Working Up

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

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Problems Bypassed by Time

July 25th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Many problems are solved; many others are not solved. And then there are problems that are not solved, but they just go away with time. The United States Postal Service, otherwise known by the often disdainful name of “the post office,” had a big problem. They had millions of envelopes a day […]

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Tags: Communication · General Systems Thinking · Problems · Technology · Wikipedia

Change the World – 0.07 – If That Doesn’t Work…

July 7th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Solutions to problems don’t always work. A person can change the world by being available to another no matter the outcome. The situation is fairly common. One person comes to another with a situation that requires some assistance. The second person provides instruction for the situation. The first person is about to […]

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Tags: Change · Problems · Time

The Pull-the-Wire Test

June 20th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I have given many demonstrations of systems. I have watched even more demonstrations of systems. One thing I have learned to do during a demonstration is to pull a wire to see if the demonstration still works. Many years ago, I was involved in a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day test of a system. This […]

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Tags: Problems · Systems · Technology

The Curse of the Small Project

May 19th, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Small projects are great for new engineers. The new engineers learn so many different aspects of building a system on a small project. I used to think that; I no longer do. Instead, I think that small or smaller projects carry with them a curse that can ruin an engineer or programmer […]

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Tags: Management · Problems · Systems · Work

The Tooth Fairy

April 21st, 2011 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The tooth fairy does not exist. No amount of wishing, hoping, dreaming, and whatever it is that children do when a baby tooth falls from their mouth, will change that fact. Sometimes – many times – adults at work wish there is a tooth fairy and we wish we can just jump […]

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Tags: Fable · Problems · Thinking · Work

How to Solve A Problem

July 29th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are many processes available to solving problems and and working situations. Despite all our advances in methods and processes, still the best method in many cases is to focus on the problem, commit resources, and solve it. Here’s the secret step to solving any problem: Solve it I was reminded of […]

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Tags: Management · Problems · Process · Thinking

Emailing High Blood Pressure

July 22nd, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I have learned how to email bad emotions and their accompanying physical ailments away. It is a good technique to master. Several years ago, I opened some shipping cases to inspect some systems that a contractor had built for us. I was disappointed, then I was upset, then furious. There were a […]

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Tags: Health · Ideas · Problems · Systems

The iPhone Prototype

April 29th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips An Apple prototype is found in a bar. A stream of events ensue where no one seems to do the right thing. That is too bad. This story won’t seem to die. A basic timeline: Person #1 carries an Apple iPhone prototype out of the facility Person #1 loses the prototype in […]

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Tags: Apple · People · Privacy · Problems

Right Problem, Wrong Method, or was It the Other Way Around?

January 28th, 2010 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are problems and there are methods of solving them. Given these two items, there are four cases that can define projects. Let’s consider the cases and how to avoid the more painful ones. In some of my books I have written about projects that went astray, i.e. they were disasters with […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Management · Problems

Solving Someone Else’s Problems

December 7th, 2009 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I solve problems. Sometimes that is my job, but often it comes away from the job. I say “no” more often than in the past. There are several reasons with a major one being that only when some people experience the pain of a problem do they stop creating problems for themselves. […]

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Tags: Learning · Problems