Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Once again I attempt to make a million dollars be creating a three-letter acronym – DIN. Some 30 years ago (yes, I am that old), I was pouring myself a cup of coffee at work. On the bulletin board in front of me was an article cut from the newspaper (see ANOTHER […]

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by Dwayne Phillips If you use tools at work, and who doesn’t, have tool experts around. I am a big believer in having specialists working on a project – people who know one thing well. Yes, there is a place for other people, but most projects I have experienced have all generalists and no specialists. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips To work with other persons, establish trust. One technique is to go to their place and show a genuine interest in them as a person. Someone asked me recently about how I would influence other people in an inter-department project. My reply was: establish trust Of course, the next question was, “How?” […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes a fiasco provides an excellent learning opportunity as we can study the group dynamics that led smart people to a stupid place. Then again, the fiasco may just be yet another example of stupidity. “That’s fascinating!” That may be a nice way of saying, “How could a group of such smart […]

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by Dwayne Phillips My technique for accomplishing a lot of tasks in a day or any arbitrary period of time. It was more than 30 years ago, (yes, I am that old), I was someplace a long ways from here. I was standing at the entrance to a storeroom. Metal shelves lined the walls of […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I spend a productive day at a co-work location. A few weeks ago I spent a day at a c0-work location – WeSpace in Reston, Virginia. I had read about co-work locations for a few years and knew that one existed in my town.  Since I am currently unemployed, why not try […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I have met managers who acted as though electrons, concrete, steel, wood, and other things could hear them screaming, “Work Right!” I never quite understood that, but the idea seems popular. I have overseen and managed many projects in the last few decades. Back in the mid-1980s (yes, I am that old), […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Experienced people have a significant problem in today’s unemployment environment: we are very good at knowing what should not be done. I have been working since 1980. That is a lot of years in some fields. I know a lot more than I did in 1980. One of the areas where my […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I have read it dozens of times – quit your job, do what you love, you will succeed. Oh really? I read something today that agrees with my experience: It takes money to start a freelance life. There – I wrote it. This disagrees with most of what I have read about […]

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by Dwayne Phillips It is often the case that you accomplish more work by attempting less work. At the same time, you can be a pretty decent person. Several years ago, I worked as the technical lead overseeing government contracts. I worked with a Contracting Officer (CO), who monitored the legal aspects of the contracts. […]

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