Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Replace people with AI? Cut human jobs? Deciders at companies are deciding these things. It is unfortunate, but deciders at companies have a history of choosing poorly. Replace people and their jobs with AI. Think of the benefits. Save money. Better the bottom line. And remove some of those pesky people whose […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I learned the wrong way. I learned. Is there a wrong way to learn? Once in 7th grade, I was on a self-study path in a math class. I read a few pages, took a test, graded my test (usually a bad grade), read the correct answers, and, “Oh, that’s the answer. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips AI tools are here. They don’t do everything, but they boost productivity. Use the tools. I am old enough to remember a time in the late 1980s when word processors appeared. There were many older managers who were accustomed to writing in cursive on yellow pads with pencils and handing those to […]

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by Dwayne Phillips A part of or a separate activity is the punishment assessment. What is the result of not following the rules? Years ago, I supervised a person who always asked the question, “And what happens to me if I don’t do this?” He wasn’t avoiding work; he was assessing rules and regulations to […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Stop. Breathe. Think. Now act in a way that leads to what is desired. Stop. Breathe. Think. Act. In that order. I think that is the definition of a wise person acting wisely. “Knee jerk reactions” are not in the definition. A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) a […]

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by Dwayne Phillips When spending someone else’s money, there are essential things and nice to have things. Focus on the essential. I am not naive. This topic is in the news and involves politics. That can take it from general management consulting to all sorts of hyperbole and worse. Let’s try to consider something. As […]

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by Dwayne Phillips “We have a process we use here” usually means one person declared the process and that process will disappear the day the person leaves. I have recently encountered organizations where “process is everything.” I hear boasts of, “WE do it this way all the time.” In my experience of 45 years (yes, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Despite cries to the contrary, we want bias. Our individual bias is what makes us individuals. Do we really want everyone to be the same? I doubt it. “We need to reduce bias,” said someone who meant well but wasn’t thinking things through. I am biased. I like some things and dislike […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Are we spending too much time and effort on making AI systems “safe?” Perhaps we should allow adults to be adults and move on. Consider an LLM or whatever that creates text promoting: Those people, those philosophies are horrible! Okay, are you an adult? If so, you can easily reject those horrible […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I find it good to be specific. There are, however, times when being specific limits thinking, and that is not good. Precise, concrete, and specific: three concepts that are good for writing and communication. I try to remember these things that were burned into me in my first semester of college way […]

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