Working Up

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 […]

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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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by Dwayne Phillips Is a thought expressed a complete, accurate, well considered thought or merely thinking out loud? Lots of folks express thoughts in social media these days. I define “social media” as anything that is published in any form without exhaustive peer review. Lots of folks are massacred because of some of these thoughts […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Agile thought: do, learn, change, do learn, repeat. Great stuff in some situations. Not great in national policy. Someone recently noted that the Agile Manifesto was 20 years old. This was a fancy way of stating the obvious when it comes to experiments: do a little, learn a little, do a little, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Another variation of Lewis Carroll’s “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” This time we apply it to hiring data scientists. “We can’t hire enough data scientists.” At least I read that almost everyday out there on the Internet. Well, why can’t we? Here are […]

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by Dwayne Phillips When problems occur in complex online presentations, those involved struggle to fix the problems. They are invested in the presentation. That investment inhibits thinking. Always bring along an uninvested assistant. I have participated in countless ZoomerTeamer meetings in the past year. Some were simple—a daily chat with a small team of colleagues. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips The pandemic has its own phrase for the use of bad or junk science and poor thought and communication. It’s in the “news” almost everyday now. I feel it came about from the pandemic, but there are other excuses we can use. It is that phrase in the title, We know more […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we are trying so hard that we fail to notice the simple and wonderful things right in front of us. Person A: I don’t see. It can’t find it. That idea, that concept, that thing that I’m trying to write. Where is it? Person B: Don’t try so hard. Person A: […]

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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 […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Some persons “think out loud.” This is okay only when done properly. Some persons “think out loud.” They state a list of ideas quickly. This is a rough draft spoken instead of jotted on paper. The ideas are only partially formed and should be worked and reworked until they make sense. That […]

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