Working Up

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

Working Up header image 4

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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, […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Choose · Humility · Learning · Mistakes

Please Show Me

March 31st, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is much hyperbole in the technology field these days. There are three words that can eliminate that hyperbole. Be polite when using them. Over the years I have heard many amazing statements from people concerning something or other in the field of technology. I have mostly worked in computing over the […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Appearances · Hope · Humility · Technology · Visibility