Working Up

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

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Believe Reality

May 23rd, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips No matter what is in a document, believe what you observe in the here and now. Believe reality. While writing this, we are in the middle of having the carpet replaced at work. The big room where I work is filled with cubicles (one of the great torture chambers invented by man). […]

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Tags: Adapting · Observation · Planning · Reality · Work

The Parking Lot Concierge

September 21st, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This is something we need. Shopping centers, please read. I’ve seen it many times. An adult steps out of their car in the shopping center parking lot. They have two or more small children with them. All the children are strapped into car seats. Let’s see, unbuckle the oldest child first, or […]

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Tags: Adults · Culture · Expectations · Observation · Rest · Security

Inconvenient Facts

July 18th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips These inconvenient facts seem to be everywhere. They are inconvenient, however, only when we have a story to tell that denies reality. There are some old sayings like, “opinions being mugged by facts,” and “don’t confuse my opinion with facts,” and “there is nothing like facts getting in the way of my […]

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Tags: Analysis · Appearances · Communication · Data Science · Knowledge · Observation

A Place to Belong (after being isolated)

June 2nd, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Americans are coming out of isolation from our reaction to the virus. One result is a growing trend to form unions. There is a growing trend in America to form unions for workers in coffee shops, restaurants, warehouses, etc. The obvious explanation is that these places have become rich and have not […]

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Tags: Commitment · Expectations · Expertise · Observation · Reaction · Remote Work · Virus · Work

The Buddy

May 30th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips It helps to have someone standing next to you. This is a simple, old, and often overlooked aid to working better. A buddy is someone standing next to you whom you assume knows what they are doing. Often, a few moments later, you both realize that you both assumed the other is […]

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Tags: Appearances · Competence · Expertise · Group · Improvement · Observation · Other · People

The Edge and the Center

May 9th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The edge is that area between the center of two places. Things are different at the edge. Try to remember the difference. I recently spent a few of strenuous days cleaning a fence row. A fence row comprises the ground a couple feet each side of a fence. In my case, the […]

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Tags: Adapting · Context · Differences · Expectations · Learning · Notice · Observation

Where is Their Energy?

September 30th, 2021 · No Comments

Dwayne Phillips We can tell when we have affected another person by observing their energy. One of the better questions to ask when trying to convince or teach or somehow affect another person is, “When do they gain energy?” Consider: At what point does the other person change their posture? That is the energy. That […]

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Tags: Change · Energy · Influence · Notice · Observation · Reaction · Visibility

The Denial of Service Attack

August 30th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips What we saw with gas stations is known as a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. Flood a business with customers and the business fails. The scary part is that someone learned from the situation. Back in May of 2021 (boy, that seems like a long time ago), a pipeline was closed due […]

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Tags: Concepts · Customer · Failure · General Systems Thinking · Observation · People · Reaction

Chimney, Orange, and Odd Connections

July 19th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The words “chimney” and “orange” rhyme, well, sort of, maybe not, but they are certainly connected. In English, there is no word that rhymes with “orange.” At least that is what I have read. I’m not sure about that. I have heard the same about the word “chimney,” but once again I […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Observation · Reality · Systems · Thinking · Word

The Common Person

January 25th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Thoughts about all those folks out there who seem to be doing something that the experts don’t like. 1980—it was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away when I heard a woman telling foreign dignitaries about the common person in America. I didn’t approach her and hit her with […]

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Tags: Appearances · Fairy Tales · Integrity · Observation · People · Respect