by Dwayne Phillips We aren’t as smart as we assume. Sometimes we need to do the simple things first before we move forward. “Can we introduce ourselves before we start?” I asked at a meeting. “No, we know each other here,” said the person presiding. We introduced ourselves first. The person presiding was thrilled to […]
We Don’t Need to Do That (yes, we do)
December 1st, 2022 · No Comments
Tags: Jobs · Meetings · Simple · Tools
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
The Conversations Before the Meeting
April 25th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips This discusses a technique that helps move “decision meetings” in a favorable direction. You spend time to save time. It works more often than not. I have been assigned the task of presenting an idea to a meeting of decision makers. Yes, many organizations still have groups of decision makers, and they […]
Tags: Adapting · Communication · Conversation · Decide · Ideas · Management · Meetings · Process
Another Silly Silence Agreement
April 4th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We seem to create silly rules about silence. This is another one of those, “What happens here stays here.” We create silly rules about silence. I wrote about one earlier in this blog, “Silence is agreement.” Nonsense. Another that just came to mind is, “What is said here stays here.” That permits […]
Tags: Accountability · Adults · Agreement · Meetings · Talk
Back to the Office? On What Occasion?
August 5th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips After the pandemic, some of us will return to the office building on some days. When? Why? Let’s think a bit. The pandemic is over, I guess. It is time to commute to the office and work there. Right? Well, maybe. There are several activities for which online telecommuting doesn’t fit. This […]
Tags: Management · Meetings · Remote Work · Resources · Thinking · Work
“Meetings”
July 8th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I love meetings. They are fun. At least the meetings I attend. Why attend any other kind? There are many types of gatherings that we call “meetings.” That is a disservice to the English language and to the “meeting.” My little work group has a daily “meeting.” I love it. I laugh […]
Tags: Choose · Communication · Fun · Meetings · Work
The Blank Sheet of Paper Test
October 22nd, 2020 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Everyone claims agreement. Great. Let’s just test that statement with a blank sheet of paper. “We all agree on what we are to do!” claimed a person full of hope and anxious to get to work. “Wow, great,” said a second person who likes to hear good news, but is skeptical when […]
Tags: Agreement · Alternatives · Failure · Meetings · Process
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 […]
Tags: Ideas · Meetings · Success · Thinking · Visibility
The Inefficiency Inherent in Remote Work
May 7th, 2020 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Remote work has its efficiencies and time savers. It isn’t all efficient. There are parts that are wasteful. There are places where we multiply waste. Beware. Learn. Remote work saves a lot of time. Some of my colleagues spend several hours a day commuting. Working remote, as some of us have done […]
Tags: Choose · Meetings · Remote Work
Did We Really Need those Conferences Anyway?
March 9th, 2020 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The conferences are cancelled this year. Will we miss them? Really? I suppose that 2020 will be remembered as the year of the coronavirus. Right or wrong, and we may never know if we were right or wrong in all this, people stayed home. We hid from mass gatherings—I didn’t know that […]
Tags: Conference · Economics · Meetings · People