No one’s perfect, especially me. Or you. Agile isn’t perfect either. Everything and everyone has their shortcomings, and I believe it’s important to acknowledge them. To be clear, I’m not talking about where a traditional approach is more suited than an agile one. No. Instead, I intend to talk about situations where an agile approach […]
Agile Isn’t Perfect Read More »
If this agile thing is so great, then why doesn’t it always stick? And if we can get it to stick, why does it require so much upkeep? Why can it sometimes be so fragile? Time and again, I’ve helped teams, people, and organizations with their transformations, and in many cases, I’ve seen it either
But Why Is It So (Fr)Agile? Read More »
So can teams rotate the Scrum Master role? Sure, but should they? No, it most circumstances I don’t believe so. First, I think high-performing teams can rotate the role, but I’ve run into only a handful of teams that I’d say meet that bar. Is your team one of those? Likely not. Maybe that’s cynical
Can We Rotate the Scrum Master Role? Read More »
I’m difficult but with purpose. I’ve said this about myself on numerous occasions, and I’m sure many of the bosses I’ve had over the years had a hell of a time managing me. Then again, like Grace Hopper said: You manage things. You lead people. And it’s not that I’m trying to be difficult. I
A Survival Guide for Navigating Conflict Read More »
Have you ever wanted to learn to fly? Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a bird’s eye view of San Francisco or have a beautiful view of rush hour traffic as you speed over packed highways. Every year, I set a goal for myself to learn or do something new in the spirit of continuous learning.
Four Things Becoming a Pilot Taught Me About Coaching Read More »
A few months back, a colleague of mine and his organization were about to begin their agile journey. They had piloted Scrum with a single team, and this team was going to share their experiences at an off site with the rest of their small organization. At this same off site, he asked if I’d
How To Introduce Agile To the Uninitiated Read More »
So here’s the thing. Too many companies claim to be agile shops. Far too many in my opinion. I can’t count how many conversations I had where someone claims their approach is an agile one, but a few questions in, and I’m convinced it’s something else. However, it’s not my place to judge an approach
How To Spot an Agile Imposter at Your Next Interview Read More »
Heuristics are useful, especially in the complex world in which we find ourselves. Unfortunately, they’re often underutilized, and the notion of heuristics is largely misunderstood. What we frequently find instead are platitudes that, while inspiring, do little to help us determine our next step. In fact, I have my own set of these platitudes that
Heuristics for an Agile Context Read More »
Invitation over imposition. This is at the heart of agility. Scratch that. It’s at the heart of being a sincere and empathetic human who believes in others and wants to make a difference. Unfortunately, I’m sure many of us have seen Scrum imposed on teams. They’re told to begin using sprints. They’re required to conduct
Invitation Over Imposition: A Four Step Guide to Effective Change Read More »
Mike Cohn inspires a lot of my work. In fact, when I began this blog years back, Mike stopped by and offered a piece of advice on my first blog post that has stuck with me. He said he’d often track the number of questions he’d ask and compare it to the number of statements
Seven Simple Metrics for the Sprint Review Read More »
