Working Up

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

Working Up header image 4

Don’t Try Too Hard

December 13th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some of the best advice I ever heard and heeded is simply, “Don’t try too hard.” Writing. Studying. Researching. Don’t try too hard. Writing: let it come out of you. When you hit a difficult spot, type “this is a difficult spot, come back later.” Done. Now keep banging away on the […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Breathe · Clarity · Consulting · General Systems Thinking

Brevity and Clarity

August 27th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Brevity and clarity are apt companions. The trouble is, they aren’t frequent companions.

[Read more →]

Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Writing

Brevity, Clarity, and Explanations

August 6th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If I cannot explain something with brevity and clarity, I am not ready to explain it. Gosh, that summary is a killer. I am ready to explain something. I have this earth-changing wonderful great super-duper (note the lack of brevity and clarity) idea that the world needs to hear and implement just […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Ideas · Learning · Patience · Thinking

Sloth

March 15th, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A tough one to define, but we usually know it when we see it. And then we ask, “Why?” Look to the eyes. I spent a few days in airports recently. I found myself discouraged. The word “sloth” kept coming to mind. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Clarity

What have You Seen or Heard…

March 1st, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Often, perceptions and other ghosts cause us to believe things. Go back to a fundamental question. The world is coming to an end. Nothing is right. Everyone is against this. What else have I told myself? What else did I “know?” All were hunches, perceptions, gut feel, and such. Sigh. All is […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Analysis · Breathe · Clarity · Knowledge

The Play (Project) Isn’t Over

October 23rd, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The most important decision about a project may be when we say, “It is over.” Watching college (semi- or mostly-professional) football this weekend. Several times today I see a 19 to 21-year old score a touchdown and in great glee make enough of the wrong motions to be flagged for excessive celebration […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Clarity · Decide · Management

The Plan versus the Idea

June 1st, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Often “plans” are merely “ideas.” Ideas suffice if they are small enough. We have a lot of plans where I work and recreate. The trouble is, I can’t ever seem to find them. No one can produce an artifact that records the plan. Truth is, the plan is in the mind of […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Analysis · Clarity · Communication · Ideas · Planning

We are Requesting…

May 29th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Yet another group of needless words and the search for the actual verb. I recently read something and felt my skin crawl at the same time. Something was amiss. Sigh, go back, read it again. We are requesting that you give blah blah blah. Okay, what’s wrong? This is another version of […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Writing

Ready, Fire, Aim—or something like that

April 24th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we have to stop, go back to basics, and learn what we are trying to do before we try to do it. Stupid, right? How in the world could I run off and start working before knowing what it is I am supposed to do? Trust. Someone I trusted told me […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Analysis · Clarity · Work

Explaining

November 28th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes, all that is needed is to explain the other people. This may be the most difficult task in the world. Some people just don’t understand some other people. Why not? Because those are other people who are somewhere else. The two groups of people need someone who lives with one group […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Clarity · Communication · Differences · Group · Ideas