Working Up

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

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The Next (Logical) Question

March 25th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The path to solution is often found in the next (logical) question. Person A: How much will this cost? Person B: I don’t know? Person A: When will you know? Person B: Uh, I don’t know that either? Person A: What will you need to do so that you know? Person B: […]

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Tags: Ideas · Learning · Planning · Questions

Standing on My Own Shoulders (?)

March 4th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I am pretty good at standing on the shoulders of others. Can I learn to stand on my own shoulders? I am pretty good at standing on the shoulders of others’. 1 Someone else works, works, and works to arrive at something. Whew. They are exhausted. 2 I read it. Aha! How […]

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Tags: Analysis · Growth · Ideas · Learning

Let Me Explain Myself, Then I Might Understand Myself

March 1st, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There is much good in the act of sitting down with another person and explaining to them what I think I am doing. It isn’t always easy to explain to another person what I am about to do. It is, however, a good use of time. That act usually shows me what […]

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Tags: Communication · Concepts · Ideas · Talk · Visibility

Can I have a Flat, Horizontal Surface, Please?

February 15th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The flat, horizontal surface is a natural. Home architects know their value. The designers of automobile interiors, however, seem to be living on another planet. In automobiles, the dash (the area above the displays) is curved and sloped. Flat surfaces don’t exist. So where do I set something that I want to […]

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Tags: Concepts · Design · Fun · Ideas · Improvement

Skimming and Diving

December 28th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we skim the surface to gather an overview. Sometimes we dive in deep to discover the details. I like an overview. I like the nitty gritty details. Which do we like? On which day? For me, the overview is easier. I learn the general idea. I tell people that “all I […]

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Tags: Concepts · Energy · Fear · Ideas · Technology

I’m Glad 2020 is Over

November 16th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The year 2020 got you down? Declare it over. Person A: I’m glad 2020 is over! Person B: Huh, we have another 6 or 8 weeks of 2020 to go. Person A: No, 2020 is over, gone. We’re in 2021 now. Person B: Huh, we, uh, what? Person A: 2020 is gone. […]

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Tags: Calendar · Choose · History · Ideas · Myth · Reaction

That’s Not It!

September 28th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One of the better things to do in a thinking meeting is to find things you don’t want to do. “That’s not it!” is one of the better things you can hear at a thinking meeting. For example, a few years or decades ago—I lose track—I was standing at the white board […]

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Tags: Ideas · Meetings · Success · Thinking · Visibility

A Good Story

August 16th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Most of us profess to like a good story, but do we? Stories are important. They inform others of our path to where we are today. We love stories. Or do we love the word “story?” If we love stories, we would tell them often. We would type the words to the […]

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Tags: Communication · Ideas · Stories · Writing

This Project vs. the BIG IDEA

August 13th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips What interests me today? The project that I am working today? Perhaps not. I know I am working on this project today, but it is just another project. Sure, I want it to succeed, but really, it’s just another one. What really interests me is finding the BIG IDEA. That thing that […]

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Tags: Ideas · Management · Work

Cause Change

June 8th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Angst rules America this week. We have to do something. What can I change and how? Here is a set of questions to guide me. I write this in early June 2020. We have demonstrations and protests calling for justice and change. Perhaps I am too rational or practical, but I feel […]

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Tags: Alternatives · America · Change · Government · Ideas · Patience · Questions