by Dwayne Phillips Call me too literal, call me too geeky, but I want to have actual 2D anything. 3D! 3D! 3D! Everybody wants 3D everything. We want… 3D printing 3D user interface on the smartphone 3D movies 3D gestures for control of computers 3D integrated circuits The list goes on. Silly me, I want […]
3D? I Want 2D
May 2nd, 2016 · No Comments
Tags: Computing · Expectations · General Systems Thinking
Learning What You Want to Be
March 24th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Here is an exercise that may help you learn what you want to be or learn what excites you. Not sure what you want to be? Have someone say, “You will one day be a fill-in-the-blank.” For example, have someone introduce you to a stranger by saying: This is Dwayne, he will […]
Tags: Expectations
Is This a Job Interview or a Consulting Session?
March 3rd, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I have been interviewed for jobs several dozen times in the last three years. Most “interviews” became free consulting sessions. The past three years have not been good for me and working at paying jobs. I am over age and over qualified. At least I soothe my feelings by telling myself these […]
Tags: Communication · Competence · Consulting · Employment · Expectations · Greed
If You Want People to Take You Seriously
November 19th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Why aren’t people taking me seriously? Why aren’t people paying attention to me? If I want people to take and my group seriously, I should: do CMMI do PMP do ITIL sit at the keyboard and write everyday sit at the table and draw everyday take photos everyday play my instrument everyday […]
Tags: Adults · Change · Excuses · Expectations · People
Free Service Means No Refunds
July 6th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Google and others give me free services. That means I get no refund if they fail. What if I woke tomorrow and Google had lost everything I ever did? All my gmails are gone; all my Google Docs are gone, and everything I put on the Google drive is gone. What kind […]
Tags: Economics · Expectations
Can’t versus Don’t Want To
April 6th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A recent experience with a customer-service organization illustrates how much of today’s “can’t” is merely “I don’t want to.” The topic of this blog is nothing new. That is one of my frustrations as this is an old habit that I wish and wish had gone away in today’s world of inter-networked […]
Tags: Expectations · Life · People
Selling a Program, Keeping it Sold
March 9th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips To gain approval for an endeavor, you must “sell” it to those who decide such things. Then, as work progresses, you must continue to engage those who decide and keep the project “sold.” I hate this topic. That is because one of my worst experiences in my career was due to my […]
Tags: Change · Communication · Expectations · Management
Performers, Predictors, and Punishment
February 23rd, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips When a performer doesn’t perform as predicted, the predictor is in the wrong. Too bad that we usually fail to recognize that. I write this the week after all the big tech companies posted their quarterly financial reports. Some companies didn’t perform as expected, i.e., as predicted. The result was that the […]
Tags: Competence · Estimation · Expectations · Judgment
Tell Them it is Normal
January 29th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Life is full of challenges and frustrations. Some of these are normal. When encountering normal with a person who has not encountered it before, explain to them that it is normal. I once tutored a young man through a frustrating process at work. In the middle of the pull-out-your-hair and smash-your-head-through-the-wall day, […]
Tags: Communication · Consulting · Education · Expectations · Learning
Two Unspoken Requirements
November 24th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Many projects make no sense. They are driven by two unspoken yet paramount requirements. I have seen many projects that were driven by two unspoken but paramount requirements: The project must cost a certain amount of money—no more and no less You have to look like you are trying to do something […]
Tags: Culture · Expectations · Magic · Management · Requirements