Working Up

Working Up in Project Management, Systems Engineering, Technology, and Writing

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The Present and the Future

March 16th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Here we are in the present. We can decide how we create the future. Things are the way they are because they got that way. Let’s try that again…The present is a natural result of all past circumstances. There are people, capabilities, technology, budget, outside forces, and a host of other things […]

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Tags: Choose · Design · Excuses · Expectations

How would I Act if I were a…?

January 9th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Want to be something? Ask a simple question and live the answer. Twenty something years ago, Robin Williams was in the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.” He impersonates a woman and gets a job as a nanny to his former wife so he can be near his children. He is the best, most fun, […]

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Tags: Change · Choose · Questions

Neither Nor—Another Legitimate Choice

August 1st, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes the better choice among two alternatives is neither, nor. We have two alternatives—this, that. The most well known choice is either this or that One of them must be better than the other. Let’s decide which is better and go with it. Aha, but we grow smarter with the years and […]

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Tags: Choose · Clarity · Communication

Technology Triggers

July 25th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Knowing, ahead of time, when to change the design of a technology system. Consider: We have software running on different computers. We don’t have much electrical power available for computers “out in the field,” i.e., they probably run on batteries. Hence, we move heavy computations to lab computers where electrical power is […]

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Tags: Choose · Design · Technology

They are My Customer, but not My Teacher

June 2nd, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips My customer pays me for a product or a service. I provide it. I do not, however, have to allow my customer to be my teacher. My customer is my customer. They pay me for a product or a service, and I provide that. However, I don’t have to: act like they […]

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Tags: Choose · Customer · Learning

Our Bad Customer

May 19th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we are stuck with a bad customer. We still choose how we live and work. Alright, our customer is bad. They gripe all the time, show no appreciation for our efforts. They are, however, our customer and they pay our bills. So now what? We will: work everyday work smart have […]

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Tags: Choose · Culture · Work

Me, and Something from Me

May 9th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Life is much easier when I distinguish myself from things that I produce. I write. I write blog posts, books, magazine articles, and lots of documents at work. People tear up some of the things I write. That can hurt, if I don’t know the difference between me and something I wrote. […]

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Tags: Choose · Communication · Differences · General Systems Thinking

The Default Choice

January 25th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Given a choice made for us or us making our own choice, we choose the default. A recent experiment showed that people will eat fruit instead of french fries if fruit is the default choice. This experiment was not done on sophisticated, health-conscious adults but on kids. Uh, well, there must be […]

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Tags: Change · Choose

The Paramedics Rule

January 18th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Don’t do anything that you can’t explain to the paramedics. I learned this rule at a workshop held by author and consultant Jerry Weinberg. We were learning how to do simulations or exercises in seminars. You didn’t want to do anything that would accidentally break any bones or cause other things that […]

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Tags: Choose · Excuses · General Systems Thinking

A Job for One

October 19th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we should assign one person. We already know that, so why don’t we do it? There is some old cliche about too many cooks in the kitchen or too many cooks stirring the pot or something. There is a a current cliche about too many people in the room I head […]

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Tags: Choose · Fear · Management · Meetings · People · Work