by Dwayne Phillips Of course no one agrees with me when we read, hear, see, etc. the same thing. We are in different places in different times while in the same place at the same time. As a kid, the most enjoyable episodes of my favorite programs were the ones where they played one scene […]
Disagreements
November 19th, 2018 · No Comments
Tags: Communication · Listening · Management
Ethics in Computer Science and Engineering
October 29th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Have we sunk so low that we give prizes to those who teach that lying and theft are wrong? Back in medieval times when I was in college and used punch cards for computer input…professors used to joke about (or so it went), “So and so was a programmer for such and […]
Tags: Accountability · Communication · Ethics · Teaching · Trust
The fill-in-the-blank Readiness Review
October 18th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Are we ready to do this? Long ago I participated in meetings that were called things like: Operational Readiness Review Test Readiness Review Contract Readiness Review Trip Readiness Review fill-in-the-blank Several persons sat together and asked, “Are we ready to do this?” Regardless of what “this” was, we discussed the answer. Sometimes […]
Tags: Communication · Review
The Design Review
October 15th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Let us consider the humble design review. It is still valuable. I have an idea. I think it will solve a problem or improve a situation. It is just an idea, but let’s try it. Perhaps—before we try it—let’s discuss it. This discussion of an idea before trying it is a design […]
Tags: Communication · Design · Review
The Action Item
September 24th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I review yet another fundamental of accomplishing work that seems to have been forgotten. In order for us to accomplish our work and our mission, we need you to do something. Here is the work. Here is the schedule. Here are the resources. Please. I suppose we leave off most of those […]
Tags: Communication · Work
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.
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Writing
Editing Tips
August 16th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Trying to edit the writing of yourself or someone else? Especially trying to shorten the writing? Simply delete the last phrase of a sentence the last sentence of a paragraph the last paragraph of a page the last page of a chapter the last chapter of a book the last section of […]
Tags: Communication · Writing
The Word We Choose and Use: Complaint versus Wish
August 13th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes if we change one little word to another littler word, the message is received. I write this post from a local coffee shop. I have been coming to this local coffee shop to viewing the Internet and write various things for about ten years. Every now and then, one of the […]
Tags: 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 […]
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Ideas · Learning · Patience · Thinking
Oversight versus Hands On
July 30th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Another troubling thing recruiters often say. Recruiter: Oh, so you’re interested in an oversight position as opposed to hands on. Me: No, I am not looking for an oversight position. I really don’t understand what that is. Since it is your word, would you please explain it to me? Recruiter: …silence… Me: […]
Tags: Communication · Concepts · Work