The Daily Standup

The Future of Agile in 2026 - My TOP 3 Predictions!This video WILL BE the number ONE MOST listened to episode for 2026 and beyond! Here I make three predictions about the future of Agile in 2026 and beyond. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Top 5 Daily Standup Podcast Episodes of 2025Poltergeist Meetings — When Meetings Throw Things - October 29, 2025 The 5 Stages of Leadership - September 30, 2025Agile Contracting Models in 2025 - June 10, 2025The 1-Minute Introduction That Makes People Remember You Forever - August 21, 2025Start With No... Why Most People Should NOT Be Managers - March 27, 2025How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why Shipping One Thing Beats Planning TenGood processes don't look impressive.They quietly help you move forward.And when you're building real-world products,that's what actually matters.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Finding Your Fit as a ScrumMasterHere's something nobody told me when I started as a Scrum Master: the most important interview isn't the one where they ask you about impediment removal or sprint velocity.It's the one you have with yourself.Everyone talks about whether you're a good fit for the role. But what about whether the environment is a good fit for you?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Day After Christmas: Carry the Light ForwardHey everyone, and welcome to today's Agile Daily Standup.If you're listening to this on the Friday after Christmas, chances are things feel… a little quieter.The presents are unwrapped.The calendars are lighter.The pace is slower.And honestly? That's not a bad thing.Because the day after Christmas gives us something rare — space.Space to breathe.Space to reflect.Space to decide what we want to carry forward instead of rushing straight back into “busy.”Christmas — no matter how you celebrate — is a reminder of something important:That the most meaningful things in life don't arrive with noise or urgency. They arrive quietly.In Agile, we talk a lot about delivery.But today is about direction.Before the year accelerates again, ask yourself three simple questions:What gave me energy this year?What drained me?And what am I ready to leave behind as we step into the new one?This isn't about resolutions. It's about intentionality.Great teams don't just plan work — they create space for learning, gratitude, and renewal.Great leaders don't just push forward — they pause long enough to make sure they're headed the right way.So today, be kind to yourself.Be patient with your team.And remember that progress doesn't always look like motion.Sometimes, progress looks like rest.As we move toward a new year, carry the best parts of this season with you — the gratitude, the generosity, the hope — and let those guide how you show up for the people around you.Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today.I'm grateful for you, for this community, and for the journey we're all on together.Until next time — stay kind, stay curious, and stay Agile.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Christmas Story - by V. Lee HensonMerry Christmas from the team at AgileDad. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Be Here Now - Mike CohnOne of my favorite books is one I've never completely read. It's called Be Here Now. A friend's older brother was reading it when I was 10. He let me page through his copy.The book caught my attention because it was square, an unusual shape for a book. Many of the pages inside the book were hand-lettered and illustrated.I next came across the book when I was a college freshman. I read part of it then but never finished it because it's a guide to Hinduism for Westerners, which isn't my thing.But the title of that book has always resonated with me: Be Here Now.I think the ability to be here now is something too many of us are losing. We can't just be in the moment and in the place. Everyone has to be constantly on their mobile phones. We multitask between what we should be working on and whatever else catches our eye, meanwhile listening for the assorted dings demanding attention.(I admit to having paused once even while writing this to investigate the boing of a new email arriving. But I've so far withheld the temptation to look a second time.)I witness the inability to be here now while training or working with teams. Once, during an in-person class, I was unable to make eye contact with any participant. Each was banging away on a laptop.When they asked questions, they were like, “When does the sprint master help with the project backlog?”Am I any better, though? I love music and grew up listening to the three-minute rock songs of the era. I remember listening to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as a teen. It was OK (don't judge me!) but I thought, “Who has time for a one-hour song?”Now I hit skip halfway through my favorites on Spotify.I worry about attention spans and the ability to focus. The inability to be here now must have an impact on innovation, productivity, and teamwork. I don't have a solution.I don't have ”three quick tips to be here now.” I merely want to request that we each try to be here now a bit more often, a bit longer, and a bit more intensely each day,How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A Vision Should Be ActionableMost companies have a vision statement. Few have a vision that actually matters.Too often, a vision ends up as a vague slogan on a PowerPoint slide or painted on the office wall. Inspiring? Maybe. Useful? Rarely.But a real vision isn't decoration. A real vision is a service.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

When to Synchronize SprintsSynchronizing sprints isn't about control, it's about rhythm.And knowing when to bring teams into sync is what separates “we're delivering together” from “we're just drowning together.”How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Christmas Tree With One LightSnow fell in soft, quiet sheets over the small town of Willow Glen, covering rooftops and porches with a gentle white blanket. Every house on Maple Street shimmered with lights—blue, gold, red, and green—each one competing to outshine the next.Every house… except one.At the corner of the street stood Mrs. Alder's home, dim and silent.No garland.No wreath.No warmth in the windows.Only a single, small Christmas tree sat by her front door—so simple, so worn, it looked like it belonged to a memory more than a season. And on that tree, barely hanging on, was one single working light.Children passing by would whisper,“Doesn't she know it's Christmas?”“Maybe she doesn't have family anymore.”“Maybe she doesn't care.”But young Daniel, age eleven, didn't just wonder—he worried.He remembered Mrs. Alder from before her husband passed. She used to bake cookies for the neighborhood kids and tell stories from when she was a teacher. But lately, she barely opened her door.Something inside Daniel tugged at him each time he saw that lonely tree.Finally, on Christmas Eve afternoon, he took action.He went door to door and asked his neighbors for “just one extra ornament,” nothing more. Some gave ribbons, others tiny bells, others a spare string of lights. One neighbor gave a silver star that had belonged to her parents.By evening, Daniel had filled a grocery bag with bits of Christmas from the whole community.He trudged through the snow to Mrs. Alder's home, heart thumping, and knocked.After a long pause, the door opened a crack.Her eyes softened when she saw him.“Daniel? Is everything alright?”He held out the bag.“We… um… we thought your tree could use a little help.”She looked puzzled. “My tree?”Daniel pointed to the tiny, drooping thing by her steps—the tree with only one faint light blinking like it was tired.Mrs. Alder blinked fast, and for a moment, Daniel thought she might close the door. Instead, she stepped outside into the cold, touched the tree gently, and whispered,“I bought this tree with my husband our very first Christmas. It's the last decoration we had together… I couldn't make myself replace it.”Daniel nodded. “You don't have to replace it. But maybe… we could help it shine again?”Mrs. Alder looked into the bag—at the ornaments, the ribbons, the star—and her chin trembled. She whispered,“Let's do it.”So they decorated the tree together.One neighbor, seeing them outside, stepped over and added a string of lights.Then another came with hot cocoa.Then another brought a blanket for Mrs. Alder's shoulders.Soon the entire street—families who had barely spoken all year—gathered around that tiny tree, each adding something of their own.When they plugged in the final strand of lights, the tree glowed brighter than any other on Maple Street. Not because it was the biggest, or the newest, or the fanciest——but because every piece of it was given with love.Mrs. Alder wiped her tears and said softly,“Thank you for helping me remember what Christmas really means.”And from behind Daniel, someone said,“No… thank you for letting us be part of it.”That night, the tree with one single struggling light became the tree that lit the entire neighborhood.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How I Turn Around a Struggling Scrum Team in 90 DaysPeople often assume you can “fix” a struggling Scrum team by tightening ceremonies, updating Jira / Azure Devops, or pushing velocity. It's a nice idea, but it's not real. Teams don't turn around because you run cleaner standups. They turn around because the system around them becomes clearer, more aligned, and more stable.After coaching and leading delivery teams across banks, telcos, utilities, airports, insurers, and product companies, I've seen the same pattern repeat. A real turnaround takes time. Ninety days is the right horizon. Not because teams are slow, but because real change happens in stages.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why Teams Matter More Than Ever for Innovation - Mike CohnA few years ago, I worked with a product team that was stuck.They were smart, experienced, and deeply committed to building something meaningful. But despite their talent, their work felt...flat. They were completing tasks, but they weren't creating anything truly innovative. They weren't challenging each other's thinking. They weren't imagining possibilities beyond the obvious ones.Then something shifted.During a planning meeting, someone asked a question that reframed the whole discussion: “What problem are we really trying to solve?”That question sparked a debate — a lively one — and within minutes, the room was buzzing with ideas none of them had considered before. They envisioned possibilities, challenged assumptions, pushed each other, and built on each other's thinking. By the end of the meeting, they had the beginnings of a breakthrough.What changed?Not the people. Not the tools. Not the process.What changed was the team, acting like a team again — sharing purpose, curiosity, and creativity.And that's when I was reminded of a simple truth:Real innovation happens when people think together.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Secret Ingredient Every Agile Team NeedsI still remember the sprint retrospective that changed everything.One of our quietest developer, had been silent for three retrospectives straight.But this time, she raised her hand. “I think our deployment process is broken,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “And I have an idea to fix it.”The room went quiet.In my previous teams, this would have been the moment when someone senior would have shut down the conversation with a dismissive “We've always done it this way.”But not here. Not anymore.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

5 Agile Project Management Red Flags That Scream “You're Doomed”

Light The World - Giving Machines

Definition of Done - More Than Just a ChecklistAfter one too many release debates (and a few emotional retros), I realized the problem wasn't our process — it was our definition.“Done” meant 10 different things to 10 different people.Developers meant “code merged”.QA meant “tests passed”.Product meant “feature shipped”.Ops meant “logs don't scream”.So I built a checklist — not to create bureaucracy, but to create peace.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

We're doing Scrum. Why does everything take so long to finish?For many teams, delivery bogs down because of the way individuals approach the work itself.Most teams are still working in a sequence: one person finishes their part, hands it off, and then the next person begins. Designers wait for analysis to finish. Developers wait for designs. Testers wait for the code to be done. Everyone's optimizing for their own efficiency — but the team as a whole slows down.That might feel to individuals like the “right” way to work, but it comes with real costs: Mistakes go unnoticed until late in the process — and keep happening until then.Too much work is started toward the end of the sprint, creating bottlenecks and delays, which means features take longer to reach your users, and feedback takes longer to reach the team.Time to market, or time to value, is extended.Even when teams are doing “agile” on the surface, these large handoffs are the opposite of how an agile team works.To deliver value quickly, team members have to learn to stop waiting for someone else to finish before they start–in other words, they need to overlap work.When one type of task looks like it's dependent on another type of task, teams accustomed to overlapping work find ways to begin the second task before the first is completed. Coders start coding while the designer is still designing. Testers start creating tests even while the coder is coding.Why do teams cling to this outdated way of working?When teams first try working this way, many team members resist it. They're used to holding on to their work until it's perfect and “ready.” They might find the idea of overlapping work to be too messy and inefficient.Consider, for example, a tester. To be as efficient as possible, this tester would like to begin testing only after coding is complete. To test any earlier risks repeating work by re-running, or even re-designing, tests.What these team members need to realize is that optimizing for the efficiency of any one role prolongs the amount of time it takes to complete each new feature. Overlapping work is key to working in an agile way.For example, imagine that a developer is building a search results page for an eCommerce site. The page allows users to filter results by product attributes such as size, color, and more. Results can also be sorted by price, popularity, rating, and so on. If a programmer develops all of that before handing it over to a tester then no work has overlapped.If, however, the programmer handed it to the tester in pieces then testing could overlap with programming. The programmer could, for example, provide the tester with a version of the page without filtering or sorting. While a tester checks that, the developer adds filtering by size. Then color. Then sorting. The work overlaps — and everything moves faster.Two simple ways to encourage this way of working:Ask teams to shrink task size. Breaking big tasks into bite-sized pieces makes it easier for roles to overlap and collaborate. As handoffs get smaller, collaboration gets easier.Try swarming. Swarming is an extreme form of overlapping work that helps teams learn to let go of a “my work, your work” mindset and sequential “finish-to-start” mentality. When a team swarms, the whole team focuses on just one (or maybe two) items at a time.I'm not suggesting swarming as a long-term solution or the optimal way to work. It's a temporary, artificial constraint on work in process designed to force teams to find new ways to collaborate and move faster together. The goal is to remove the limit later, and have team members continue to apply the lessons they learned when they were forced to over-collaborate.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

4 Steps to Building a Product StrategyThis is the process I use and have taken dozens of product leaders and founders through to build their product strategy.It's deliberately designed to be lightweight, flexible but not a checklist.This means there's a lot of work that you still need to do. Rather than trying to ask you to fill-in-the-blanks like “what's your unique value prop” or “target customer” you're going to have to do the work to consider what inputs and decisions are important in your context.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Sprint Planning or Sprint Guessing?Welcome to sprint planning — that magical 90-minute meeting (that always becomes 3 hours) where:Developers turn into psychicsProduct managers become game show hostsProduct owners stare into a backlog like it's a crystal ballSound familiar?For many Agile teams, sprint planning isn't the crisp, focused ritual described in books. It's often more ambiguous, chaotic, and filled with guessing than anyone wants to admit.So… are you really planning? Or just giving your best estimate in a business suit?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Light on Maple Street — A Holiday Story About Small Acts That Become EverythingIt started with one string of lights.Maple Street was the kind of block where porches still had rocking chairs and everyone knew which mailboxes belonged to which dog. In late November, between the first frost and the rush of the season, the Wilsons put up a single strand of blue bulbs across their porch. They'd just lost a little money that month — a car repair, a missed shift — and the lights were the smallest, cheapest way to say, “We're here. We'll try.”On Tuesday a neighbor named Rosa walked by with her kids and stopped. “Those lights make the whole block look cozy,” she said. She dropped a thermos of cocoa at the Wilsons' door — a thank you for the lights, she said — and left a handwritten note that read: “For the nights when things feel dim.”That note stayed on the porch through rain and the first snow. People started to notice it: the teenager who left a bag of dog food, the retired teacher who put a stack of winter scarves on the bench, the teenage boy who shoveled the Wilsons' walkway without being asked. One house added a cheap wreath. Another strung a second strand of lights. Then one night, the whole block blinked on like a small constellation: a neighbor had borrowed lights from a friend, another had fixed the broken extension cord, and Maple Street was suddenly a warm ribbon of color seen from three houses away.Word got out. A woman from across town — one of those people who kept a list of local good deeds — saw the photos on a neighborhood group and showed up with a box of food. The church two blocks over called around and quietly matched families who had extra with families who had less. A local small business owner left a stack of gift cards for people who might need them. None of it was loud. None of it was orchestrated. It was a thousand tiny nervous yeses — people doing the sort of small, awkward, neighborly thing that begins with “I don't know if this helps, but….”At the center of it were the Wilsons. Mr. Wilson had been quiet for weeks — the kind of quiet that didn't get better with “how are yous.” He had been avoiding the mail, the phone, and, for a while, the very idea that the world still held space for him. The lights were small, but every night when he came home, he found someone had cleared his walkway or taped an encouraging note to his door. The pile of kindnesses wasn't a single miracle; it was a slow, steady stitch that rewove the frayed edges of his life.On the Saturday before Christmas, there was a knock on the Wilsons' door at 6 a.m. It was cold. The teenager from next door stood there with a thermos and a grin. Behind him, whole families appeared — neighbors in boots, kids still in pajamas, people holding casseroles, scarves, and a hand-written flyer that said, simply: “Maple Street Holiday Potluck — Everyone Welcome.” They set up folding tables on the sidewalk and, because it is a holiday and because it was Maple Street, two dozen people who had never sat at the same table shared coffee and casseroles and stories. Someone had fixed the Wilsons' ancient radio. Someone else had printed out a photo album of the street's year: broken steps mended, birthdays celebrated, small triumphs memorialized in Polaroids.Mr. Wilson cried. Not a long, dramatic thing. A short, honest surprised sound, the kind you make when you realize you've been seen. He stood up and said, “I didn't know you all would do this.” No speech, no grand reveal — just the quiet gratitude of a man who had been given back a sense of belonging.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

So, what does a Project Manager actually do?Ah, the eternal question. What does a PM actually do?Well, most people think it's the easiest job in the world — after all, you just tell everyone else what to do, right?Sure, if you also enjoy being the middle child in a family of stress-addicted workaholics with a taste for crises.In the last decade or so, I've worked in everything from Fortune 500 companies (you know, those lovely corporate havens where everyone's too busy pretending to be productive) to fast-moving startups (where the idea of “sleep” is a myth).Every time I casually mention my job, I get the same baffled response: “So, what exactly do you do?”Let's break it down, because clearly, that's the only way to get it across.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Are You Protecting Your Team Against the Right Thing? - Mike CohnA lot has been written and said about the responsibility of a Scrum Master to protect the team.Examples of protecting the team typically involve running interference with well-meaning but overzealous product owners, stakeholders, and managers. Teams run into trouble all the time from people who want it all now or who keep adding more work in the middle or a sprint. Scrum Masters keep all that noise away so that the team can focus on delivery.But if you are only focused on problems coming from squeaky wheels, you're missing one of the biggest dangers out there: complacency.Agile is about continually getting better. I don't care how good a team is today; if they aren't better a year from now, they're not agile.Complacency can creep in when a team sees some initial improvement from adopting an agile approach. Team members will notice how improved they are and think that's enough.But there's almost always room for further improvement.Some teams become complacent about their process and stop looking for ways to deliver more value each iteration. Still other teams become complacent in seeking out new engineering practices that could make the team even better.Protect your team from complacency by setting high expectations and encouraging the team to set even higher expectations of their own performance.Teams that refuse to settle for the status quo are teams that advance from good to great.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Is Scrum Slowly Taking Away Your Will To Live?On the surface, it sounds innocent, doesn't it? Cheerful even. Like something British schoolchildren might play on a muddy field before promptly breaking an ankle. But no. In reality, Scrum is a framework for managing work in software development, and it is somehow both wildly popular and completely misunderstood by… well, almost everyone.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Project Manager vs Product Manager vs Business AnalystYou've probably heard the terms project manager, product manager, and business analyst tossed around like interchangeable buzzwords.But let's be honest — most posts explaining these roles either put you to sleep or leave you more confused than before.So let's break it down properly.No jargon. No textbook talk. Just real, human language.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Black Friday That Bought a Neighborhood BackThe Bell & Book was a tiny independent bookstore wedged between a dry cleaner and a pawnshop on a corner that hadn't seen much sparkle in years. Its owner, Marta, had run it for twenty years: poetry nights, school field-trip discounts, repair-your-soul advice between the biographies. Two months before Thanksgiving, a national big-box retailer announced a shiny new superstore three blocks away. Marta watched foot traffic thin out like coffee in a slow pot. She had bills. So did several other local owners on that strip.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Thanksgiving Sprint — an AgileDad storyIt started two years ago in a neighborhood I know well — a mix of veterans, young families, recent transplants, and folks who'd been in the same house so long they remembered when the stoplight at the corner was just a tree. Someone on the block said aloud what people often think but don't say: “We've got plenty, but a lot of us are missing the parts that make Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving.”So we did what agilists do when a problem's fuzzy: we created a backlog.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Can teams pull in more work during a sprint? - Mike Cohn“Can we bring in more work if we're ahead in a sprint?"It's one of the most common questions I get from Scrum teams — and honestly, for a long time, I couldn't understand why. The answer felt obvious.Of course you can bring in more work if you're ahead and clearly going to finish everything you committed to do. Just like you can drop work if you're behind.A sprint plan is a forecast — a best guess at what the team thinks it can get done. It's not a contract. No one gets it perfect every time, and that's OK.But I kept hearing this question over and over, so I started asking why. Why does adding work spark so much hesitation — even fear? Here's what I learned: Teams are afraid that starting something they can't fully complete within the sprint is somehow breaking the rules, or even worse, a failure.That fear leads teams to hesitate to pick up something new unless they're 100 percent sure they can finish it before the sprint ends.Let me reassure you. Being halfway done with one or two things at the end of a sprint isn't a problem. Sometimes, it's even desirable.It only becomes a problem if a team is consistently halfway done with several things or worse, everything.If the team is genuinely ahead, and they've completed what they committed to, they can absolutely pull in something new — even if they might not finish it.Good agile teams always try to finish everything, just like good sports teams try to make every attempt on goal or get a hit at every at bat.And when given the opportunity, great agile teams don't hesitate to make progress on something new even if they might not finish.What's the real issue underneath the question?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Most Backlog Management Is Just Organized ProcrastinationWe've been told the backlog is how we steer.How we prioritise.How we plan.So we invest hours, maybe days, maintaining it:Refinement sessionsEstimation rituals (battles?)Prioritisation debatesAcceptance criteria rouletteHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

What Makes a Great Product Manager?When I first stepped into product management, I had no idea what I was signing up for. I thought it was about building cool features, running a few sprints, and celebrating launch days with cake and confetti. What I didn't expect? The emotional rollercoaster of stakeholder battles, last-minute pivots, and the constant juggling between what's ideal and what's possible.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A Home That Rebuilt a Life” — the story of Army veteran Sean KarpfAfter stepping on an IED in Afghanistan, Army Sergeant Sean Karpf faced years of surgeries, rehab, and the long, slow work of rebuilding a life altered by injury. What changed everything was not a single miracle but a community-backed act of care: Homes For Our Troops (HFOT) built and donated a specially adapted, mortgage-free home designed around Sean's needs — roll-in shower, widened doorways, lowered counters, a 360° outdoor walkway and dozens of other adaptations. The day Sean turned the key and walked into that home with his family, he described it as more than a house: “Homes For Our Troops helped me rebuild my environment. Together, they've given me the foundation to move forward, not just as a veteran, but as a husband, father, and business owner.” WWP News & MediaHFOT's mission is exactly this: build and donate specially adapted, mortgage-free homes to severely injured post-9/11 veterans so they can regain independence and focus on recovery and family. Since 2004 HFOT has delivered hundreds of homes and continues to partner with organizations (like Wounded Warrior Project) and local communities to make these long-term, tangible commitments to veterans and their families. For recipients like Sean, the gratitude is palpable — not just for shelter, but for restored dignity, daily independence, and the practical ability to be present for their loved ones. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

5 Essential Skills Every Scrum Master NeedsBeing a Scrum Master isn't just about booking meetings and quoting the Scrum Guide. It's about showing up every day as a change agent — the one who helps people work better together, face complexity with courage, and actually deliver value.It's easy to forget that Scrum is fundamentally about people.Your job as a Scrum Master is to unlock that potential — not by managing them, but by enabling them.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

10 Mistakes Enterprises Make When Scaling Agile — and How to Avoid ThemWhen I walk into a Fortune 500 boardroom and hear, “We've adopted Agile,” I brace myself. Usually, what follows is a whirlwind of rebranded status meetings, overwhelmed middle managers, and teams confused about whether they're sprinting or slowly marching in circles.Enterprise Agile transformations are rarely short on ambition. But too often, the reality is a mismatched combination of frameworks, tool obsession, and unclear intent. Over the past decade, I've led Agile rollouts in healthcare, finance, and tech. These are the ten recurring mistakes I see — paired with practical remedies rooted in experience.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

If You Want Better Stories, Stop Writing Them All YourselfI've talked to a lot of product owners who are drowning in tickets, trying to “get ahead” by writing every single user story themselves.I used to be one of them. And every sprint, we'd slip. Morale tanked. The team blamed the process, and I blamed myself.But after one conversation — and one uncomfortable realization — I found a single thread running through every success story I've seen since.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Velocity = The Most Abused Agile Metric EverWelcome to the dark side of velocity — the number that started as a planning aid and ended up as a weaponized performance metric, often wielded by people who've never touched a user story in their lives.In this episode, we'll break down:What velocity is supposed to doHow it gets misunderstood and misusedWhy chasing it kills team healthAnd how to bring it back from the deadLet's sprint into it. (Pun 100% intended.)How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A Make-A-Wish That Turned Into a Gift for OthersWhen Karina's Make-A-Wish moment arrived, she didn't ask for a trip or a celebrity meet-and-greet. Instead she asked to create a day for other sick kids — a place where they could forget hospitals and treatments for a while. Make-A-Wish marked Karina's request as their historic 500,000th wish and worked with partners to turn it into a virtual “camp” experience so many children could participate and feel seen. Karina's wish became a gift that multiplied: she received her wish, and countless other kids received joy, connection, and a break from illness — a powerful example of gratitude that gives back.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Heart of New Leadership is CuriosityMost of us are drawn to rules and limits. They give us a sense of safety. Structure and predictability offer comfort: we know what to expect, and what's expected of us. For a while, this feels like stability. But in truth, it often leads to stagnation.The artist doesn't value safety and smallness. The artist values discovery. To create something new, you have to step beyond the known.The same is true for leaders.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Is your team moving in sync—or spinning in circles? - Mike CohnEver feel like your agile team should be working smoothly—but something's just a bit off? Handoffs feel clunky. Meetings drag. Even small changes spark big debates.It's not that your team isn't skilled—it's that you're not quite in sync.Rowers have a word for the alignment you're seeking: swing.What is swing?In crew rowing, swing is that near-magical moment when every rower moves in perfect unison—each stroke in sync, each effort amplified. And I do mean perfect unison. This means each rower: puts an oar into the water at the exact same timepulls for the same time and distance at the same speedlifts the oar out of the water at the same timeslides forward at the same paceTeam members hand off work frequently, without fanfare, and in small chunks.Team members can finish each other's… (Did you try to finish my sentence for me?) work. They can jump in and pick up tasks if someone is out sick or on vacation.Meetings are short, focused and valuable.Goals are ambitious, but usually met. When the team falls short, everyone (including leaders) understands that goals are not guarantees.A try-it-and-see mindset permeates the team. They're willing to experiment with new practices (such as user stories vs. job stories or story points vs. time) or frameworks (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban).The team is confident in their ability to succeed. As they deliver more and more value, and achieve outcome after outcome, the team feels almost unstoppable. Team members have fun. I sometimes decry that work is called work. I sincerely want work to be fun. I'm not naive: I know that won't always be the case. But when a team is working together well, it is fun.Swing is rare. When I rowed, our boat might have gone an entire race without once truly achieving swing. (And yes, it was usually my fault. Thanks for asking.)But when it happens, it's effortless. The boat flies.Agile teams can experience the same kind of swing. When everything starts to flowWhen teams are aligned and in sync you'll know it: ​​​​​None of this happens by accidentAchieving all of this isn't easy.Like rowers chasing swing, agile teams have to practice, reflect, and adjust—over and over again—in their quest to go from good to great.But take it from me, when it clicks, it's magic.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Today we remember Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry - Happy Veterans DayOn May 26, 2008, in Paktya Province, Afghanistan, Army Ranger Leroy A. Petry and his team were ambushed. During the firefight an enemy grenade landed near Petry and several fellow Rangers. Without hesitation Petry grabbed the grenade and attempted to throw it away from the group. The grenade detonated as he was throwing it; Petry survived but lost his right hand. His quick action saved the lives of the soldiers beside him. For that act of conspicuous gallantry he was awarded the Medal of Honor — presented by President Obama in 2011.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How To Align Your Team Before Year-End - 5 Things You Must Do NOW! 1. Call Out the Elephant in the Room2. Don't Let the Momentum Stall3. Run an Assets & Liabilities Exercise4. Revisit Your Purpose Statement5. Consider a Design SprintHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Hand Written Letter of GratitudeIn a classroom study, students were asked to write a heartfelt letter of thanks to someone who had helped them and then read that letter aloud to the person in a surprise face-to-face meeting. The scene that followed — the surprised, emotional reactions from the recipients and the visible pride and relief on the students' faces — was unforgettable. Beyond the moment, the students reported lasting increases in well-being and social connection, and many of the recipients later described feeling genuinely seen and appreciated. It's a small, simple act (writing and delivering a gratitude letter) that created a powerful ripple for both giver and receiver.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How Do we GROW? - Getting People on The Same Page!Do you know the Acronym GROW? G = GoalsR = Reality O = Options, Opportunities, and ObstaclesW = What We Will Commit to do First... How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Are You Protecting Your Team Against the Right Thing? - Mike CohnA lot has been written and said about the responsibility of a Scrum Master to protect the team.Examples of protecting the team typically involve running interference with well-meaning but overzealous product owners, stakeholders, and managers. Teams run into trouble all the time from people who want it all now or who keep adding more work in the middle or a sprint. Scrum Masters keep all that noise away so that the team can focus on delivery.But if you are only focused on problems coming from squeaky wheels, you're missing one of the biggest dangers out there: complacency.Agile is about continually getting better. I don't care how good a team is today; if they aren't better a year from now, they're not agile.Complacency can creep in when a team sees some initial improvement from adopting an agile approach. Team members will notice how improved they are and think that's enough.But there's almost always room for further improvement.Some teams become complacent about their process and stop looking for ways to deliver more value each iteration. Still other teams become complacent in seeking out new engineering practices that could make the team even better.Protect your team from complacency by setting high expectations and encouraging the team to set even higher expectations of their own performance.Teams that refuse to settle for the status quo are teams that advance from good to great.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

No, Product Management Isn't Useless — You're Just Doing It WrongIf you think PMs just write tickets and slow things down, you haven't seen product management done right.I've lost count of how many times I've heard some version of this:“Do we even need product managers anymore?”Usually, it comes after a failed launch, a bloated backlog, or a roadmap that reads like a Frankenstein wishlist stitched together by six departments and zero users.And sure — if that's what you think product management is, I can't blame you for questioning it.

The Scrum Master Role Is Disappearing - Or Is It? The layoffs of 2023 told a story that few in the tech industry wanted to acknowledge. Among the 120,000+ tech workers who lost their jobs, Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches were disproportionately represented. But this wasn't just about economic belt-tightening it was the culmination of a quiet revolution that's been brewing for years.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Trick-or-treaters Leave Their Halloween Candy For Child Battling LeukemiaA search for hope at the end of this very anxious week led me to this humble bundle.  Zoe, 3, is the proud product of TJ and Courtney Thomas of Atlanta, Georgia.Back in February, Zoe was diagnosed with leukemia. And because her immune system is now compromised, she couldn't go trick-or-treating on Halloween with all the other kids. In fact, her parents even had to put up a sign to keep other kids away. The sign read: "Sorry, no candy. Child with cancer. See you next year!""The whole purpose was just so that we wouldn't have to keep telling kids 'sorry' and have disappointed kids," Zoe's mother Courtney Thomas said. "Never expected anything like this."How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Witch's Brew of Metrics — Don't Let Vanity Hex Your TeamMetric definition templateName:What it measures:Owner:Frequency:Thresholds / signals:Action when threshold met:How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Poltergeist Meetings — When Meetings Throw Things At You... 5 micro-rituals (practical) Purpose line on invite — one sentence: “Decision needed / Sync / Info.”Time-boxed agenda — 3 bullets with owner & minutes.No Rotating facilitator — prevent single-person theater.Two-minute rule — speakers over two minutes get a “parking lot” nudge.Outcome artifact — one sentence note added to the meeting invite that records decisions.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Phantom Sprint — Invisible Work That Steals VelocityYour sprint looks healthy — until a phantom dependency eats your finish line. Here's how to find the invisible work before the demo.Detection & prevention tacticsDependency board: visible KANBAN lane for external asks with owners and ETA.Capacity buffer: protect 10–20% of sprint for unplanned but likely work.Pre-planning checkpoint: 5-min readout with ops/support to surface recurring interrupts.Risk register: short public list of items that can block sprint goals.

The Haunted Backlog — When Old Stories Won't DieTriage: Mark backlog items > 90 days old as “graveyard candidates.”Reframe: Turn vague epics into a one-sentence outcome + metric. If you can't, bury it.Timebox an experiment: If still valuable, create a 1-week spike with a clear success metric.Assign ownership: No owner = forever ghost. Give it to someone accountable for outcome vs. activity.Retire ritual: Monthly “retire or revive” cadence — items not revived are archived with a short rationale.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A Chad Gymnast Scores Top Marks For DeterminationThe wall behind her is pockmarked and worn. She's barefoot against a hard, cracked floor. And yet Achta Derib's pose in this photograph by Antonio López Díaz, a finalist in the professional sports category at the Sony world photography awards, suggests reserves of determination that will carry her across continents to perform at the highest levels of her sport.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Stop Worshipping Product RoadmapsA few years ago, I sat through a two-hour planning session where we debated every line of a shiny new roadmap. By the end, we had a color-coded masterpiece: features neatly slotted by quarter, dependencies tracked, and timelines locked...How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/