by Dwayne Phillips If we work a little, learn a little, and repeat, we can do some pretty impressive things. We don’t, however, like to do this “little” thing. Let’s work a little, talk about what we did, learn a little, and try again. That reduces the misunderstandings. That keeps us from wasting resources by […]
Work a Little, Learn a Little
August 3rd, 2023 · No Comments
Tags: Agility · Humility · Learning · People · Work
Whose Words?
May 1st, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips It is important to remember whose words we are discussing. If you mentioned something, we are discussing your words. If I mentioned something, we are discussing my words. There are ways to back away from our words. I read the words from the PowerPoint. They were wrong. Simply wrong. 1 + 2 […]
Tags: Accountability · Communication · Humility · Learning · Meetings · Mistakes
Words and Distant Lands
February 27th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips People in distant lands use the same words differently. Time and generations create distant lands. I was fascinated by this story about younger folks putting things on TikTok et al. Then older folks who admit people to college and hire them for jobs noticed those things. The younger folks spoke in the […]
Tags: Communication · Conversation · Culture · Humility · Language · Time
Sometimes I Don’t Take the Podium
February 6th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I like to speak in front of audiences. I like to take the podium and talk. Sometimes, however, I don’t take the podium. Sometimes, I need another person to stand in the way and say, “No, not today.” I recently attended a memorial service for someone who died. Close family members stood […]
Tags: Breathe · Clarity · Decide · Fatigue · Health · Honesty · Humility · Permission
The WristCoach: Why not for the Rest of Us?
November 7th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Athletes are wearing encyclopedia’s on their wrists (some call them wristcoach). The device helps the memory at critical moments. Why can’t the rest of us wear them? We have all seen these on TV for the past several years. They are great big wrist bands that have all the plays or something […]
Tags: Appearances · Expertise · Fatigue · Humility · Remember · Tools
Spilled Coffee
October 31st, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I finally did it—I spilled a cup of coffee on my computer (first time ever over 40 years). A few lessons learned. After 40+ years of using my own personal computer, I spilled a cup of coffee on my current Apple MacBook Air. After a couple of hours, the coffee saturated the […]
Tags: Accountability · Chaos · Cloud Computing · Computing · Failure · Humility · Learning · Mistakes
Putting a Face to a Name
August 25th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Perhaps this is the complaint of an old man, but all the Zoomer Teams meetings just aren’t getting it done. The title of this post is an old expression from an old time. We used to talk with people on the telephone. That worked to a point, but we couldn’t “picture” the […]
Tags: Appearances · Clarity · Humility · Respect · Stories · Trust · Video · Work
Those Wrist Bands
May 19th, 2022 · No Comments
By Dwayne Phillips We all have a less-than-perfect memory. Let us admit that and use little gadgets that help us remember to do what we know we should do. I keep noticing professional and other high-level athletes wearing giant wrist bands. I guess ”wrist band” is incorrect as these things cover the entire forearm of […]
Tags: Competence · Help · Humility · Information · Meetings · Notebook · Remember · Simple
A Buddy
May 16th, 2022 · No Comments
By Dwayne Phillips A buddy is someone who is standing next to me whom I assume knows what they are doing. They are carrying me. Then I learn otherwise. We all need a buddy. We all need someone standing next to us for support, advice, know how, etc. One problem with having a buddy in […]
Tags: Appearances · Help · Humility · Other
Mistakes and Learning
May 5th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We all make mistakes. Some of us learn from some of our mistakes some of the time. The choice is ours. We all make mistakes. That is part of being imperfect humans. How many mistakes did I make this week? How about just this morning? (Forgot to bring my laptop’s power cord, […]