Working Up

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

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Big Brother is Probably NOT Watching

July 23rd, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In spite of everything I know about technology, I remain confident that our government is not watching us. There is simply too much incompetence built into the bureaucracy to accomplish such a lofty goal. Consider this blog post a public service announcement: The American government is not watching you. The government isn’t […]

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Tags: Government · Privacy

I Hate “Short” Meetings

July 16th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I dislike most meetings as they are not a time to accomplish work but merely a time to socialize. The worst type of meeting is one that is going to be short. Short meetings waste more time and last longer than any other type of meeting. I dislike the majority of meetings. […]

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Tags: Communication · Government · Meetings · Volunteer

Rules, Exceptions, and Modifiers

June 15th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips For writers and those who name products and services: standard items have shorter names than special ones. Attach modifiers to exceptions to the rule, not the rule. Apple recently changed their line of laptop computers. As expected, the newer computers have more performance and a lower price than last year’s models. In […]

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Tags: Culture · Government · Writing

Rules, Regulations, and Cheaters

June 8th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The current administration is running into all sorts of obstacles that it didn’t have during its campaign. There are countless “stupid rules” inside government. These rules were created because at some time in the past someone cheated. Cheaters are the origin of rules and regulations. The Obama administration has been criticized for […]

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Tags: Culture · Government · People · Web 2.0

One Group of Leaders is All It Takes

June 4th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One group of leaders can ruin a decades-old organization in only a couple of years. I have seen several examples personally. Harvard University is one example in the recent news. Leadership is difficult. It seems wise to limit the power of any one group of leaders. One group of leaders can do […]

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Tags: Government · Judgment · Management

Spirals in Government

May 26th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A recent discussion with Johanna Rothman reminded me of terrible discussions I had with government project managers about project lifecycles. The shame is that most government managers don’t know one project lifecycle from another. Hence, when talking to them, ask enough questions to understand what they think they really mean. In general […]

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Tags: Government · Lifecycle · Management

Government and Money

May 18th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Government exists to spend money. The more money spent, the better it is for those inside government and also for their partners in industry. This is a disappointing system. There are solutions, but don’t look for them to be implemented anytime soon. I worked over 25 years in government and a few […]

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Tags: Government · Management