But That’s Your Job
by Dwayne Phillips Further evidence that people tend to do only what they want to do while at work. Years ago, one of the guys in our office went missing. He was safe and sound, but we didn’t know it...
View ArticleA Sense (and Source) of Urgency
by Dwayne Phillips A sense of urgency is obvious as people think, work, and move faster than when there is no such sense. There is a source of urgency that managers can find to help instill the sense....
View ArticleEliminate Vice Solve the Problem
by Dwayne Phillips I am a problem solver. Sometimes, however, solving a problem is the worst thing to do. This story made the rounds recently about how our military is experimenting with small jolts of...
View ArticleThe Peter Principle
by Dwayne Phillips I read a classic management text. It is as true today as it was in 1969. When in college in the mid-1970s (yes, I am that old), an English professor spoke about the Peter Principle....
View ArticleHow to Concentrate All Day
by Dwayne Phillips Focusing for a long period of time is contradictory, but it is possible. Graduate school in 1983 (yes, I am that old): I had to study a text on a new concept called object-oriented...
View ArticleJobs and Robots and All That
by Dwayne Phillips Automation is replacing human jobs. Sorry. That is bad news for people who want to work, and there is no way around it. Such is the nature of today’s new technologies. In recent...
View ArticleThe Sharing Economy: A Tale of Three Sons
by Dwayne Phillips I have three adult sons. They are a study in delving into the sharing economy. I have three adult sons. One has a traditional paid job. He leaves his home five mornings a week,...
View ArticleWhy Pay a Systems Engineer?
by Dwayne Phillips When you consider it, systems engineers do something that everyone already does. Right? Systems Engineers do a simple task: they ensure that all customer requirements are built,...
View ArticleLosing Their Way
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes, projects and the people working on them lose their way. This is an expression I heard many times over the years. They’ve lost their way. I didn’t understand the...
View ArticleAt Least I Accomplished Something
by Dwayne Phillips It is easy to let other people control your day and make it a big waste of time. Here is a story, a true story. I was at work. Later in the day I was to brief a roomful of important...
View ArticleSentences and Paragraphs
by Dwayne Phillips I learn what a technical writer does (now that I are one). I have been working in a job titled “technical writer” for about a month now. I wasn’t sure what that job title meant or...
View ArticleSoftware Developers
by Dwayne Phillips This is yet another job title that is constantly misused by recruiters. Software Developer: another stupid job title that reveals the ignorance of those trying to hire people. Yes, I...
View ArticleJob Title: Stupid Hunter
by Dwayne Phillips I’m not sure what the job title is, but every organization needs a person whose job it is to find the stupid that is hindering everyone. I have seen this every place I have worked....
View ArticleIs Work the Real Activity?
by Dwayne Phillips What is the real activity, the real attraction at work? They sell food at McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. Is food, however, the real point of the place? They sell coffee at Starbucks, but...
View ArticleA Job for One
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we should assign one person. We already know that, so why don’t we do it? There is some old cliche about too many cooks in the kitchen or too many cooks stirring the pot or...
View ArticlePlease Don’t Ask Me to do My Job
by Dwayne Phillips Many on-the-job frustrations come when we try to do our job. The title and summary of this blog post may not make any sense. I have, however, heard much grumbling on the job when...
View ArticleWasting Time and Wasting Time
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes the best use of time is wasting it and the most wasteful use of time is working hard. Here is a story I heard many years ago: Story Two computer programmers came to work....
View ArticleDon’t Try So Hard
by Dwayne Phillips One of the worst things to do in many situations is to try really, really hard. One of the best pieces of advice I received from author and consultant Jerry Weinberg is: Don’t try so...
View ArticleTalk to Everyone, Everyday
by Dwayne Phillips This is fundamental project manager advice. Avoid at your peril. I’ve managed a lot of technical projects. These projects employed engineers, programmers, scientists, administrators,...
View ArticleLosing Their Way
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes projects “lose their way.” Of course that is impossible as what really happens is that people come and go and change their minds. In government, we had a phrase about...
View Article