by Dwayne Phillips When an otherwise rational person starts speaking nonsense—pay attention as something important is happening. People tell me how important a topic is to them by how they speak to me. Rational, logical, focused—nope. Not those adjectives. I am writing about important topics. When something is important, something burns inside. The heart quickens, […]
Important Nonsense
May 22nd, 2017 · No Comments
Tags: Breathe · Communication · Consulting · People
Hate Your Boss, Be Your Own Boss (or???)
May 4th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There are alternatives to replacing your hated boss with yourself. The title of this post came to my attention recently. It was part of one of those “Give me your money and I will make your life so much better” ads. If you hate your boss, you can quit your job, start […]
The Mythical Shortage of fill-in-the-blank-persons
April 6th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Shortage of qualified applicants? A myth. Here is one of the explanations. Sorry if this exposes what you wear under your kilt. There is a shortage of… qualified programmers qualified analysts qualified engineers qualified qualifiers that is why we want more fill-in-the-blank-with-magical-government-magic. Listen to what companies say: “We can’t find qualified fill-in-the-blank-persons.” […]
Tags: Employment · People
The Production Crew or We Got the Band Back Together
February 16th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I recommend an organization for the future or work as we know it. This is the new company. It is an agile team that has worked together on many software projects. The Team has learned much on all these past projects. The Team has become high performing (it “jelled” a long time […]
Tags: Management · People · Success · Synergy · Work
Persons, Products, and How We Discuss Them
February 13th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We thank the person. We comment on the product. And we let everyone know that is what we do here. Persons accomplish the work in endeavors. Persons use tools, sometimes they are really cool and expensive ones, but persons ultimately accomplish the work. The outcome of the work is a product (sometimes […]
Tags: Authentic · Communication · People · Respect · Work
People are (the most important) Part of the System
January 26th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we have to update the technology even when old technology still does the job. Requirements are real. We work to meet requirements in systems. Once the requirements are met, that is it. But what about the people? Many years ago, I worked with a system that used old technology. It was […]
Neighborly
April 25th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I encourage managers and other influence-rs to speak to their colleagues in the place where the colleagues are most comfortable. I encourage managers and other to speak with each of their colleagues. I find two points here: First, speak to your colleagues everyday. If nothing special is happening, talk about “the weather.” […]
Tags: Authentic · Consulting · People · Trust · Uncategorized · Work
Fun
April 14th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Never by surprised at what some persons consider to be “fun.” Consider this when managing risk. Recently, Microsoft put an Artificial Intelligence system called Tay on Twitter or something to learn how to chat. Some persons found it and taught it how to chat like a jerk. Microsoft wasn’t prepared for that […]
Tags: Excuses · Fun · People · Risk
Talk to Everyone, Everyday
February 22nd, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips This is fundamental project manager advice. Avoid at your peril. I’ve managed a lot of technical projects. These projects employed engineers, programmers, scientists, administrators, and so on. One thing I’ve learned is: People tend to keep their work to themselves. Hmm. So how is the working progressing? These people won’t come to […]
Tags: Communication · Management · People · Work
If You Want People to Take You Seriously
November 19th, 2015 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Why aren’t people taking me seriously? Why aren’t people paying attention to me? If I want people to take and my group seriously, I should: do CMMI do PMP do ITIL sit at the keyboard and write everyday sit at the table and draw everyday take photos everyday play my instrument everyday […]
Tags: Adults · Change · Excuses · Expectations · People