Working Up

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

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Beware of the Unbalanced Relationship

August 24th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Take great caution when you enter an endeavor with someone who has far more experience than you. There are occasions in life when we enter a financial agreement in a terribly unbalanced relationship. One example: a parent dies. I am arranging the funeral, i.e., I am paying for it. I go to […]

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Tags: Context · Knowledge

The Knowledge-to-Opinion Ratio

July 13th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Similar to the signal-to-noise ratio is the knowledge-to-opinion ratio. Watch for it. sig·nal-to-noise ra·tio noun the ratio of the strength of an electrical or other signal carrying information to that of interference, generally expressed in decibels. The signal-to-noise ratio used to be important to most of us. While riding in a car, […]

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Tags: Communication · Knowledge · Word

Common Sense and Others

February 17th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It seems that “common sense” is what others need, which says much about me. Me: Someone who has that malady should stay home and get well. Me (later): I am fine. I am not that sick. I can do my job even when I am not completely well. Common sense. It is […]

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Tags: Decide · Judgment · Knowledge

Moving Past “I Don’t Know”

February 3rd, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we don’t know something. There is a magic question that moves us from unknowing to knowing. Three words: when will you? Person A: How much will this project cost? Person B: I don’t know. Person A: When will you (know how much this project will cost)? Person B: I don’t know. […]

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Tags: Knowledge · Learning · Questions

I Understand this Well Enough to…

August 5th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One basic progression of understanding. I understand this well enough to: understand it in my mind use it explain it clearly to others invent it invent what comes next ignore it

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Tags: Knowledge · Learning

Knowledge Management: The Fundamental Need, now, what was it…

March 14th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I forget the fundamental requirement of knowledge management. Maybe that was it. I recently met a person who declared that she took great joy in formatting Microsoft Word documents. She loved they way she could align everything on the page and mis-align a few things in just the right places. This person […]

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Tags: Communication · Knowledge · Management

But How will that Person Learn?

February 18th, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Experts are far more productive than the average. But if we eliminate the average, how will anyone become an expert? Expert managers can manage 10 times the work of the average manager. Expert fill-in-the-blank can do 10 times the work of the average fill-in-the-blank. But how will the expert become an expert […]

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Tags: Competence · Judgment · Knowledge · Learning

It’s Called “Source Code” for a Reason

January 21st, 2019 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Want to know what computer software is doing? Go to the source of knowledge regarding it. I run a bash script daily to put my Internet viewing log online. (See here.) This script runs through a series of folders, us old guys still call them directories as in the Unix days, copies […]

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Tags: Knowledge · Systems · Uncategorized

What have You Seen or Heard…

March 1st, 2018 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Often, perceptions and other ghosts cause us to believe things. Go back to a fundamental question. The world is coming to an end. Nothing is right. Everyone is against this. What else have I told myself? What else did I “know?” All were hunches, perceptions, gut feel, and such. Sigh. All is […]

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Tags: Analysis · Breathe · Clarity · Knowledge

Knowledge Management in Real Life

August 17th, 2017 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Want to see knowledge management in action? Go to, of all places, the library. No, we won’t go to the library to find a book all about knowledge management. We will go to the library to see knowledge management in real life. Look about. We are surrounded by reusable modules of knowledge […]

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Tags: Knowledge · Library · Management