Working Up

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

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Maybe It was a Bad Idea (that survived accidentally)

December 27th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Just because something survived and thrived doesn’t mean it was a good idea. There are other explanations. Good ideas bubble to the top. Market success shows those good ideas. Bad ideas fizzle. They don’t make it anywhere. Well, maybe these statements are true, but maybe the aren’t. I see things that have […]

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Tags: Design · Expectations · General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Reframe · Success · Systems · Technical Debt · Time

People Say That Because…

November 25th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We often say things simply because we have heard others say those things. We are an odd lot. People say that because… they heard other people say that. And the other people said it with great confidence and bravado. Hence, it must be true, right? “Half of marriages end in divorce.” That […]

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Tags: Appearances · Communication · Error · Expectations · Judgment · Reality

Welcome Back to the Office (?)

August 12th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Folks long for the good old days. That includes rich and famous CEOs. Tim Cook is ready for Apple’s workforce to return to the office building. Many in Apple’s workforce don’t want to return to the office building. Tim Cook is ready for Apple’s workforce to return to the office building. Did […]

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Tags: Apple · Employment · Expectations · Leadership · Remote Work · Work

Telecommuting and Shipping

June 3rd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Working from home? Ship. End of questions about working from home. Fourteen months into the pandemic, many of us are still working from home. We are about to go back to the office building. I think. I am not sure. There are still questions about this telecommuting, telework, work from home, and […]

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Tags: Culture · Employment · Expectations · Goals · Myth · Remote Work · Time · Work

We May Never See 2024

March 22nd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Three years from now may never come. “I don’t want to be ‘locked into’ company A because company B may have a better offering in three years. We need to be able to shift to company B.”—a well-meaning advisor. In three years, the world may be different. Let’s remain agile. Let’s keep […]

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Tags: Agility · Clarity · Expectations · Planning

The Bad Thing about TED Talks

March 11th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Every now and then, someone shows how well you can do something. In rare situations, everyone else improves. Most of the time, however, not so much. I like to watch TED talks. They are so goooooood. Twenty minutes. Every sentence full of content. Just enough visuals, but not too many. Relevant topics. […]

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Tags: Communication · Expectations · Expertise · Improvement · Leadership

Fiction and Disinformation

December 14th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Fiction, when repeated enough, becomes fact in the minds of many. So why aren’t we trying to stomp out fiction that is far from reality? I have seen many movies on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. 99% of murders in real life are not like that, nothing like that. 99% of murders in […]

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Tags: Expectations · Fable · Fairy Tales · Information · Stories · Writing

Just do It! Are You Kidding?

November 19th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We “just” … Nothing is easy. We might as well describe the situation as it is. Everything is easy if someone else is supposed to do it. When I have to do it, not so easy. Yet, we describe things as easy. We’ll just do this and that and be done with […]

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Tags: Authentic · Competence · Conversation · Expectations · Humility · Word

The Overseers

October 29th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If work is important enough to be performed, the product is important enough to be inspected. Someone is supposed to do something. Okay. Do it. Next. Right? This is a note to project managers and those who may think we don’t need or maybe need project managers: You get what you inspect, […]

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Tags: Adults · Expectations · Management · Work

What’dya Say?

February 6th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A fundamental question of each of us is, “Do I want someone else to understand?” If yes, great effort may be required. If no, keep moving. I work with other persons. Nothing unique there, but I am fortunate in that most of these others are really smart and are working on the […]

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Tags: Communication · Expectations · Ideas