by Dwayne Phillips This is another fundamental of written communications that we seem to have forgotten—the humble abbreviation. Let’s abbreviate: The last item in the list is confusing, but given the context we always know what that means, right? Sorry, we don’t. I contend that we should not use abbreviations any longer. 98.6% of the […]
Abbreviations
June 19th, 2023 · No Comments
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Tools · Work · Writing
Do and Claim, in That Order
March 6th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There are many endeavors in which it is important to do something before talking about doing it. Have an idea for a book? Great. Don’t pitch the idea to publishers. They will expect you to come back with 90% of the book in hand. Then they will talk to you about you […]
Tags: Concepts · Ideas · Intellectual Property · Resources · Stories · Tools · Work
The Problem, the Solution, and Focus
January 16th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We can focus on only one thing at a time. That is part of the definition of “focus.” There are ideas for shifting focus that work pretty well. I can focus on one thing at a time. That is what “focus” means—one thing at a time. Am I focusing on the problem […]
Tags: Problems · Process · Solutions · Technology · Tools
We Don’t Need to Do That (yes, we do)
December 1st, 2022 · No Comments
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 […]
Tags: Jobs · Meetings · Simple · Tools
The WristCoach: Why not for the Rest of Us?
November 7th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Athletes are wearing encyclopedia’s on their wrists (some call them wristcoach). The device helps the memory at critical moments. Why can’t the rest of us wear them? We have all seen these on TV for the past several years. They are great big wrist bands that have all the plays or something […]
Tags: Appearances · Expertise · Fatigue · Humility · Remember · Tools
The Compliance Matrix
August 1st, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I take the time to describe an old tool that helps us do what is asked. There is room for doing more, but we should at least do what is asked. There is an old tool called a compliance matrix. For mathematicians, I apologize for the word “matrix” as this is a […]
Tags: Baseline · Requirements · Simple · Systems · Tools
The Clipboard and the Pencil…and Organizing the Work
July 21st, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Overwhelmed with many tasks and people? Grab a clipboard and a pencil. This one may require a clipboard with a bigger clip that has a bigger capacity than most, but the basic tools will suffice. There are too many tasks and too many people. Emails and text messages and notes from here […]
Tags: Management · Portfolio · Resources · Simple · Technology · Tools · Work
Free for More Meaningful Work
May 2nd, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Automation and artificial intelligence promise to take away the bane of some work and make us free for more meaningful work. Do we want that? Automation frees us from that old work that is just the same old same old. We will have time on our hands and be free for more […]
Tags: Artificial Intelligence · People · Respect · Technology · Tools · Vocabulary · Work
First, Let’s Do Something Useful
April 18th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips When introducing something new, it helps to do something useful at the beginning and then delve into more details and more powerful capabilities later. I am interested in robotics, software, and my grandchildren. The intersection of these centers on my grandchildren and finding things for them to do when they visit me. […]
Tags: Childhood · Learning · Solutions · Time · Tools · Work
Data Science is the New Web Design
February 10th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Many of today’s data scientists are similar to man of the web designers of the 1990s. I think this is a good thing. A recent conversation with a colleague helped me to realized something about data science in today’s world. I thought data scientists were computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who knew […]
Tags: Data Science · Engineering · Experiment · Expertise · Mathematics · Science · Systems · Technology · Tools · Web 2.0