do so on the friendliest terms I can find. I value the other person. (2) Openly discuss risk and risk sharing.

The risk-sharing discussion is between two respectable and respected parties. Both parties deserve consideration from the other. Sharing risk is a respectable and respected thing to do. Speak with respect in respectable terms, but speak.

There is little reason to carry all the risk.

by Dwayne Phillips

Much of what we pass off as complicated issues comes from something simple, the desire to be missed.

I like to listen to the podcast of former Washington Post writer Tony Kornheiser. I laugh a lot while listening.

Mr. Kornheiser is a big movie fan and follows the culture as he was a Style writer for the Post. He lamented during the COVID shutdown as he stopped going to movie theaters. After the pandemic, he wasn’t going to return out of concern of catching something that would kill him (he is in his 70s).

Mr. Kornheiser’s lament was not that he was not returning to theaters; his lament was that no one would note his absence and miss him.

I frequent a few coffee shops in my community every morning. I have done this for 15 years. During that time, some regular faces have disappeared. They died of old age. I miss them. I miss what they brought with them each day. Their absence hurts my heart.

Will anyone miss me? The lack of my patronage will not break any of these coffee shops. Will my time and presence be missed? I wish so. Still, why would anyone miss me?

Perhaps I can bring something with me each day that is miss-able. Perhaps I can do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

Along with the sage advice, “listen more, talk less,” I add, “nap more, talk less.”

“People who nap in the day are lazy.” My mother told me that countless times. Sometimes I disagree with things my mother told me.

Now to the title of the post: before opening mouth, rest.

Fatigue always wins. I claim credit for that expression, although I am sure someone said it before me. Fatigue has something to do with the amount of oxygen and other essential goodness in short supply in the brain. History is full of wise persons who rested, beat back fatigue, AND THEN spoke or wrote.

Toss in a good meal along with a nap. Then talk. Please remember the order of actions. In my life, when I follow this advice, I seem to have better outcomes.

by Dwayne Phillips

Why do we wonder why middle managers don’t seem to do anything useful. That is the definition of “middle.”

We disdain the “man in the middle.” He or she doesn’t seem to do anything but cause greater expense.

We disdain the middle managers. They don’t do anything but add levels to the bureaucracy and raise prices.

Well, what do we expect? Middle managers manage the work in the middle. They aren’t at the working level directly influencing the products and services. They aren’t at the high level affecting the overall direction of an organization and its products and services.

They are in the middle because they aren’t good at the other levels. If they were brilliant in some other way, they would be working in some other way in some other job.

Don’t be surprised if those occupying the middle tier aren’t great. That is why they are in the middle tier. They can’t do the work any longer and they don’t have the vision, spark, or personal influence as those at the top.

They are probably good people. They are probably good neighbors, good siblings, good spouses, etc. They just aren’t brilliant at other jobs. Let’s live with that.