Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips If I work directly for you, I will do as you say. If, however, your are three or four levels distant, meh. A number of years ago I wrote about the information thermocline. Bureaucracies tend to reduce the flow of information as it attempts to pass from the top to the bottom. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips In which professionals show Parkinson how to make some real dough. Parkinson’s law is the adage that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. It is sometimes applied to the growth of bureaucracy in an organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law When work is slow, it expands. That is, the workers […]

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by Dwayne Phillips When in doubt, take the easier way. That seems to be the norm. We bumped into some odd situations this week at work. Four months ago, something was supposed to happen. Something major was supposed to happen. Nothing happened. Actually, nothing appeared to happen. Major things did happen. Several persons acted decisively. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips What interests me today? The project that I am working today? Perhaps not. I know I am working on this project today, but it is just another project. Sure, I want it to succeed, but really, it’s just another one. What really interests me is finding the BIG IDEA. That thing that […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We all need assistance in our work. There are requests for assistance that bring assistance. There are requests for assistance that bring nothing. We all need assistance in our work. Persons who can do their job well all the time are stalled in a job that doesn’t challenge them. There are requests […]

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by Dwayne Phillips People differ in work styles. Failing to admit such is failure. Let’s discuss our difference and work. We turn in products on schedule, sometimes literally at the last hour. Well, what’s the problem? The products are on time. And many are fine with that. If you finish ahead of time, you show […]

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by Dwayne Phillips “I don’t know” and “I don’t want to say” are close cousins. They also carry much information if we are willing to listen. “I don’t know.” “I can’t say.” “I don’t want to say anything now as I may be divulging too much or incorrect information.” Would you please tell me something? […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we don’t do some things at work merely because they are inconvenient. “I don’t want to do such-and-such,” said busy, hardworking person at work. “It is inconvenient to me,” thought the same person but didn’t say it aloud. Work can be fun and rewarding or as some have said, “Pleasant, productive, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips The new boss arrives. Everyone tells her what they are doing all at once in great detail. The new boss is “sipping from the fire hose.” I heard this “sipping from the fire hose” phrase a thousand times in my career. The new boss arrives. She is inundated with details during the […]

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by Dwayne Phillips One of the ultimate compliments at work is, “We’ll do fine without you.” If you want to be indispensable, do a really bad job. It may seem backwards, but we can do without our best employees. Of course, this all depends on the definition we use for “best” and “good.” Our best […]

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