Podcasts about Agile

Chris Sims: The Hidden Cost of "No Time for People Stuff" in Software Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Chris Sims shares a challenging team situation involving strong personalities with conflicting opinions about how to approach their work. What began as small disagreements evolved into harmful behaviors including harsh criticisms and behind-the-back comments. As resentment grew, conflicts intensified, leading to a toxic environment that ultimately resulted in team members being dismissed. Chris highlights how the team's self-imposed belief that "we don't have time for this people-stuff" prevented them from addressing issues early. He recommends one-on-one coaching, exploring why people react as they do, using retrospectives to address latent conflicts, and explicitly discussing desired team culture with reference to the Scrum value of respect. Chris emphasizes that maintaining team health should take priority over productivity concerns, even during high-pressure situations. In this segment, we refer to the Core Protocols episode with Richard Kasperowski, and the Superchicken Paradox Ted Talk by Margaret Heffernan. Featured Book of the Week: The Elements of Scrum Chris shares his experience writing "The Elements of Scrum," a book he co-authored using Scrum principles and a story mapping approach. The process of writing the book became a significant learning experience for Chris. He also recommends "Sacred Hoops" by Phil Jackson, which explores how to manage teams of great professionals. Phil Jackson is renowned for his ability to get exceptional players to function effectively as a cohesive team, making this book particularly valuable for those managing talented individuals with strong personalities. Self-reflection Question: How might you better balance technical excellence with interpersonal dynamics in your high-performing teams? [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Feedback or Questions? Send us a text!BIG IDEAConfidence in leadership doesn't come from controlling every variable—it comes from knowing how to lead when everything feels out of control. Agile leaders don't just pivot—they stay grounded in their values and lead with steady presence, clarity, and courage.5 WAYS TO APPLY THISRecognize agility as a leadership posture, not a panic moveUse your Core Values as anchors in uncertain situationsCommunicate clearly and consistently—even when you don't have all the answersPractice presence by checking your energy and showing up steadyCultivate Intentional Optimism to lead with vision and courage in chaos3 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELFWhere do I tend to freeze or over-control when things feel uncertain?Which of my Core Values can help guide my next decision or conversation?What kind of leadership presence do I want to model for my team in the unknown?ENJOYING THE SHOW? LEAVE A RATING & REVIEWApple: scroll to the bottom, choose a rating, and write a review. Podchaser (Android): https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stand-tall-own-it-empowering-p-1406762 RESOURCES & NEXT STEPSJoin the Core Values Coaching Program (Beta): www.theintentionaloptimist.com/core-values-beta Get your Free Core Values Blueprint: https://www.theintentionaloptimist.com/corevaluesexercisLET'S CONTINUE THE CONVERSATIONDM Andrea on Instagram or LinkedIn: @theintentionaloptimistLet's chat: andrea@theintentionaloptimist.comSHARE THIS EPISODEIf this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow leader who's ready to lead with courage and confidence.Prefer to watch instead? Catch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3UePyh2d2UI Listen & Subscribe: www.theintentionaloptimist.com/podcast Skillshare: Spark your creativity.Get 40% Off Annual MembershipDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Chris Sims: When Terminology Creates Misunderstandings, The "Ideal Days" Story Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this insightful episode, Chris Sims shares a valuable lesson from his early days implementing XP and Scrum. Chris's team had established an effective workflow using relative estimation with "ideal days" rather than story points, achieving good predictability and velocity measurements. However, things took an unexpected turn when a skeptical VP discovered their tracking spreadsheet and misinterpreted their metrics as showing only 2.5 days of work per week. Despite Chris's best efforts to explain the concept of "ideal days," the misunderstanding tarnished the team's reputation. Chris emphasizes the importance of socializing your working methods with stakeholders and communicating in ways meaningful to leadership. Working "under the radar" can backfire, so transparency about your processes is crucial for organizational alignment and trust. Self-reflection Question: How transparent are you about your team's estimation methods with stakeholders who might not be familiar with agile terminology? [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Dependencies Destroy Agility and PredictabilityWhy do organizations desire Agile?Two of the most common items I hear organizations and executives identify as reasons for adopting Agile methods and practices are to increase their delivery speed and to become more predicable. When will X be done? There are valid financial reasons for these goals such as: when can we expect to book revenue for product X?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/

Docker launched "Docker Model Runner" to run LLMs through llama.cpp with a single "docker model" command. In this episode Bret details examples and some useful use cases for using this way to run LLMs. He breaks down the internals. How it works, when you should use it or not use it; and, how to get started using Open WebUI for a private ChatGPT-like experience.★Topics★Model Runner DocsHub ModelsOCI ArtifactsOpen WebUIMy Open WebUI Compose fileCreators & Guests Cristi Cotovan - Editor Beth Fisher - Producer Bret Fisher - Host (00:00) - Intro (00:46) - Model Runner Elevator Pitch (01:28) - Enabling Docker Model Runner (04:28) - Self Promotion! Is that an ad? For me? (05:03) - Downloading Models (07:11) - Architectrure of Model Runner (10:49) - ORAS (11:09) - What's next for Model Runner? (12:13) - Troubleshooting You can also support my free material by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news!Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses.Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com

Agile experts Sandy Mamoli and David Mole join Meta-Cast to share what they've learned after a decade of running self-selecting teams. Discover how team autonomy, hackathon culture, and the new edition of Creating Great Teams can help you build empowered, high-performing Agile teams in any organization.Links to and information about David and Sandy:Sandy Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandymamoli/Sandy Email: sandy@nomad8.comDavid Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmole/David Email: David@nomad8.comNomad8 Website: https://www.nomad8.comSelf-Selection Second Edition Details: https://www.nomad8.com/team-self-selectionFree Self-Selection Webinar: https://events.humanitix.com/free-self-selection-webinarBook Second Edition (Beta until release in May): https://pragprog.com/titles/mmteams2/creating-great-teams-second-edition/Book First Edition: https://pragprog.com/titles/mmteams/creating-great-teams/ Stay Connected and Informed with Our NewslettersJosh Anderson's "Leadership Lighthouse"Dive deeper into the world of Agile leadership and management with Josh Anderson's "Leadership Lighthouse." This bi-weekly newsletter offers insights, tips, and personal stories to help you navigate the complexities of leadership in today's fast-paced tech environment. Whether you're a new manager or a seasoned leader, you'll find valuable guidance and practical advice to enhance your leadership skills. Subscribe to "Leadership Lighthouse" for the latest articles and exclusive content right to your inbox.Subscribe hereBob Galen's "Agile Moose"Bob Galen's "Agile Moose" is a must-read for anyone interested in Agile practices, team dynamics, and personal growth within the tech industry. The newsletter features in-depth analysis, case studies, and actionable tips to help you excel in your Agile journey. Bob brings his extensive experience and thoughtful perspectives directly to you, covering everything from foundational Agile concepts to advanced techniques. Join a community of Agile enthusiasts and practitioners by subscribing to "Agile Moose."Subscribe hereDo More Than Listen:We publish video versions of every episode and post them on our YouTube page.Help Us Spread The Word: Love our content? Help us out by sharing on social media, rating our podcast/episodes on iTunes, or by giving to our

The Software Process and Measurement Cast Crew is on vacation. Until then, we are revisiting some fabulous panel discussions we have had during the last 19 years. We will be back on June 21st.   Poor work intake equals out-of-control.  Being out of control leads to stress and poor quality.  Mastering Work Intake is the path to bringing order out of chaos. Buy a copy today!  JRoss Publishing or Amazon. JRoss Publishing: Amazon:   Original Show Notes:    SPaMCAST 597 features a special panel of leaders who discuss working from home now and after the initial reaction to being remote has worn off. One of the important points we discussed was the need to make space for intentional serendipity. The panel is composed of Paul Laberge, Susan Parente, John Voris, Jo Ann Sweeney, and your host.  Panelist Bios Jo Ann Sweeney FCIM FIIC MCIPR is an engagement and communication consultant. Typically, she acts as change management lead on complex programmes, facilitating development of effective engagement, training, and communication strategies and then assisting as the strategies are implemented. Clients value her deep understanding of audiences. Jo Ann is known for clarifying the complex and for persuading key stakeholders to get involved and actively support change. You are welcome to download a complimentary copy of Jo Ann's guide How to Explain Change in 8 Easy Steps at Contact Jo Ann at jo.ann@sweeneycomms.com John Voris is the current leader of AgilePhilly, the local user group in the Philadelphia area for Scrum, Kanban, and Lean Software. ()  His day job is working on financial applications for Crown Cork & Seal, an essential company with over 100 years of manufacturing food and beverage cans.  Prior to Crown, John was an independent software consultant for 30+ years helping both small companies and Fortune 100 large companies with both applications and operating systems. Reach out on LinkedIn: With more than 30 years in the information technology industry, Paul Laberge – CGI Director Consulting-Expert, has a wide range of experience providing IT project management. He enjoys coaching leaders in deploying business technology solutions. His experience in organizational change management spans many different lifecycles including transitions to Agile frameworks (RUP, XP, Scrum, SAFe, Nexxus, LeSS) and incorporating Lean (Kanban) methodologies. Reach out on LinkedIn: Susan Parente is a Principal Consultant at S3 Technologies, LLC and a University Professor at multiple Universities. Mrs. Parente is an author, mentor and professor focused on risk management, traditional and Agile project management. Her experience is augmented by her Masters in Engineering Management with a focus in Marketing of Technology from George Washington University, DC, along with a number of professional certifications. Ms. Parente has 23+ years' experience leading software and business development projects in the private and public sectors, including a decade of experience implementing IT projects for the DoD. Contact Susan at parente.s3@gmail.com  

BONUS: Maria Chec Explores the Divide Between Agile Leaders and Practitioners In this BONUS episode, we explore Agile leadership with Maria Chec, author and host of Agile State of Mind. Maria shares insights from her analysis of Miro's Agile Survey, revealing a concerning disconnect between how Agile leaders and practitioners experience agile methodologies. We explore the roots of this divide, discuss practical approaches to bridging the gap, and consider the implications of recent industry developments like the PMI-Agile Alliance merger. Maria offers valuable perspectives on creating truly collaborative environments where frameworks serve the teams, not the other way around. The Disconnect Between Leaders and Practitioners "Practitioners feel pressured to comply with agile practices when they don't seem to add value." Maria highlights a stark divide revealed in Miro's survey of 1,200 agile practitioners and leaders. When asked if agile is living up to its original values, leaders and practitioners gave drastically different responses. For example, 69% of practitioners felt processes and tools overshadow individuals in their organizations, while only 43% of leaders shared this view. Similarly, 58% of practitioners believed documentation was prioritized over delivering final products, compared to just 39% of leaders. These disparities point to a fundamental disconnect in how agile is experienced at different organizational levels, with practitioners often feeling frameworks are imposed rather than collaboratively implemented. When Frameworks Become the Problem "The framework is too rigid... The framework is too complex... We have to change too much to use the framework." The issue isn't with agile frameworks themselves but how they're applied, Maria argues. Leaders often implement frameworks like SAFe without sufficient practitioner input or adaptation to organizational context. This creates an anti-pattern of "magical thinking" where companies believe they can install off-the-shelf solutions that worked elsewhere without considering their unique circumstances. The practitioners, who must live with these frameworks daily, experience frustration when rigid implementations fail to address their actual needs. Conway's Law comes into play here – the structure imposed by leadership often doesn't align with how teams naturally need to collaborate based on the systems they're building. The Role of Psychological Safety "Can I really admit that something the leadership made me do is not working for me? Will I be the only one admitting it?" This disconnect reveals deeper issues around psychological safety and trust within organizations. Many practitioners fear speaking up about framework problems, especially when they've just endured yet another organizational transformation. Maria emphasizes that without psychological safety, feedback loops break down, preventing the continuous improvement that's central to agile philosophy. Leaders must create environments where teams feel safe to provide honest feedback about what's working and what isn't, without fear of being singled out or dismissed. Without this safety, frameworks become rigid implementations rather than adaptable approaches that evolve with team needs. Reconnecting Through Gemba Walks "Be there where the value is created and know what's going on." To bridge the gap between leadership vision and practitioner reality, Maria strongly recommends Gemba walks – a concept from Lean and Toyota where leaders go to where value is created. This practice helps leaders understand the actual work being done and build relationships with team members. Maria references Project Aristotle at Google, which found that trust and psychological safety are fundamental to team success. She also notes the importance of leaders articulating a meaningful mission to inspire teams, sharing her experience at a taxi-hailing app where the CEO's vision of reducing urban parking needs made her feel she was "building something for the future." Leaders should regularly spend time where the actual work happens Teams need to understand how their work contributes to a larger purpose Open communication channels must be genuine, not just symbolic In this segment, we refer to Management 3.0 and Managing For Happiness by Jurgen Appelo.  The PMI-Agile Alliance Merger and the Future of Agile "Have we really found better ways? Why are Agile Alliance and PMI merging?" The recent merger between the Project Management Institute and Agile Alliance represents a surprising development in the industry. Maria takes an optimistic view, wondering if this indicates PMI recognizing that agile is truly the way forward. She acknowledges the perception that "Agile is dead" discussions highlight a crisis in the movement, but suggests the merger might be an opportunity to influence project management with agile values. She emphasizes how AI is creating massive changes that require experimentation and adaptation – precisely what agile approaches enable. This industry shift offers agile practitioners the chance to shape how traditional and agile methodologies might complement each other in the future. The merger could be seen as closing a circle or as an opportunity for cross-pollination "Agile is dead" discussions reflect growing pains rather than true failure Rapid technological changes with AI require more experimentation, not less Breaking Down Silos with "Glue Roles" "What are the 'glue roles' that you need in your organization?" Maria introduces her concept of "glue roles" – positions that help break down silos and foster collaboration regardless of what they're called. Whether they're RTEs (Release Train Engineers), Agile Coaches, or Technical Project Managers, these roles can transform organizational effectiveness when focused on enabling teams rather than enforcing processes. She observes that nature constantly changes, yet we expect our companies to remain static. This mindset prevents the adaptation necessary for true agility. Instead, organizations need individuals who can facilitate communication, remove barriers, and help teams collaborate effectively across boundaries. Focus on the function of collaboration rather than rigid role definitions Adapt roles to organizational needs rather than forcing organizational change to fit frameworks Use these roles to foster psychological safety and open communication Learning Through Experimentation "We need to experiment." Looking toward the future, Maria emphasizes the importance of experimentation in the face of rapid technological change, particularly with AI. She notes that while tech professionals are often thought to be early adopters, AI tools like ChatGPT are being embraced across all industries. The accelerating pace of change means we can no longer plan years ahead with certainty – what we use today may be obsolete in two years. This reality makes agile approaches even more relevant, as they embrace change rather than fight it. She encourages agile practitioners to openly discuss how they use these new tools, adapting their practices rather than clinging to outdated methods. The accelerating pace of change makes long-term planning increasingly difficult AI is already transforming work across all industries, not just tech Agile principles of adaptation and experimentation are more relevant than ever About Maria Chec Maria Chec is a seasoned Agile leader, ProKanban Trainer, and creator of Agile State of Mind. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in transforming teams through SAFe, OKRs, and process optimization, achieving remarkable productivity gains. Maria's mission is empowering teams to thrive through collaboration and adaptability. You can link with Maria Chec on LinkedIn and subscribe to Maria Chec's Substack.

Foundations of Amateur Radio Over the years I've talked about different ways of using our license to transmit. I've discussed things like modes such as voice AM, FM, and SSB, and digital modes like FT8, WSPR, RTTY, FreeDV, Hellschreiber, Olivia and even Morse code. Recently it occurred to me that there is something odd about how we do this as a community. Now that I've realised this it's hard to unsee. Let me see if I can get you to the same place of wonder. Why is it that we as amateurs only use one such mode at a time? Let me say that again. With all the modes we have available to us, why do we only use one mode at a time, why do we get our brain into the mindset of one activity, stop doing that in order to move to another mode? It's weird. Amateur radio is what's called "frequency agile". What I mean by that is we are not restricted to a fixed number of channels like most, if not all other radio users. We can set our transmission frequency to whatever we want, within the restrictions imposed by our license conditions, and start making noise. There's agreement on what mode you can use where, but within that comes a great deal of flexibility. We have the ability to find each other. Call CQ and if the band is open and your station is transmitting a signal, the chance is good that someone somewhere on planet Earth will respond. We change frequency at will, almost without thought, but why don't we do this with modes? The closest I've seen is local VHF and UHF contests where you get different points depending on which mode you're using, and even that seems hard fought. It's weird. We have an increasing range of Software Defined Radios, or SDR, where your voice, or incoming text, can be transformed to a different mode at the touch of a button, but we rarely if ever actually use this ability. In case you're thinking that the restriction relates to the availability of SDR in the average amateur radio shack, most amateur modes fit within a normal audio stream and that same flexibility could be applied to the vast majority of transmitters scattered around the globe, but to my knowledge, it isn't. Why is that? Better still, what can we do about it? Can we develop procedures and processes to make us more, let's call it "mode agile", giving us the ability to change mode at the same ease as we change frequency? What would a "mode and frequency agile" amateur look like? What processes would you use? Right now the best we have is to QSY, or announce that we're changing frequency, but I've never heard anyone use that to describe a change of mode. Of course it's possible that I've led a sheltered life and not been on-air enough, but if that's the case, I'd love to hear about it. So, what is stopping us from becoming even more flexible? Do we need to practice this, develop better tools, teach new amateurs, have multimode nets, invent new modes that share information across different modes simultaneously, build radios that can transmit on different frequencies, or something else? I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Jared Isaacman was in Congress for a confirmation hearing for his nomination as NASA Administrator, which was followed up by reports of huge proposed budget cuts at NASA and NOAA. And as expected, SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin all received awards for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—nt, Frank, Joonas, Will and Lars from Agile, Pat from KC, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Josh from Impulse, Pat, Bob, Warren, Heiko, Steve, Theo and Violet, David, Kris, Donald, Joel, Fred, Jan, Lee, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Ryan, Matt, Stealth Julian, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Better Every Day Studios, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsIsaacman Insists NASA Can Pursue Moon and Mars Goals Simultaneously – SpacePolicyOnline.comTrump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA - Ars TechnicaPlanetary Science Caucus Co-Chairs Bacon & Chu Statement on White House's Proposed Budget Cuts to NASA Science | U.S. Representative Don BaconNOAA budget proposal would affect weather satellite, other space programs - SpaceNewsSpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin win $13.7 billion in U.S. military launch contracts through 2029 - SpaceNewsSpace Force reassigns GPS satellite launch from ULA to SpaceX - SpaceNewsSpaceX secures majority of NSSL Phase 3 fiscal year 2025 missions - SpaceNewsThe ShowLike the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.comFollow @WeHaveMECOFollow @meco@spacey.space on MastodonListen to MECO HeadlinesListen to Off-NominalJoin the Off-Nominal DiscordSubscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhereSubscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off NewsletterArtwork photo by FireflyWork with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Richard Brenner: Hypothesis-Driven Product Ownership, The Experimental Mindset Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: The Experimenter Richard describes great Product Owners as "experimenters" who understand that everything they do is a hypothesis requiring validation. The best POs establish feedback loops early, actively engage with users and clients, and approach product development with a scientific mindset. Richard shares an experience working with a "coaching PO" who excelled at involving everyone in defining what needed to be done.  This PO was inspiring and helped the team participate in both building and decision-making processes. Richard emphasizes that the relationship between PO and team must be a true partnership—not hierarchical—for success to occur. Great POs facilitate team involvement rather than dictating direction, creating an environment where collaborative problem-solving thrives. In this segment, we refer to the Role Expectation Matrix Retrospective, and the Product Owner Sprint Checklist, a hands-on coaching tool for anyone interested in helping PO's prepare and lead successful Sprints with their teams. The Bad Product Owner: The Tech Visionary Disconnected from Users Richard recounts working with a high-level sponsor, a medical doctor interested in technology, who hired multiple development teams (up to four Scrum teams) to build a product. While technically knowledgeable, this PO had very concrete ideas about both the technology and solution based on assumptions about client needs.  The team developed impressive technology, including a domain-specific language (DSL), and felt they were performing well—until they delivered to actual clients. Only then did they discover users couldn't effectively use the software, requiring a complete rethinking of the UX concept. This experience taught Richard the critical distinction between the customer (the sponsor/PO) and the actual end users, demonstrating how even technically sophisticated Product Owners can miss essential user needs without proper validation. Self-reflection Question: How might you help Product Owners in your organization balance their vision with the practical realities of user needs and feedback? [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Paul partage ses réflexions et son parcours dans le monde du product design et du lancement de produits, notamment dans l'univers startup.On parle du fait qu'il est essentiel de valider un problème avant d'en chercher la solution, mais aussi de tester le MVP d'un produit le plus vite possible pour valider l'intérêt des utilisateurs. Cette approche montre l'importance d'une démarche agile et centrée sur l'utilisateur.Dans cet extrait, on évoque les points suivants :➡️ Valider l'intérêt (ou non) de résoudre un problème pour un marché➡️ Identifier la cible et observer ses comportements➡️ Tester son MVP et recueillir des feedbacks rapides➡️ Savoir si le produit fonctionne en suivant des KPIs spécifiques➡️ Go-to-Market : comment The Quest a trouvé ses bêta-testeurs sur Product Hunt➡️ Les 3 erreurs que font la plupart des first-time foundersRetrouvez Paul :Sur LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-terrasson-duvernon/Sur Substack : https://thethinkinggallery.substack.com/Si cet épisode vous a plu, pensez à laisser une note et un commentaire - c'est la meilleure façon de faire découvrir le podcast à d'autres personnes !Envoyez-moi une capture de cet avis (LinkedIn ou par mail à dx@donatienleon.com) et je vous enverrai une petite surprise en remerciement.

Robert Briese is one of only 29 certified LeSS trainers worldwide – and in this conversation, we unpack what it truly means to scale agility. From his early days in traditional project management to facilitating real transformation through systems thinking and customer co-creation, Robert shares his honest, experienced view on what works and what doesn't when building products at scale.

Wir reden Mit Alexander Jungwirth über Fehlerkultur - ein weiterer Evergreen im Organisationsalltag.

Richard Brenner: Contracting for Success,  Establishing Clear Agile Coaching Outcomes Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Richard reflects on his evolution in defining success as a Scrum Master and Agile Coach. Initially, he believed that if his team was successful, he was successful—but soon realized this perspective was incomplete. Top management wanted tangible evidence of coaching impact, which became problematic without clearly defined metrics. Richard now advocates for establishing a coaching agreement at the beginning of any engagement, with both management and teams defining what success looks like for the coach. He emphasizes the importance of dual-sided accountability as a natural outcome of proper contracting, using metrics that matter to the organization such as flow metrics and outcome metrics to demonstrate coaching value. Self-reflection Question: How are you measuring your own success as a coach or Scrum Master, and have you created explicit agreements with both teams and management about what success looks like? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Solution Focused Retrospective Richard recommends the Solution Focused Retrospective from the book "Solution Focused Coaching for Agile Teams." While traditional retrospective formats from books like "Agile Retrospectives" typically open a topic and dig deeply into the problem space, the solution-focused approach suggests spending only a short time discussing problems before pivoting to designing the desired future state. This format focuses on identifying the next step and emphasizing what positive outcomes the team wants to achieve, rather than dwelling on what's wrong. Richard values this approach for its ability to maintain a positive, forward-thinking mindset within teams. [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

This year is the year that AI moves from the individual assistant to the collective and autonomous - from co-pilots to agent to agent integration.  But what do we know of its collective impact and how does humanity fit in?This week's Easter Special, Dave, Esmee and Rob talk to Anders Indset, about his work (Ex Machina and the Singularity Paradox), capability of infinite progress, humane capitalism, where might the human find themselves in an AGI world and does the intersection of quantum and AI make the chance of us living in a simulation more likely…TLDR01:34 Introduction of Anders Indset03:50 Rob is confused about hackers starting to create saleable products08:12 Conversation with Anders Indset49:50 Who do we see as future leaders in our team?59:15 Conference in Austria about values in Europe and the future of Europe

Guest Bio:  Dave Snowden divides his time between two roles: founder & Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge and the founder and Director of the Centre for Applied Complexity at the University of Wales.  Known for creating the sense-making framework, Cynefin, Dave's work is international in nature and covers government and industry looking at complex issues relating to strategy, organisational decision making and decision making.  He has pioneered a science-based approach to organisations drawing on anthropology, neuroscience and complex adaptive systems theory.  He is a popular and passionate keynote speaker on a range of subjects, and is well known for his pragmatic cynicism and iconoclastic style. He holds positions as extra-ordinary Professor at the Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch and visiting Professor at Bangor University in Wales respectively.  He has held similar positions at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Canberra University, the University of Warwick and The University of Surrey.  He held the position of senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang University and the Civil Service College in Singapore during a sabbatical period in Nanyang. His paper with Boone on Leadership was the cover article for the Harvard Business Review in November 2007 and also won the Academy of Management aware for the best practitioner paper in the same year.  He has previously won a special award from the Academy for originality in his work on knowledge management. He is a editorial board member of several academic and practitioner journals in the field of knowledge management and is an Editor in Chief of E:CO.  In 2006 he was Director of the EPSRC (UK) research programme on emergence and in 2007 was appointed to an NSF (US) review panel on complexity science research. He previously worked for IBM where he was a Director of the Institution for Knowledge Management and founded the Cynefin Centre for Organisational Complexity; during that period he was selected by IBM as one of six on-demand thinkers for a world-wide advertising campaign. Prior to that he worked in a range of strategic and management roles in the service sector. His company Cognitive Edge exists to integrate academic thinking with practice in organisations throughout the world and operates on a network model working with Academics, Government, Commercial Organisations, NGOs and Independent Consultants.  He is also the main designer of the SenseMaker® software suite, originally developed in the field of counter terrorism and now being actively deployed in both Government and Industry to handle issues of impact measurement, customer/employee insight, narrative based knowledge management, strategic foresight and risk management. The Centre for Applied Complexity was established to look at whole of citizen engagement in government and is running active programmes in Wales and elsewhere in areas such as social inclusion, self-organising communities and nudge economics together with a broad range of programmes in health.  The Centre will establish Wales as a centre of excellence for the integration of academic and practitioner work in creating a science-based approach to understanding society.   Social Media and Website LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dave-snowden-2a93b Twitter: @snowded Website: Cognitive Edge https://www.cognitive-edge.com/   Books/ Resources: Book: Cynefin - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World by Dave Snowden and Friends https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cynefin-Weaving-Sense-Making-Fabric-World/dp/1735379905 Book: Hope Without Optimism by Terry Eagleton https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hope-Without-Optimism-Terry-Eagleton/dp/0300248679/ Book: Theology of Hope by Jurgen Moltmann https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theology-Hope-Classics-Jurgen-Moltmann/dp/0334028787 Poem: ‘Mending Wall' by Robert Frost https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44266/mending-wall Video: Dave Snowden on ‘Rewilding Agile' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrgaPDqet4c Article reference to ‘Rewilding Agile' by Dave Snowden https://cynefin.io/index.php/User:Snowded Field Guide to Managing Complexity (and Chaos) In Times of Crisis https://cynefin.io/index.php/Field_guide_to_managing_complexity_(and_chaos)_in_times_of_crisis Field Guide to Managing Complexity (and Chaos) In Times of Crisis (2) https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/managing-complexity-and-chaos-times-crisis-field-guide-decision-makers-inspired-cynefin-framework Cynefin Wiki https://cynefin.io/wiki/Main_Page   Interview Transcript Ula Ojiaku:  Dave, thank you for making the time for this conversation. I read in your, your latest book - the book, Cynefin: Weaving Sense Making into the Fabric of Our World, which was released, I believe, in celebration of the twenty first year of the framework. And you mentioned that in your childhood, you had multidisciplinary upbringing which involved lots of reading. Could you tell us a bit more about that? Dave Snowden:  I think it wasn't uncommon in those days. I mean, if you did… I mean, I did science A levels and mathematical A levels. But the assumption was you would read every novel that the academic English class were reading. In fact, it was just unimaginable (that) you wouldn't know the basics of history. So, if you couldn't survive that in the sixth form common room, and the basics of science were known by most of the arts people as well. So that that was common, right. And we had to debate every week anyway. So, every week, you went up to the front of the class and you were given a card, and you'd have the subject and which side you are on, and you had to speak for seven minutes without preparation. And we did that every week from the age of 11 to 18. And that was a wonderful discipline because it meant you read everything. But also, my mother was… both my parents were the first from working class communities to go to university. And they got there by scholarship or sheer hard work against the opposition of their families. My mother went to university in Germany just after the war, which was extremely brave of her -  you know, as a South Wales working class girl. So, you weren't allowed not to be educated, it was considered the unforgivable sin. Ula Ojiaku:   Wow. Did it mean that she had to learn German, because (she was) studying in Germany…? Dave Snowden:  She well, she got A levels in languages. So, she went to university to study German and she actually ended up as a German teacher, German and French. So, she had that sort of background. Yeah. Ula Ojiaku:  And was that what influenced you? Because you also mentioned in the book that you won a £60 prize? Dave Snowden:  Oh, no, that was just fun. So, my mum was very politically active. We're a South Wales labor. Well, I know if I can read but we were labor. And so, she was a local Councilor. She was always politically active. There's a picture of me on Bertrand Russell's knee and her as a baby on a CND march. So it was that sort of background. And she was campaigning for comprehensive education, and had a ferocious fight with Aiden Williams, I think, who was the Director of Education, it was really nasty. I mean, I got threatened on my 11 Plus, he got really nasty. And then so when (I was) in the sixth form, I won the prize in his memory, which caused endless amusement in the whole county. All right. I think I probably won it for that. But that was for contributions beyond academic. So, I was leading lots of stuff in the community and stuff like that. But I had £60. And the assumption was, you go and buy one massive book. And I didn't, I got Dad to drive me to Liverpool - went into the big bookshop there and just came out with I mean, books for two and six pence. So, you can imagine how many books I could get for £60. And I just took everything I could find on philosophy and history and introductory science and stuff like that and just consumed it. Ula Ojiaku:  Wow, it seemed like you already knew what you wanted even before winning the prize money, you seem to have had a wish list... Dave Snowden:  I mean, actually interesting, and the big things in the EU field guide on (managing) complexity which was just issued. You need to build…, You need to stop saying, ‘this is the problem, we will find the solution' to saying, ‘how do I build capability, that can solve problems we haven't yet anticipated?' And I think that's part of the problem in education. Because my children didn't have that benefit. They had a modular education. Yeah, we did a set of exams at 16 and a set of exams that 18 and between those periods, we could explore it (i.e. options) and we had to hold everything in our minds for those two periods, right? For my children, it was do a module, pass a test, get a mark, move on, forget it move on. So, it's very compartmentalized, yeah? And it's also quite instrumentalist. We, I think we were given an education as much in how to learn and have had to find things out. And the debating tradition was that; you didn't know what you're going to get hit with. So, you read everything, and you thought about it, and you learn to think on your feet. And I think that that sort of a broad switch, it started to happen in the 80s, along with a lot of other bad things in management. And this is when systems thinking started to dominate. And we moved to an engineering metaphor. And you can see it in cybernetics and everything else, it's an attempt to define everything as a machine. And of course, machines are designed for a purpose, whereas ecosystems evolve for resilience. And I think that's kind of like where I, my generation were and it's certainly what we're trying to bring back in now in sort of in terms of practice. Ula Ojiaku:  I have an engineering background and a computer science background. These days, I'm developing a newfound love for philosophy, psychology, law and, you know, intersect, how do all these concepts intersect? Because as human beings we're complex, we're not machines where you put the program in and you expect it to come out the same, you know, it's not going to be the same for every human being. What do you think about that? Dave Snowden:  Yeah. And I think, you know, we know more on this as well. So, we know the role of art in human evolution is being closely linked to innovation. So, art comes before language. So, abstraction allows you to make novel connections. So, if you focus entirely on STEM education, you're damaging the human capacity to innovate. And we're, you know, as creatures, we're curious. You know. And I mean, we got this whole concept of our aporia, which is key to connecting that, which is creating a state of deliberate confusion, or a state of paradox. And the essence of a paradox is you can't resolve it. So, you're forced to think differently. So, the famous case on this is the liar's paradox, alright? I mean, “I always lie”. That just means I lied. So, if that means I was telling the truth. So, you've got to think differently about the problem. I mean, you've seen those paradoxes do the same thing. So that, that deliberate act of creating confusion so people can see novelty is key. Yeah. Umm and if you don't find… finding ways to do that, so when we looked at it, we looked at linguistic aporia, aesthetic aporia and physical aporia. So, I got some of the… one of the defining moments of insight on Cynefin was looking at Caravaggio`s paintings in Naples. When I realized I've been looking for the idea of the liminality. And that was, and then it all came together, right? So those are the trigger points requiring a more composite way of learning. I think it's also multiculturalism, to be honest. I mean, I, when I left university, I worked on the World Council of Churches come, you know program to combat racism. Ula Ojiaku:  Yes, I'd like to know more about that. That's one of my questions… Dave Snowden:  My mother was a good atheist, but she made me read the Bible on the basis, I wouldn't understand European literature otherwise, and the penetration guys, I became a Catholic so… Now, I mean, that that was fascinating, because I mean, I worked on Aboriginal land rights in Northern Australia, for example. And that was when I saw an activist who was literally murdered in front of me by a security guard. And we went to the police. And they said, it's only an Abo. And I still remember having fights in Geneva, because South Africa was a tribal conflict with a racial overlay. I mean, Africa, and its Matabele Zulu, arrived in South Africa together and wiped out the native population. And if you don't understand that, you don't understand the Matabele betrayal. You don't understand what happened. It doesn't justify apartheid. And one of the reasons there was a partial reconciliation, is it actually was a tribal conflict. And the ritual actually managed that. Whereas in Australia, in comparison was actually genocide. Yeah, it wasn't prejudice, it was genocide. I mean, until 1970s, there, were still taking half -breed children forcibly away from their parents, inter-marrying them in homes, to breed them back to white. And those are, I think, yeah, a big market. I argued this in the UK, I said, one of the things we should actually have is bring back national service. I couldn't get the Labor Party to adopt it. I said, ‘A: Because it would undermine the Conservatives, because they're the ones who talk about that sort of stuff. But we should allow it to be overseas.' So, if you put two years into working in communities, which are poorer than yours, round about that 18 to 21-year-old bracket, then we'll pay for your education. If you don't, you'll pay fees. Because you proved you want to give to society. And that would have been… I think, it would have meant we'd have had a generation of graduates who understood the world because that was part of the objective. I mean, I did that I worked on worked in South Africa, on the banks of Zimbabwe on the audits of the refugee camps around that fight. And in Sao Paulo, in the slums, some of the work of priests. You can't come back from that and not be changed. And I think it's that key formative period, we need to give people. Ula Ojiaku:  True and like you said, at that age, you know, when you're young and impressionable, it helps with what broadening your worldview to know that the world is bigger than your father's … compound (backyard)… Dave Snowden:  That's the worst problem in Agile, because what, you've got a whole class of, mainly white males and misogynism in Agile is really bad. It's one of the worst areas for misogyny still left, right, in terms of where it works. Ula Ojiaku:  I'm happy you are the one saying it not me… Dave Snowden:  Well, no, I mean, it is it's quite appalling. And so, what you've actually got is, is largely a bunch of white male game players who spent their entire time on computers. Yeah, when you take and run seriously after puberty, and that's kind of like a dominant culture. And that's actually quite dangerous, because it lacks, it lacks cultural diversity, it lacks ethnic diversity, it lacks educational diversity. And I wrote an article for ITIL, recently, which has been published, which said, no engineers should be allowed out, without training in ethics. Because the implications of what software engineers do now are huge. And the problem we've got, and this is a really significant, it's a big data problem as well. And you see it with a behavioral economic economist and the nudge theory guys - all of whom grab these large-scale data manipulations is that they're amoral, they're not immoral, they're amoral. And that's actually always more scary. It's this sort of deep level instrumentalism about the numbers; the numbers tell me what I need to say. Ula Ojiaku:  And also, I mean, just building on what you've said, there are instances, for example, in artificial intelligence is really based on a sample set from a select group, and it doesn't necessarily recognize things that are called ‘outliers'. You know, other races… Dave Snowden:  I mean, I've worked in that in all my life now back 20, 25 years ago. John Poindexter and I were on a stage in a conference in Washington. This was sort of early days of our work on counter terrorism. And somebody asked about black box AI and I said, nobody's talking about the training data sets. And I've worked in AI from the early days, all right, and the training data sets matter and nobody bothered. They just assumed… and you get people publishing books which say correlation is causation, which is deeply worrying, right? And I think Google is starting to acknowledge that, but it's actually very late. And the biases which… we were looking at a software tool the other day, it said it can, it can predict 85% of future events around culture. Well, it can only do that by constraining how executive see culture, so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then the recruitment algorithms will only recruit people who match that cultural expectation and outliers will be eliminated. There's an HBO film coming up shortly on Myers Briggs. Now, Myers Briggs is known to be a pseudo-science. It has no basis whatsoever in any clinical work, and even Jung denied it, even though it's meant to be based on his work. But it's beautiful for HR departments because it allows them to put people into little categories. And critically it abrogates, judgment, and that's what happened with systems thinking in the 80s 90s is everything became spreadsheets and algorithms. So, HR departments would produce… instead of managers making decisions based on judgment, HR departments would force them into profile curves, to allocate resources. Actually, if you had a high performing team who were punished, because the assumption was teams would not have more than… Ula Ojiaku:  Bell curve... Dave Snowden:  …10 percent high performance in it. All right. Ula Ojiaku:  Yeah. Dave Snowden:  And this sort of nonsense has been running in the 80s, 90s and it coincided with… three things came together. One was the popularization of systems thinking. And unfortunately, it got popularized around things like process reengineering and learning organization. So that was a hard end. And Sanghi's pious can the sort of the, the soft end of it, right? But both of them were highly directional. It was kind of like leaders decide everything follows. Yeah. And that coincided with the huge growth of computing - the ability to handle large volumes of information. And all of those sorts of things came together in this sort of perfect storm, and we lost a lot of humanity in the process. Ula Ojiaku:  Do you think there's hope for us to regain the humanity in the process? Because it seems like the tide is turning from, I mean, there is still an emphasis, in my view, on systems thinking, however, there is the growing realization that we have, you know, knowledge workers and people… Dave Snowden:  Coming to the end of its park cycle, I see that all right. I can see it with the amount of cybernetics fanboys, and they are all boys who jump on me every time I say something about complexity, right? So, I think they're feeling threatened. And the field guide is significant, because it's a government, you know, government can like publication around effectively taken an ecosystems approach, not a cybernetic approach. And there's a book published by a good friend of mine called Terry Eagleton, who's… I don't think he's written a bad book. And he's written about 30, or 40. I mean, the guy just produces his stuff. It's called “Hope without Optimism”. And I think, hope is… I mean, Moltman just also published an update of his Theology of Hope, which is worth reading, even if you're not religious. But hope is one of those key concepts, right, you should… to lose hope is a sin. But hope is not the same thing as optimism. In fact, pessimistic people who hope actually are probably the ones who make a difference, because they're not naive, right? And this is my objection to the likes of Sharma Ga Sengi, and the like, is they just gather people together to talk about how things should be. And of course, everything should be what, you know, white MIT, educated males think the world should be like. I mean, it's very culturally imperialist in that sort of sense. And then nobody changes because anybody can come together in the workshop and agree how things should be. It's when you make a difference in the field that it counts, you've got to create a micro difference. This is hyper localization, you got to create lots and lots of micro differences, which will stimulate the systems, the system will change. I think, three things that come together, one is COVID. The other is global warming. And the other is, and I prefer to call it the epistemic justice movement, though, that kind of like fits in with Black Lives Matter. But epistemic justice doesn't just affect people who are female or black. I mean, if you come to the UK and see the language about the Welsh and the Irish, or the jokes made about the Welsh in BBC, right? The way we use language can designate people in different ways and I think that's a big movement, though. And it's certainly something we develop software for. So, I think those three come together, and I think the old models aren't going to be sustainable. I mean, the cost is going to be terrible. I mean, the cost to COVID is already bad. And we're not getting this thing as long COVID, it's permanent COVID. And people need to start getting used to that. And I think that's, that's going to change things. So, for example, in the village I live in Wiltshire. Somebody's now opened an artisan bakery in their garage and it's brilliant. And everybody's popping around there twice a week and just buying the bread and having a chat on the way; socially-distanced with masks, of course. And talking of people, that sort of thing is happening a lot. COVID has forced people into local areas and forced people to realise the vulnerability of supply chains. So, you can see changes happening there. The whole Trump phenomenon, right, and the Boris murmuring in the UK is ongoing. It's just as bad as the Trump phenomenon. It's the institutionalization of corruption as a high level. Right? Those sorts of things trigger change, right? Not without cost, change never comes without cost, but it just needs enough… It needs local action, not international action. I think that's the key principle. To get a lot of people to accept things like the Paris Accord on climate change, and you've got to be prepared to make sacrifices. And it's too distant a time at the moment, it has to become a local issue for the international initiatives to actually work and we're seeing that now. I mean… Ula Ojiaku:  It sounds like, sorry to interrupt - it sounds like what you're saying is, for the local action, for change to happen, it has to start with us as individuals… Dave Snowden:  The disposition… No, not with individuals. That's actually very North American, the North European way of thinking right. The fundamental kind of basic identity structure of humans is actually clans, not individuals. Ula Ojiaku:  Clans... Dave Snowden:  Yeah. Extended families, clans; it's an ambiguous word. We actually evolved for those. And you need it at that level, because that's a high level of social interaction and social dependency. And it's like, for example, right? I'm dyslexic. Right? Yeah. If I don't see if, if the spelling checker doesn't pick up a spelling mistake, I won't see it. And I read a whole page at a time. I do not read it sentence by sentence. All right. And I can't understand why people haven't seen the connections I make, because they're obvious, right? Equally, there's a high degree of partial autism in the Agile community, because that goes with mathematical ability and thing, and that this so-called education deficiencies, and the attempt to define an ideal individual is a mistake, because we evolved to have these differences. Ula Ojiaku:  Yes. Dave Snowden:  Yeah. And the differences understood that the right level of interaction can change things. So, I think the unit is clan, right for extended family, or extended, extended interdependence. Ula Ojiaku:  Extended interdependence… Dave Snowden:  We're seeing that in the village. I mean, yeah, this is classic British atomistic knit, and none of our relatives live anywhere near us. But the independence in the village is increasing with COVID. And therefore, people are finding relationships and things they can do together. Now, once that builds to a critical mass, and it does actually happen exponentially, then bigger initiatives are possible. And this is some of the stuff we were hoping to do in the US shortly on post-election reconciliation. And the work we've been doing in Malmo, in refugees and elsewhere in the world, right, is you change the nature of localized interaction with national visibility, so that you can measure the dispositional state of the system. And then you can nudge the system when it's ready to change, because then the energy cost of change is low. But that requires real time feedback loops in distributed human sensor networks, which is a key issue in the field guide. And the key thing that comes back to your original question on AI, is, the internet at the moment is an unbuffered feedback loop. Yeah, where you don't know the source of the data, and you can't control the source of the data. And any network like that, and this is just apriori science factor, right will always become perverted. Ula Ojiaku:  And what do you mean by term apriori? Dave Snowden:  Oh, before the facts, you don't need to, we don't need to wait for evidence. It's like in an agile, you can look at something like SAFe® which case claims to scale agile and just look at it you say it's apriori wrong (to) a scale a complex system. So, it's wrong. All right. End of argument right. Now let's talk about the details, right. So yeah, so that's, you know, that's coming back. The hyper localization thing is absolutely key on that, right? And the same is true to be honest in software development. A lot of our work now is to understand the unarticulated needs of users. And then shift technology in to actually meet those unarticulated needs. And that requires a complex approach to architecture, in which people and technology are objects with defined interactions around scaffolding structures, so that applications can emerge in resilience, right? And that's actually how local communities evolve as well. So, we've now got the theoretical constructs and a lot of the practical methods to actually… And I've got a series of blog posts - which I've got to get back to writing - called Rewilding Agile. And rewilding isn't returning to the original state, it's restoring balance. So, if you increase the number of human actors as your primary sources, and I mean human actors, not as people sitting on (in front of) computer screens who can be faked or mimicked, yeah? … and entirely working on text, which is about 10%, of what we know, dangerous, it might become 80% of what we know and then you need to panic. Right? So, you know, by changing those interactions, increasing the human agency in the system, that's how you come to, that's how you deal with fake news. It's not by writing better algorithms, because then it becomes a war with the guys faking the news, and you're always gonna lose. Ula Ojiaku:  So, what do you consider yourself, a person of faith? Dave Snowden:  Yeah. Ula Ojiaku:  Why? Dave Snowden:  Oh, faith is like hope and charity. I mean, they're the great virtues… I didn't tell you I got into a lot in trouble in the 70s. Dave Snowden:  I wrote an essay that said Catholicism, Marxism and Hinduism were ontologically identical and should be combined and we're different from Protestantism and capitalism, which are also ontologically identical (and) it can be combined. Ula Ojiaku:  Is this available in the public domain? Dave Snowden:  I doubt it. I think it actually got me onto a heresy trial at one point, but that but I would still say that. Ula Ojiaku:  That's amazing. Can we then move to the framework that Cynefin framework, how did it evolve into what we know it as today? Dave Snowden:  I'll do a high-level summary, but I wrote it up at length in the book and I didn't know I was writing for the book. The book was a surprise that they put together for me. I thought that was just writing an extended blog post. It started when I was working in IBM is it originates from the work of Max Borrasso was my mentor for years who tragically died early. But he was looking at abstraction, codification and diffusion. We did a fair amount of work together, I took two of those aspects and started to look at informal and formal communities in IBM, and its innovation. And some of the early articles on Cynefin, certainly the early ones with the five domains come from that period. And at that time, we had access labels. Yeah. And then then complexity theory came into it. So, it shifted into being a complexity framework. And it stayed … The five domains were fairly constant for a fairly long period of time, they changed their names a bit. The central domain I knew was important, but didn't have as much prominence as it does now. And then I introduced liminality, partly driven by agile people, actually, because they could they couldn't get the concept there were dynamics and domains. So, they used to say things like, ‘look, Scrum is a dynamic. It's a way of shifting complex to complicated' and people say ‘no, the scrum guide said it's about complex.' And you think, ‘oh, God, Stacey has a lot to answer for' but… Ula Ojiaku: Who`s Stacey? Dave Snowden:  Ralph Stacey. So, he was the guy originally picked up by Ken when he wrote the Scrum Guide… Ula Ojiaku:  Right. Okay. Dave Snowden:  Stacey believes everything's complex, which is just wrong, right? So, either way, Cynefin evolved with the liminal aspects. And then the last resolution last year, which is… kind of completes Cynefin to be honest, there's some refinements… was when we realized that the central domain was confused, or operatic. And that was the point where you started. So, you didn't start by putting things into the domain, you started in the operatic. And then you moved aspects of things into the different domains. So that was really important. And it got picked up in Agile, ironically, by the XP community. So, I mean, I was in IT most of my life, I was one of the founders of the DSDM Consortium, and then moved sideways from that, and was working in counterterrorism and other areas, always you're working with technology, but not in the Agile movement. Cynefin is actually about the same age as Agile, it started at the same time. And the XP community in London invited me in, and I still think Agile would have been better if it had been built on XP, not Scrum. But it wouldn't have scaled with XP, I mean, without Scrum it would never have scaled it. And then it got picked up. And I think one of the reasons it got picked up over Stacey is, it said order is possible. It didn't say everything is complex. And virtually every Agile method I know of value actually focuses on making complex, complicated. Ula Ojiaku:  Yes. Dave Snowden:  And that's its power. What they're… what is insufficient of, and this is where we've been working is what I call pre-Scrum techniques. Techniques, which define what should go into that process. Right, because all of the Agile methods still tend to be a very strong manufacturing metaphor - manufacturing ideas. So, they assume somebody will tell them what they have to produce. And that actually is a bad way of thinking about IT. Technology needs to co-evolve. And users can't articulate what they want, because they don't know what technology can do. Ula Ojiaku:  True. But are you saying… because in Agile fundamentally, it's really about making sure there's alignment as well that people are working on the right thing per time, but you're not telling them how to do it? Dave Snowden:  Well, yes and no - all right. I mean, it depends what you're doing. I mean, some Agile processes, yes. But if you go through the sort of safe brain remain processes, very little variety within it, right? And self-organization happens within the context of a user executive and retrospectives. Right, so that's its power. And, but if you look at it, it took a really good technique called time-boxing, and it reduced it to a two-week sprint. Now, that's one aspect of time boxing. I mean, I've got a whole series of blog posts next week on this, because time boxing is a hugely valuable technique. It says there's minimal deliverable project, and maximum deliverable product and a minimal level of resource and a maximum level of resource. And the team commits to deliver on the date. Ula Ojiaku:  To accurate quality… to a quality standard. Dave Snowden:  Yeah, so basically, you know that the worst case, you'll get the minimum product at the maximum cost, but you know, you'll get it on that date. So, you can deal with it, alright. And that's another technique we've neglected. We're doing things which force high levels of mutation and requirements over 24 hours, before they get put into a Scrum process. Because if you just take what users want, you know, there's been insufficient co-evolution with the technology capability. And so, by the time you deliver it, the users will probably realize they should have asked for something different anyway. Ula Ojiaku:  So, does this tie in with the pre-Scrum techniques you mentioned earlier? If so, can you articulate that? Dave Snowden:  So, is to say different methods in different places. And that's again, my opposition to things like SAFe, to a lesser extent LeSS, and so on, right, is they try and put everything into one bloody big flow diagram. Yeah. And that's messy. All right? Well, it's a recipe, not a chef. What the chef does is they put different ingredients together in different combinations. So, there's modularity of knowledge, but it's not forced into a linear process. So, our work… and we just got an open space and open source and our methods deliberately, right, in terms of the way it works, is I can take Scrum, and I can reduce it to its lowest coherent components, like a sprint or retrospective. I can combine those components with components for another method. So, I can create Scrum as an assembly of components, I can take those components compared with other components. And that way, you get novelty. So, we're then developing components which sit before traditional stuff. Like for example, triple eight, right? This was an old DSDM method. So, you ran a JAD sessions and Scrum has forgotten about JAD. JAD is a really…  joint application design… is a really good set of techniques - they're all outstanding. You throw users together with coders for two days, and you force out some prototypes. Yeah, that latching on its own would, would transform agile, bringing that back in spades, right? We did is we do an eight-hour JAD session say, in London, and we pass it on to a team in Mumbai. But we don't tell them what the users ask for. They just get the prototype. And they can do whatever they want with it for eight hours. And then they hand it over to a team in San Francisco, who can do whatever they want with it in eight hours. And it comes back. And every time I've run this, the user said, ‘God, I wouldn't have thought of that, can I please, have it?' So, what you're doing is a limited life cycle -  you get the thing roughly defined, then you allow it to mutate without control, and then you look at the results and decide what you want to do. And that's an example of pre-scrum technique, that is a lot more economical than systems and analysts and user executives and storyboards. And all those sorts of things. Yeah. Ula Ojiaku:  Well, I see what you mean, because it seems like the, you know, the JAD - the joint application design technique allows for emergent design, and you shift the decision making closer to the people who are at the forefront. And to an extent my understanding of, you know, Scrum … I mean, some agile frameworks - that's also what they promote… Dave Snowden:  Oh, they don't really don't. alright. They picked up Design Thinking which is quite interesting at the moment. If you if you look at Agile and Design Thinking. They're both at the end of their life cycles. Ula Ojiaku:  Why do you say that? Dave Snowden:  Because they're being commodified. The way you know, something is coming to the end of its life cycle is when it becomes highly commodified. So, if you look at it, look at what they are doing the moment, the Double Diamond is now a series of courses with certificates. And I mean, Agile started with bloody certificates, which is why it's always been slightly diverse in the way it works. I mean, this idea that you go on a three-day course and get a certificate, you read some slides every year and pay some money and get another certificate is fundamentally corrupt. But most of the Agile business is built on it, right? I mean, I've got three sets of methods after my name. But they all came from yearlong or longer courses certified by university not from tearing apart a course. Yeah, or satisfying a peer group within a very narrow cultural or technical definition of competence. So, I think yeah, and you can see that with Design Thinking. So, it's expert ideation, expert ethnography. And it still falls into that way of doing things. Yeah. And you can see it, people that are obsessed with running workshops that they facilitate. And that's the problem. I mean, the work we're doing on citizen engagement is actually… has no bloody facilitators in it. As all the evidence is that the people who turn up are culturally biased about their representative based opinions. And the same is true if you want to look at unarticulated needs, you can't afford to have the systems analysts finding them because they see them from their perspective. And this is one of one science, right? You did not see what you do not expect to see. We know that, alright? So, you're not going to see outliers. And so, the minute you have an expert doing something, it's really good - where you know, the bounds of the expertise, cover all the possibilities, and it's really dangerous. Well, that's not the case. Ula Ojiaku:  So, could you tell me a bit more about the unfacilitated sessions you mentioned earlier? Dave Snowden:  They're definitely not sessions, so we didn't like what were triggers at moments. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Dave Snowden:  So, defining roles. So, for example, one of the things I would do and have done in IT, is put together, young, naive, recently graduated programmer with older experienced tester or software architect. So, somebody without any… Ula Ojiaku:  Prejudice or pre-conceived idea... Dave Snowden:  … preferably with a sort of grandparent age group between them as well. I call it, the grandparents syndrome - grandparents say things to their grandchildren they won't tell their children and vice versa. If you maximize the age gap, there's actually freer information flow because there's no threat in the process. And then we put together with users trained to talk to IT people. So, in a month's time, I'll publish that as a training course. So, training users to talk to IT people is more economical than trying to train IT people to understand users. Ula Ojiaku:  To wrap up then, based on what you said, you know, about Cynefin, and you know, the wonderful ideas behind Cynefin. How can leaders in organizations in any organization apply these and in how they make sense of the world and, you know, take decisions? Dave Snowden:  Well, if there's actually a sensible way forward now, so we've just published the field guide on managing complexity.  Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Dave Snowden:  And that is actually, it's a sort of ‘Chef's guide'. It has four stages: assess, adapt, exert, transcend, and within that it has things you could do. So, it's not a list of qualities, it's a list of practical things you should go and do tomorrow, and those things we're building at the moment with a lot of partners, because we won't try and control this; this needs to be open. Here's an assessment process that people will go through to decide where they are. So that's going to be available next week on our website. Ula Ojiaku:  Oh, fantastic! Dave Snowden:  For the initial registration.  Other than that, and there's a whole body of stuff on how to use Cynefin. And as I said, we just open source on the methods. So, the Wiki is open source. These… from my point of view, we're now at the stage where the market is going to expand very quickly. And to be honest, I, you know, I've always said traditionally use cash waiver as an example of this. The reason that Agile scaled around Scrum is he didn't make it an elite activity, which XP was. I love the XP guys, but they can't communicate with ordinary mortals. Yeah. It takes you about 10 minutes to tune into the main point, and even you know the field, right. And he (Jeff Sutherland) made the Scrum Guide open source. And that way it's great, right. And I think that that's something which people just don't get strategic with. They, in early stages, you should keep things behind firewalls. When the market is ready to expand, you take the firewalls away fast. Because I mean, getting behind firewalls initially to maintain coherence so they don't get diluted too quickly, or what I call “hawks being made into pigeons”. Yeah. But the minute the market is starting to expand, that probably means you've defined it so you release the firewall so the ideas spread very quickly, and you accept the degree of diversity on it. So that's the reason we put the Wiki. Ula Ojiaku:  Right. So, are there any books that you would recommend, for anyone who wants to learn more about what you've talked about so far. Dave Snowden:  You would normally produce the theory book, then the field book, but we did it the other way around. So, Mary and I are working on three to five books, which will back up the Field Guide. Ula Ojiaku:  Is it Mary Boone? Dave Snowden:  Mary Boone. She knows how to write to the American managers, which I don't, right… without losing integrity. So that's coming, right. If you go onto the website, I've listed all the books I read. I don't think… there are some very, very good books around complexity, but they're deeply specialized, they're academic. Gerard's book is just absolutely brilliant but it's difficult to understand if you don't have a philosophy degree. And there are some awfully tripe books around complexity - nearly all of the popular books I've seen, I wouldn't recommend. Yeah. Small Groups of Complex Adaptive Systems is probably quite a good one that was published about 20 years ago. Yeah, but that we got a book list on the website. So, I would look at that. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Thank you so much for that. Do you have any ask of the audience and how can they get to you? Dave Snowden:  We've open-sourced the Wiki, you know, to create a critical mass, I was really pleased we have 200 people volunteered to help populate it. So, we get the all the methods in the field guide them. And they're actively working at that at the moment, right, and on a call with them later. And to be honest, I've done 18-hour days, the last two weeks, but 8 hours of each of those days has been talking to the methods with a group of people Academy 5, that's actually given me a lot of energy, because it's huge. So, get involved, I think it's the best way… you best understand complexity by getting the principles and then practicing it. And the key thing I'll leave us with is the metaphor. I mentioned it a few times - a recipe book user has a recipe, and they follow it. And if they don't have the right ingredients, and if they don't have the right equipment, they can't operate. Or they say it's not ‘true Agile'. A chef understands the theory of cooking and has got served in apprenticeship. So, their fingers know how to do things. And that's… we need… a downside.. more chefs, which is the combination of theory and practice. And the word empirical is hugely corrupted in the Agile movement. You know, basically saying, ‘this worked for me' or ‘it worked for me the last three times' is the most dangerous way of moving forward. Ula Ojiaku:  Because things change and what worked yesterday might not work Dave Snowden:  And you won't be aware of what worked or didn't work and so on. Ula Ojiaku:  And there's some bias in that. Wouldn't you say? Dave Snowden:  We've got an attentional blindness if you've got Ula Ojiaku:  Great. And Dave, where can people find you? Are you on social media? Dave Snowden:  Cognitive. Yeah, social media is @snowded. Yeah. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Two websites – the Cognitive Edge website, which is where I blog, and there's a new Cynefin Center website now, which is a not-for-profit arm. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. All these would be in the show notes. Thank you so much for your time, Dave. It's been a pleasure speaking with you. Dave Snowden:  Okay. Thanks a lot.

Richard Brenner: When Individual Performance Metrics Block Agile Transformation Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Richard shares an experience of implementing Agile methods in a large organization that initially showed promising signs with management "pull" for change. The transformation began well with cross-functional teams created through self-selection workshops. However, unexpected resistance emerged during the kick-off day, particularly from a line manager and his team. When investigating the source of this resistance, Richard discovered that the company's bonus structure was tied to individual performance metrics, fundamentally conflicting with Agile's team-oriented approach.  This insight led to developing a pilot for a team-focused performance management system. After three months, the team held a retrospective with all stakeholders, where management demonstrated remarkable leadership by empowering teams to redesign their structure when the initial setup wasn't working. This flexibility allowed even the most vocal critics to become part of the solution. Self-reflection Question: In what ways might your organization's reward structures be unintentionally blocking successful Agile adoption? [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

This interview provides our listeners with the opportunity to hear from one of the top Sports Performance experts in the game of hockey. Kevin Neeld is the Director of Performance for the Boston Bruins. His experience and insight into the game is beyond informative and interesting.At the same time, this interview will provide some excellent insight for all those young and aspiring Sports Performance students and practitioners . Kevin shares some of the "tricks of the trade" as well as some of the most important aspects of reaching one's goals in this area of elite sport performance.Kevin provides various forms of elite level performance training as well as presentations for programs interested in attaining elite level insight and experience on an educational and practical manner.Contact Information:kn@kevinneeld.comContact Sites:kevinneeld.com HockeyTransformation.com UltimateHockeyTraining.com 

Richard Brenner: How Small Signs of Cynicism Can Destroy Agile Team Cohesion Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Richard shares a powerful story about how team dysfunction often starts with small steps. During a joint retrospective with three agile teams, Richard witnessed a moment where a team member made a cynical comment toward a manager who was attempting to participate. This revealed a damaged relationship between management and the team, creating tension that Richard initially chose to ignore. Looking back, he would now immediately address such comments and tackle the "elephant in the room." Richard explains how seemingly minor behaviors like cynicism or passive-destructive actions (such as consistently being late to stand-ups) can significantly impact team health. He recommends establishing conflict resolution protocols early and using impact feedback without judgment to address these issues before they escalate. In this segment, we refer to Lysa Adkins' conflict resolution protocol.  Self-reflection Question: What small signs of dysfunction might you be overlooking in your team that could develop into larger problems? Featured Book of the Week: Solution Focused Coaching for Agile Teams Richard recommends "Solution Focused Coaching for Agile Teams" by Ralph and Veronika. This book describes the solution-focused approach to many common situations that Agile coaches face in their work. Richard values this resource for its practical guidance on addressing challenges through a positive, solution-oriented perspective rather than dwelling on problems. [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Yuval Yeret, founder of Yeret Agility and OG Agile expert, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss the current state of Agile as a platform, how it has evolved over the years, and what practitioners should consider when pivoting their careers as the platform matures.About YuvalYuval Yeret is a Product/Scaling/Agility Coach focused on helping product/tech leaders scale their organizations without slowing down, improving outcomes by leveraging flow, agility, and product orientation. (while avoiding the dogma and process BS of Agile Theater). Yuval is a globally recognized expert on scaling w/ agility, a SAFe Fellow, a Professional Scrum Trainer, and a co-author of the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams. These days Yuval is focused on helping organizations evolve from Feature Factories to Empowered Product Organizations, as well as helping deeper tech organizations develop a pragmatic agility strategy. Yuval shares his insights on scaling w/ agility at https://yuvalyeret.com/scaling-with-agility-newsletter/Chapters(00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:17) - Yuval's Background and Journey into Agile (01:35) - Early Days of Agile (03:56) - Transition to Consulting and Coaching (07:21) - Agile's Evolution and Current State (09:46) - Challenges and Criticisms of Agile (17:30) - Future of Agile and Role Adaptation (22:18) - Advice for Agile Practitioners (30:22) - Reflecting on Agile Leadership (31:24) - Anecdote: Transition from FileMaker to Web Development (34:57) - The Future of Agile and Product Operating Models (39:20) - Adapting Skills for New Opportunities (41:48) - Navigating Organizational Change (44:47) - Strategies for Career Pivoting (48:01) - The Role of Scrum Masters in Modern Organizations (52:00) - Consulting and Value Proposition (57:55) - Closing Thoughts and Resources Notable Quotes"What happened over the years is... agile has become mainstream for most of corporate America, technology organizations and product companies. And this created the reality where the people that are, the organizations that are currently adopting agile are the late adopters.""[Late adopters] are slapping names like Scrum Master and Sprint and User Story and Daily Scrum... on the way that they've been doing things already. And it's like lipstick on a pig. It's not really creating any impact other than a bad name for Agile and a bad name for people in these roles.""The biggest issue with Agile... is the over-reliance on specific roles in organizations.""We will have a significantly smaller number of people that dedicate their career to something like agile, whatever it's called. You will need to specialize. You will need to start to think like consultants need to start to think and build your content solar system."Yuval's Links and Other ResourcesYuval's article on "The Future of Agile Roles and Agility"Yuval's private podcast on navigating the landscape of Agile theater, feature factories, and product operating models"Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey Moore (book on technology adoption)Netflix culture book (featuring the "Netflix question")The career mini-course that Jonathan mentioned: Unblock Your Career by Shachar Meir ----Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like:Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time?Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your space?Productizing your services so you never have to have another awkward sales call or spend hours writing another custom proposal?Book a one-on-one coaching call with me and get answers to these questions and others in the time it takes to get ready for work in the morning.Best of all, you're covered by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. If at the end of the call, you don't feel like it was worth it, just say the word, and I'll refund your purchase in full.To book your one-on-one coaching call, go to: https://jonathanstark.com/callI hope to see you there!

What's the best strategy for an organization undergoing a very large Agile transformation to see tangible, sustainable results? Scaled Agile strategic advisor Travis Moorer shares his tips in this episode. Like what you hear? Connect with Travis on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

Is your business ready for the AI revolution and the shifting landscape of global trade?Chris Lee is the Founder and CEO of Next Level Pros, an entrepreneurial accelerator fostering business growth and development for small to large sized businesses through education, private equity and venture capital investments.Today, he reveals how artificial intelligence is reshaping industries and how businesses must adapt to survive and thrive. Chris Lee argues that AI's impact on sales and marketing is as profound as the internet's emergence in the 90s. He provides actionable insights on how businesses can harness AI to streamline processes, enhance marketing, and optimize sales strategies.But that's not all. This episode also tackles the strategic challenge of tariffs and their impact on global manufacturing. Lee explains how tariffs are forcing companies to rethink their production locations and embrace agility as a core business principle.In this conversation, you'll learn:How AI is transforming sales and marketing, creating both opportunities and threats.The growing importance of marketing in solving obscurity issues and driving sales.How tariffs are reshaping global trade and influencing manufacturing strategies.The critical need for business agility and adaptable team cultures to navigate constant change.How automation and AI are redefining the future of labor and the roles humans will play.Strategies for leveraging AI agents and voice assistants for marketing and customer engagement.How to evolve marketing platforms and consumer interaction to stay relevant in the digital age.Here's what the data emphasizes:AI adoption in sales is projected to increase sales productivity by over 30%.Agile companies grow revenue 37% faster and generate 30% higher profits than non-agile companies.Automation could displace up to 73 million U.S. jobs by 2030 but also create new opportunities.This episode is a survival guide for businesses facing the challenges and opportunities of the AI era and a rapidly changing global economy.Takeaways:Embrace AI to boost marketing and conversion.Develop agility to pivot with global changes.Integrate AI and robotics for operational efficiency.Connect with Chris Lee:Website: www.gonextlevelpros.comInstagram: @chrisleeqbNext Level Pro - Instagram | TikTok | YouTube_____________________________________________

Richard Brenner: Skipping the Vision, How Not to Introduce Kanban Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Richard shares an important learning experience from introducing Kanban to teams using a top-down approach. Without clearly articulating why the change was needed, team members questioned what they were doing wrong that necessitated change. Richard found himself unable to connect the organizational vision to the methodology shift, leading to resistance. He emphasizes the importance of first understanding the problem before applying Scrum or Kanban, defining what success looks like, and involving people early in the change process. Richard also recommends thorough contracting with client organizations to assess their current state and understand who is trying to change what, and why. In this episode, we refer to Kotter's book Leading Change. Self-reflection Question: How might your change initiatives be improved by spending more time defining the "why" before introducing new methodologies? [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the last day, we have two separate episodes lined up to explore how AI is affecting the macro scale and impacting leadership transformation.In the last conversation of the event, Dave, Andy, and Rob talk with  Lee Moore, VP Global Google Cloud Consulting at Google Cloud about Leading Cloud Transformation with Strategic Vision.TLDR00:50 Introduction of Lee Moore07:00 Final key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote11:05 Main conversation with Lee Moore about cloud and AI-driven transformation and Intentional leadership 36:31 Who's your favorite magician and tying all the magic together of a fantastic week!!GuestLee Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-t-moore/HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/Guest host Andy Appleby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyapplebycapgeminiglobalinfrastructureservices/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the last day, we have two separate episodes lined up to explore how AI is affecting the macro scale and impacting leadership transformation.In this conversation, Dave, Esmee, and Rob talk with Gina Fratarcangeli, Managing Director, NA GSI Leader at Google Cloud about The shifting landscape of Digital and AI technologies among Fortune 500 companies.TLDR00:20 Introduction of Gina Fratarcangeli03:20 Key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote05:56 Main conversation with Gina Fratarcangeli about Fortune 500 companies and their journey towards digital transformation and AI22:01 Who's your favorite magician?GuestGina Fratarcangeli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-fratarcangeli/ HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Esmee van de Giessen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmeevandegiessen/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

PMP Exam Agile Flashcards (400 Definitions) Non-Music Version

Send us a textIn this episode of Walk 2 Wealth, I reconnect with Heine Nzumafo, entrepreneur, Agile coach, and founder of QSlot—a flexible scheduling solution designed to reduce no-shows and boost revenue for small businesses. Heine shares his inspiring journey from Cameroon to the U.S. Army, and now to building a tech startup poised to make waves in the SaaS space.We discuss:Heine's recent experience graduating from the Founders Institute, a prestigious pre-seed accelerator.Lessons learned about customer development, targeting the right market, and refining QSlot's value proposition.The importance of surrounding yourself with mentors and leveraging their expertise for business growth.The realities of pitching an unfinished product, handling rejection, and using feedback to improve.Heine's story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the power of community in entrepreneurship. If you're curious about the startup world or looking for inspiration to launch your own venture, this episode is packed with valuable insights and actionable advice.Connect With HeineWebsite: Www.queueslot.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heinenzumafoSupport the showHOW TO SUPPORT THE WALK 2 WEALTH PODCAST: 1. Subscribe, Rate, & Review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform. 2. Share Episodes with your family, friends, and co-workers.3. Whether you're just starting your business or your business is established, ChatGPT can help you take your business to the next level. Get Instant Access To My List of Top 10 ChatGPT Prompts To Save You Time, Energy, & Money: HTTPS://WWW.STOPANDSTARE.MEDIA/AI

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the second day, we have three separate episodes lined up to deep dive into industries such as insurance, telecom, and retail, all linked to GenAI, data, and innovation.In this conversation, Dave, Esmee, and Rob talk with Kapil Dabi, America's Director & Market Lead, Retail at Google Cloud about Unlocking Retail Potential with AI and Data. TLDR00:24 Introduction of Kapil Dabi03:00 Key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote and Retail market strategies09:50 Main conversation with Kapil Dabi about how to unlock retail potential with AI and Data26:10 Who's your favorite magician?GuestKapil Dabi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kapildabi/HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Esmee van de Giessen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmeevandegiessen/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the second day, we have three separate episodes lined up to deep dive into industries such as insurance, telecom, and retail, all linked to AI, data, and innovation.In this conversation, Dave, Esmee, and Rob talk with Meg Tucker, Director of Insurance at Google Cloud about Fueling Insurance Evolution with AI.TLDR00:26 Introduction of Meg Tucker02:36 Key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote07:26 Main conversation with Meg Tucker about the Insurance Evolution based on AI29:30 Who's your favorite magician?GuestMeg Tucker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megtuckerla/HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Esmee van de Giessen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmeevandegiessen/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the second day, we have three separate episodes lined up to deep dive into industries such as insurance, telecom, and retail, all linked to GenAI, data, and innovation.In this conversation, Dave, Andy, and Rob talk with Jen Hawes-Hewitt, Head of Global Solution Partner Programs, Global Telecom Industry at Google Cloud about Accelerating Innovation in Telecom with AI and GenAI.TLDR01:04 Introduction of Jen Hawes-Hewitt and guest host Andy Appleby04:06 Key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote09:39 Main conversation with Jen Hawes-Hewitt31:58 Who's your favorite magician?GuestJen Hawes-Hewitt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhaweshewitt/HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/Guest host Andy Appleby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyapplebycapgeminiglobalinfrastructureservices/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

PMP Exam Agile Flashcards (400 Definitions) Chillout Music Version

200+ Agile Definitions for the PMP Exam

The Great Agile Reset1. Framework Fatigue Is RealMarty Cagan nailed it recently: “The product model addresses three major dimensions: how you decide which problems to solve (product strategy), how you solve these problems (product discovery), and how you build, test, and deploy your solutions (product delivery). Real Agile can certainly help with this third dimension.” (Source.)Translation: Organizations are done with copying and pasting frameworks. They realize that true agility means finding your own path to creating value. Standardized training and certification programs? That train has left the station. #ParadigmShift2. AI Is Eating Agile (Sort Of)Have you played with DeepSeek R1 yet? This isn't just another tech trend. This is a seismic shift in how knowledge work happens. No, ChatGPT or Claude won't steal your job tomorrow. But what about your colleague who's mastered prompt engineering, AI-based data analysis, and agents? They might make you obsolete.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/

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the first day, we have 3 separate episodes lined up to discuss Google AI strategy & vision, practical implementations, and exciting use cases.Dave, Esmee, and Rob kick off with Saurabh Tiwary, VP, General Manager, Cloud AI at Google Cloud, about Leading AI Innovation for Enterprise Solutions, to solve complex enterprise challenges and deliver true business value.TLDR00:22 We're back in Vegas, here's what to expect in the coming days01:43 Introduction of Saurabh Tiwary and the David Copperfield show05:14 Discussion on Google Cloud Next themes this week with special guest James Goeders, Head of Product, Google Quantum AI12:10 Main conversation on Cloud AI with Saurabh Tiwary37:28 Who's your favorite magician?GuestSaurabh Tiwary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saurabh-tiwary/ HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The Cloud Realities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring Google guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the first day, we have 3 separate episodes lined up to discuss Google AI strategy & vision, practical implementations, and exciting use cases.In the second conversation, Dave, Esmee, and Rob, talk with Charlotte Gistelinck, Machine Learning / AI Partner Engineer at Google, on how strategic thinking and visioning in AI/ML are key to driving innovation and long-term success.TLDR00:24 Introduction of Charlotte Gistelinck 04:12 Key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote 07:17 Main conversation with Charlotte about Strategic Thinking and Visioning in AI  37:14 Who's your favorite magician?GuestCharlotte Gistelinck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottegistelinck/HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Hello Las Vegas — we've arrived for Google Cloud Next 2025!Arthur C. Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"Hot drop coming through! The #CloudRealities podcast team has landed in electric Las Vegas—and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas normally stays in Vegas... but in this case, we're bringing 8 incredible conversations in the coming days with inspiring guests who are shaping the future of cloud, data, and AI.On the first day, we have 3 separate episodes lined up to discuss Google AI strategy & vision, practical implementations, and exciting use cases.In the third conversation, Dave, Esmee, and Rob talk with Jim Anderson, VP, NA Partner Ecosystem & Channels at Google, on how customers are using Cloud, AI/ML, and Data Analytics to power digital transformation. From real-world success stories to the trends shaping the year ahead—this one's packed with actionable insights.TLDR00:23 Introduction of Jim Anderson04:17 Key announcements from the Google Cloud Next Keynote06:44 Main conversation with Jim Anderson about Driving Digital Transformation with Customers 24:50 Who's your favorite magician?GuestJim Anderson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmya/HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

#5amMesterScrum Lightning Talk 1,256 Live - Scrum Master Continuous Learning (4R Thursdays) - Today's topics: (1) Talking the Scrum Master and even Agile Coach role today and what we do to challenge others to grow and learn but don't do it ourselves.  We should be challenging ourselves 1st and a great way is Reading 10 pages a day from a growth or tech book.  I give away my Change Vol 20 book (in PDF form) to my connections as a nice little start to such a challenge. Please like and subscribe and share 5amMesterScrum.  Please send me your topics.   You are are doing Great Please Keep on Sharing. 5am Mester Scrum 5am Mester Scrum Lightning Talk 1,256 went live on Youtube, LinkedIn and Facebook 4R (Requirements, Reviews, Retros, Roles) Thursday 4/10/2025 from Philadelphia, PA  Happy Scrumming, Please Don't forget to sign up to our 5amMesterScrum newsletter for freebies.  Definitely a free copy of Change Volume 20 in PDF form.  Watch the video in our YouTube Library as well. Social Media: - search 5amMesterScrum or #5amMesterScrum  and you should find us and if not please let us know LinkedIn, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok     Podcasts: (search 5amMesterScrum)    Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, PodBean, iTunes, Stitcher, iCatcher, Airr, PlayerFM, Breaker, Apple, Amazon, Alexa, iHeartRadio, Listen Notes, Firefox, Overcast, radio de, PodcastAddict, Bullhorn, iVoox, Podchaser

How does Toyota apply Agile Product Operating Model (APOM) principles to portfolio management? In this episode of the Scrum.org Community Podcast, Dave West and PST Lucas Smith, Director of Agile Program & Services, Toyota Connected, explore how Toyota Connected structures its funding models, defines product life cycles, and manages dependencies in complex product ecosystems. Learn how Toyota Connected balances agility with control, ensuring product teams can innovate while maintaining strategic alignment. Tune in to discover how APOM principles are shaping portfolio agility at scale.

Tired of “What went well?” and “What didn’t”? Brian Milner is here to help you cook up retrospectives that actually get your team thinking, collaborating, and improving. From creative themes to actionable frameworks, this is your behind-the-scenes guide to better retros. Overview Do your retrospectives feel more “check-the-box” than game-changing? Brian Milner shares his full recipe for planning and facilitating retrospectives that actually matter. Whether your team is stuck in repetition, tuning out, or phoning it in, Brian’s step-by-step approach will show you how to bring structure, creativity, and energy back into the room. Brian walks you through the five essential components of a retrospective, including how to match formats to your team’s personality, align activities with Agile's three pillars (transparency, inspection, and adaptation), and spark meaningful change with every session. References and resources mentioned in the show: Stranger Things Retrospective Download Agile Retrospectives by Esther Derby & Diana Larsen Retromat Blog: Overcoming Four Common Problems with Retrospectives by Mike Cohn Blog: Does a Scrum Team Need a Retrospective Every Sprint? By Mike Cohn #139 The Retrospective Reset with Cort Sharp Retrospectives Repair Guide Better Retrospectives Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an Agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Auto-generated Transcript: Brian Milner (00:00) Welcome in Agile Mentors. We are back for another episode of the Agile Mentors podcast, like we always do. And I'm with you as always, Brian Milner. Today we have with us, me, just me. Now, before you get frustrated with that or think we're copping out in some way, this is intentional. I wanted to have an episode to myself because and working through all this stuff around retrospectives, I thought that it might be good to take an episode here. And I kind of thought of it sort of like a cooking episode, right? Like if you watch a cooking show, you know, Gordon Ramsay show or something, they'll walk you through how they make something. And it's from start to finish. They show you the ingredients. They show you how everything's put together. And then you see this beautiful dish at the end. Well, I've often compared the way that you can format a retrospective to a little bit like a meal, because a meal has different courses in it. And a retrospective should have these themed areas or repeatable sections of it. And so I thought of it a little bit like making a meal. So I thought I'd just walk you through a little bit step by step. what I'm thinking here and how I would go about doing it. this is, you know, we're cooking up something special here. It's a kind of a recipe here that's, you know, equal parts creative and effective. It's a way to try to keep your retrospectives interesting, but also keep them to be solid and where you can have an actual outcome that comes from this. And you actually make definitive changes here with your team as a result. So there's a couple of retrospective courses that I have coming out where I go into detail about all these things, but I wanted to take an episode where I could walk you through and just have you kind of peer over my shoulder a little bit about how I might do this if I was going to create a retrospective for a team. So first starters, I think we have to understand that there is a menu to follow, right? And I kind of use this menu metaphor because one of the great things about when you go out and you have a meal at a nice restaurant is there's a repeatable pattern to it. You kind of expect that they're gonna bring you a drink first and then maybe you have, if it's a really fancy restaurant, maybe you have appetizers first or hors d'oeuvres even before appetizers, then you maybe have appetizers or not. Then you have a main course and maybe you have a salad even before the main course and then you have a a meal, and then you have some kind of a dessert afterwards, maybe even some kind of a cocktail at the end of the meal or coffee at the end of the meal. But there's sort of a pattern to it. And regardless of what restaurant you go to, you kind of repeat that same pattern. Now, I know that there's times you'll be, this is where the metaphor kind of breaks down a little bit, I get it. You may not have the same pieces every time. And what we're going to be talking about here as a retrospective pattern is that, yes, you should sort of follow the same pattern. You can't really get to, let's say, dessert. You can't just skip and go to dessert, right? You've got to go through this journey of the other sections so that you can end up at dessert and really fully appreciate it, right, and get the most out of it. So that's where this metaphor is a little bit of a, starts to break down a little tiny bit. But. I want to talk about here first why retrospectives matter and why they often go stale. I think they often go stale for a lot of reasons, but one of the chief reasons I've encountered when I work with teams is that the Scrum Master on the team really only has a small amount of formats and styles that they have to work with. They have a small little set in their toolbox. And they may even rotate through a few of them. But at the end of the day, it's kind of a small toolbox. There's only a few tools in there. And if I'm a team, if I'm a member of that team, you can imagine how I might get bored. And I might think this is not really worthwhile if I'm showing up every single time and I'm hearing the same exact questions. What did I do? What do we do well? What do we not do so well? Do I have any roadblocks? If I'm just asked that same thing every time, then I might not feel like this is a very worthwhile thing. Or I might get to the point where I feel like, gosh, I've answered the same question, you know, three sprints in a row. I just, got nothing more for you Scrum Master. I just, I can't dig any deeper. I've given you everything and it just feels like this is the, you know, groundhog day. We're doing the same thing over and over again, but nothing's really changing. So. I think it's important that we be able to switch things up, but it's not change just for change sake. That's why I think that having a structure of some kind can give you that pattern to fall back on that can make it effective, but then also can provide variety, can make it something that changes over time as you do this with your team. Doesn't mean that you can't ever repeat a format that you've used. I don't think that's a bad thing. I just wouldn't want to repeat the same, just handful, small little number of them over and over again. That's going to get repetitive and it's going to make people a little frustrated. The other thing is I think you have to match these to the personality of your team. Your team might be more outgoing or they might be more introverted. You might have people who prefer activities or little more, you know, kind of quiet activities or some that are more verbal, you know, require more discussion. That's really an individual thing for your team. So I think you have to think as you go through this, what's going to work for these people, right? For this set of individuals that I am working with. You know, I always say there's kind of a first commandment for Scrum Masters, know thy team. And I think that's really something that's important for us to grasp onto is we have to know our team. can't coach to the average. Right? We have to coach to the individual, to what we have on our team, because your team is unique. That set of individuals has never come together anywhere else in the world. Right? Those personalities. And what you want is to find out how to make that set of people work well together. Right? How do they work best together? Not how does every other team in the world work best or how does the average team work best? How does your team work best? Right? So with all of this is sort of setting this and saying that there should be a pattern. I do want to give the hat tip here and say that the Esther Derby Dinah Larson book on retrospectives is one I strongly recommend. In fact, pretty much my whole career as a trainer, I have said, when people say if there's one book, if I'm to be a Scrum Master, if there's one book that you would say would be really impactful to me from pretty much day one, I have pointed to that book. It's called Agile Retrospectives, Esther Derby, Dinah Larson. And in that book, they lay out a pattern of kind of five phases that go through it. I'm going to distill it down because to me, it's sort of the three middle ones that are the most important. I will talk about the two on the ends here as well and kind of put that on top of these three. But sometimes I find people find it easier if they just remember what I'm gonna teach you here about the three that are in the middle. So in Scrum Master classes, we will talk often about how there's these three pillars of the Agile process or three pillars of empiricism. Empiricism says that we learn through experience. Well, I always say in class, it's not enough to just do the wrong thing over and over again. I gain a lot of experience by doing the wrong thing over and over, but I don't learn from it. And the three pillars are what's needed to make sure you learn from them. And I'm sure you've heard these before, but if you haven't, transparency, inspection, adaptation. Those are the three. Transparency meaning we're not going to be clouded about how we do the work. We're going to be very transparent, open about it. We're going to try to reveal how we work best as much as possible. Inspection, that we're going to actually take time and pause and try to figure out not just what happened, that would be transparency, right? What's the reality of what just happened? But inspecting says, why did this happen? Right? What's the root cause of it? I don't want to just deal with the symptoms, right? If we just try to cure the symptoms over and over again, we still have the same disease, we still have the same illness, and we're not really getting to the root cause. So inspection says, we're going to take time out to actually get to the root cause. And then adaptation, the last one, is probably the most important step here, because if you figure out what's wrong, but you don't ever do anything about it, well, we're doomed to have the same exact discussion again. So adaptation says, now that you know what the problem is, what are you going to try different? We may not even know exactly what the right thing to do is, but we got to try something. What we know for certain is what we did didn't work. That's the one thing we absolutely can't do again, is exactly what we did. We've got to try something new so that we move on, right? So that we find out more information and get closer to whatever our final solution is. So transparency, inspection, adaptation, those three actually serve as a good guideline or three phases you can think about for your retrospectives. There needs to be a transparency phase where you try to figure out what happened this last sprint. there needs to be an inspection phase where now that we know what happened, we got to ask the question, why did it happen? And we need to get to the root cause of why it happened. Now that we know what that is, then we have to move on to adaptation to say, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to take this knowledge we just gained and actually make a change? So we need activities around all three. And what I'm saying here to you is that can serve as your menu. I can do lots of different activities that would match these three areas. Now, I do, again, want to go back to the Esther Derby, Dinah Larson book, because their five phases adds one on the beginning, one on the end, which I actually do think are very helpful. The first one is kind of opening the retrospective. It's a way of trying to just start to get voices in the room. And this is something I will often do as well. Just a quick, quick exercise to just get people to start talking. And that's one of the ways you can start to get a quieter group to get involved is throw them something really easy to respond to right out of the gate. And then the last one is to close the retrospective. Closing the retrospective is a great way to then try to sum it all up and say, well, here's the takeaways, here's the things we're going to do about it, and we're going to move forward from here. Opening the retrospective to that introduction can also then review what you talked about at the end of the last. retrospective. You can say, here are the things that we decided, and let's talk about what's been done about them before you start to inspect the current retrospective. So given that, right, I know I'm going fast here, but you can rewind and listen back to this if you need to. But if you think about that, that you have these kind of phased approaches, and think of it like a menu, right? There's different courses to my menu. Well, I'm not going to serve the same meal every time. That would be boring. So I got to find out different things I can serve for each course of my retrospective. Now, here's where it gets interesting, right? Because there are lots of tools out there. And there's a website that I often recommend called RetroMAT. RetroMAT is a great site where you can go to, and it has those five phases. You can kind of scroll through different exercises for each of the five phases. they sort of have, you you can kind of mix and match and create your own menu based off of that. And doing that is absolutely free. Now they have paid things there as well. They're not a sponsor. I don't get any kickbacks or anything from them. But they have some paid activities as well as far as having things like Mural and Miro templates that you can use if you want to do that as well. So there's lots of things you can do there to thank them for what they put together. But there are times when Maybe you're trying to fit this to your team specifically, or you've grown tired of the exercises that you're used to, and you want to find some new dynamic to add into your retrospective. So what I'm going to do is kind of walk you through what I would do if I wanted to take some kind of a theme and create a new retrospective that's themed around a certain topic. Now I will say that this theme is gonna go just in one of our sections. So it's not going to go throughout it. I'm not gonna be that creative here with you on it, because I don't think you need to be. I don't think you need to have this, it's not like a theme to party, right? You can just take the theme and use it in one of the sections. So what would I do for something like this? Well, I'd start with, as I said, some way to kind of open the retrospective. And I like to have little quick activities as I said, that just get voices in the room. an example of things I've done in the past. Ask the team a quick question like, if this last sprint were a song title, what song title would you use to describe this last sprint? And people can use whatever kind of music they like, right? It doesn't matter. They can just call it any songs that they're familiar with. Or do movie titles. I've had a lot of fun in the past doing that with teams where I'll say, hey, shout out a movie title that might represent this last sprint. You just want to find something quick that people can shout out like one or two word answers, right? Or a small sentence in the case of a song title or movie title or something like that. But something that they can tie it into, right? And it doesn't have to be anything that makes perfect sense, right? It can be kind of crazy. It can be... You know, if this last sprint were a flavor of Starburst or, you know, an color, what color would it be and why? And just have people, you know, shout out whatever they think the answer would be. They might have to be a little creative with their answers when they do that. But that's okay. You're just giving them an opportunity to have a few voices start to enter the conversation. Don't force anyone, right? Don't force anyone to shout out, but give them an opportunity to. So I'm going to open the retrospective with some kind of fun, quick exercise like that. Probably won't take more than five minutes, okay? Then I want to move into that transparency section. And the way I frame transparency is what actually happened this last sprint? What was the reality of what happened this last sprint? So here's where I'm going to inject a themed kind of approach. And I just, I go through a couple of examples in our courses where I talk about doing this, but I picked a different one here for this podcast episode that I've put together right before this recording to try to walk you through a little bit of how I did this. So I tried to pick something that was a little more relevant to today. I know that this is popular and people are looking forward to the next season, which is about to come out. sometime soon, I know they've been shooting it, but I picked the theme, Stranger Things. And I just thought, what if my team, you know, had, I knew there were some people on my team really into Stranger Things, or what if I just knew they were aware of it, they knew what it was, and I wanted to have a theme built around this. So here's how easy it is to do this. I went to chat GPT, and I asked it to give me some, you know, putting together a retrospective that I want to theme it around stranger things. And give me some major themes from Stranger Things that might align to Some different ways of collecting information around what actually happened this last sprint. And. They gave me a long list of different things. And I read through these and kind of tweaked them, talked back and forth with it a little bit, kind of refined. And I distilled it down to five sort of themes or categories I thought would be fun and would kind of challenge the group to think along different lines of thought. So here's what I came up with with Chat GPT's help. My first category. I called running up that hill. And what I put for the prompt for this one is what felt like an uphill battle this sprint? Now just think about that, right? In traditional sprints, there's lots of things that are just, I'm essentially asking what was the obstacles? What were the hurdles in this sprint? But I'm getting them to think about it in little different way by saying, what was an uphill battle in this sprint? And even that subtle rewording, of that prompt can trigger people's brains to work in a different way and get them to think along different lines. If I just ask over and over again, you know, what was a blocker of this sprint or what blockers do we encounter this sprint? If I use those same words over and over, I get sort of immunized against them and I can't really think about anything new. But just phrasing it that little slightly different way, what felt like an uphill battle this sprint I think can really trigger some new ways of thinking. So that was my first category. The second one that I came up with, big theme here in Stranger Things, was the upside down. And I related it this way to say, what is completely upside down right now? What is the opposite of what it should be right now? Now here, I'm trying to get them to think about things that are not really going well, right? Things that are going the opposite direction that they should, and it's upside down from what should be the normal. Right? And again, we're just thinking along this theme of stranger things and I'm tricking their brains a little bit into thinking along a different line, right? To examine it from a different point of view. My third category that I thought would be fun was I titled Vecna's Curse. And what I prompted here for this one was what haunted the team this sprint or kept coming back up to bite us. And The idea here is to get them to think about things that were maybe decisions we wish we had made differently. These could have been decisions in the past. It didn't have to be a decision from this sprint. But what are those things that we felt kind of like was like Vecna's curse? It was just something that kept rearing its ugly head. And it was just a struggle for us to get around. My fourth one, just to have a little fun. I call the fourth one Surfer Boy Pizza. And what I put as a prompt on this one was, where did we bring the chill? Where did we bring the creative spin to a tough solution during the sprint? So here I'm wanting to celebrate good things, right? And I'm asking that in a funny way. So it brings some humor to it, puts them in a better mood, and also gets them to think along a maybe a little bit of a different line in this area to think, all right, well, what do we get really creative about? What do we have to be really creative about in this sprint? What kind of tough solutions did we really conquer? Did we really nail in this sprint? And I'm just theming around that loose theme of that surfer boy pizza from the last season. And then the last one, I couldn't have categories here without mentioning Hellfire Club. So the last one was Hellfire Club. And the prompt I put for it was, where could we bring more of kind of that Hellfire Club vibe, planning, teamwork, shared adventure, right? Just the fun. Where could we put more of that vibe into our team and to how we operate? Now, this is getting them to think about something that might otherwise be a little bit of a uncomfortable thing to think about, right? Because Now we're getting into interpersonal dynamics. We're getting into how the team actually works and fits together. And that's why I chose this theme, because I wanted it to be just kind of a, even maybe a sneaky back doorway of getting their brains to start to examine, yeah, what would have made this more fun? Or what would have made this, how could we have, I've asked often in retrospectives, what would it take for us to be the team that everyone else wishes they were on? Well, That's what I'm asking here, essentially. So I've got my five themes. And I even then went forward and created and kind of get some images for each one of those, like icons for each one of those things. Just created a board and mural for this and put each of those things up. Had a big block space next to each one where people could put Post-it notes. So what I would do here in the retrospective is I'd introduce this. I'd give them the prompts for each of the section and say, all right, let's take a few minutes. Everyone can add Post-its to any of these sections, but try to think through several of them and put several of them up here on the screen or physical board if we're in the same space. But take a few moments here to think through each category and see if there's anything that you can think of that you would add to each area. So we take, I don't know, five, 10 minutes to do that. normally time that, I just see when it starts to slow down. And there's generally a point there where you can kind of intuitively feel it and feel like, you know, the group's ready to move on. So whenever that time comes, I'll call a halt to it and I'll say, all right, now that we've done this, I want us to try to narrow down what's on the board. So let's give you each three votes. And I do this usually with dot voting or something along that line. where they have three dots they can place on three different sticky notes across all five categories. And what I tell them is find the three that are the most important of all the things here, what are the three that are most important and put your vote on those top three. And by doing this, having the team vote on it, then we surface the most important three out of the entire group, right? It's not to say we ignore the others, but we're going to try, we can't focus on everything in our time that we have. So, whether our top three, and then I start with the first one, right? So right now, all we've done is kind of the introduction of the sprint. We've done a transparency section. Now we move into the inspection. Now there's lots of different things you can do here, but what I put together for this retrospective was taking them through sort of a five whys activity. So I would take that first one, I'd have them examine it and look at it and say, all right, let's ask the question why five times for this one. Why did this happen? whatever they answer, then we say, all right, well, why did that happen then? And we ask why, it doesn't have to technically be five times, but you need to ask it enough to where you get down to something that you can say, yeah, that's definitely the root cause, right? That's what's underneath all this. All that followed it, all that came afterwards was all stuff that came as a result of us making that decision. So once we have our root cause, we can repeat that again for the other two. if we have time, but if we're starting to run out of time, I kind of watch my time box there. And once I realize we need to move into solutioning, then we'll move on into the adaptation portion. In adaptation, we just take each single one, and we kind of repeat this process of getting possible answers across the team. So for the number one issue that you guys identified, here's our root cause. Let's take some post-its here. or let's take some suggestions of what we might possibly do to counteract this in the next sprint. So we get those things that come up. Then we'll talk through each one, and we'll try to build consensus as a team as to the most important step to take. So for each item, I want what's the one most important thing to do. So we'll identify that, again, as time allows, I want to at least do the most important thing. If we have time for more than that, great, we'll get to the second and third. But I think it's so important to just, whatever the biggest, most important thing is, make sure you have an action item for that thing. And here's where I just caution you. It doesn't have to be, hey, we've knocked it out. We've cleared it. We've solved it in the next sprint. It just has to be that we've taken a step towards solving it, right? What's the old phrase, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Well, the same thing goes for our teams. And this is oftentimes why teams get stuck, is they just feel paralyzed. Hey, there's nothing we can do about this. It's such a huge issue. Well, that's not true. What's the next step you can take? So take the next step. Make sure that the team understands what it is. And make sure we understand who is going to be responsible for that. And do that for as many as you can get through. Then get to the closing the retrospective part of it. Kind of wrap up. Remind them, here's the journey we've taken, here's what we've uncovered, and here's what we're gonna do differently for next time. And now those items, they should go straight into your next sprint backlog, not product backlog, sprint backlog, right? They don't need to be prioritized because the product owner has been with you, they should have been with you in this meeting, it's the entire Scrum team. So the product owner has weighed in as well. This has been a team collective decision. So now those items should go into your sprint backlog, and you should do something about them in this next sprint. That's the whole concept of the Kaizen comes first, right? The good change should happen before we do anything else so we can get the benefit of it over a longer period of time. So that's kind of the idea here. And I wanted to give you that kind of really quick flyby to help you kind of see how to go about doing something like this, right? And I just picked one theme. I just picked Stranger Things because I thought it would be fun to work on. I thought it would be a fun kind of theme. And it might be fun for a team I was working with. But maybe that's not something that aligns to your team. Maybe your team has a bunch of people who are really into cricket. Well, do a cricket-themed one. Maybe you have a team that's around the Academy Awards time. And everyone's talking about, and now people don't do this as much anymore, but. Maybe they're all talking about who's going to Oscars this year or something. Well, do an Oscar-themed one. Or it can be around anything. Do it around award shows in general. It doesn't have to be just Oscars, but do it around any kind of award show. And you can pick up different themes. Again, if you're stuck, ask your favorite large language model and see what it comes up with. It's not all going to be gems that comes from that, but you can pick and choose and refine it, which is exactly what I did with my five themes for this. So I hope you see how easy it is to do that. It doesn't have to be complicated. You don't have to be extremely creative to do this. You can make use of the tools that you have available to you. And as a Scrum Master, you can keep this fresh. You can tailor this to the team that you have. What is your team really into? What's the theme that they would really resonate with? Choose that. Go with that. Create a theme around that and see what they think about it. Afterwards, ask them, hey, did this work all right? Did you like this? I hope that's been useful to you. If you like this and you want to hear more like this, come to our website to mountngoatsoftware.com and check out our courses that we're launching actually this week, Better Retrospectives and the Retrospective Repair Guide. Those are the two that we really want to have you kind of think about. Come to our site, find out more about them. Better Retrospectives is all about just the expert level retrospectives course really gets into the heart of a lot of these issues at a very, very deep level. The retrospectives repair guide is taking the 10 most asked questions that we have about retrospectives at Mountain Goat Software and giving you really deep dives on how to solution those, how to problem solve those top 10 issues. And the great news for you is if you're listening to this in real time, right, when we've launched this, We're launching this as a two-for-one special. We'll not have that special again. So it's $99 that you get both of those courses. You don't have to pick and choose from them. You can give $99. They're prerecorded. You can watch them at your own pace. This is for people who want this knowledge, who want these answers. And I know when I was a Scrum Master starting out, there was a lot of, I followed a kind of the pattern that Mike established with his sprint repair guide. I bought that when I was coming up as a scrum master because I needed answers to some of the questions that he had in that scrum repair guide. Well, take a look at the 10 that we have for our retrospective repair guide. Maybe you'll find one of those things that's really tripping you up and maybe just getting the answer to one of those is going to be worth the money for you. I encourage you to go to our site, check it out. Don't miss this. It's a limited time cart that's opened. It's only going to be open for a week. So if you're listening to this when we launch it, don't delay, don't wait until next week. If you hear this next week, then you're running out of time. So make sure that you take advantage of the time that you have here so that you can get these two courses, two for the price of one here at our launch. Again, we won't do that again. So I hope you found this to be useful. It's just a little taste of the kind of thing that's in those courses for you. And if retrospectives are something that you're struggling with, or if retrospectives are something that you just feel like, man, it really could be more. It really could deliver more for my team. Check out these two courses. I really think they're gonna help a lot of teams out there. That's why we put them together. So that'll wrap it up. I hope you've enjoyed this and we'll talk to you next time. on another episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Steve Spear, a senior lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management, senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, and associated faculty member at Adriane Labs of the Harvard School of Public Health. Spear is also author of The High-Velocity Edge and Wiring the Winning Organization and principal of SeeToSolve. The conversation explores:  Stellar examples of product development innovation (and the learning cultures that made these achievements possible) What Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, DevOps, and more schools of systems thinking and management all have in common What business and product leaders across hardware and software can learn from each other Key ideas and core principles you should take away from his latest book  What kind of leadership Steve believes is needed now and what good leadership looks like in practice, given all of the organizational challenges companies face today

BONUS: Beyond Individual Talent: 2 Leadership Myths We all Believed in with Arne Roock In this BONUS episode, we delve into the complexities of team effectiveness with Arne Roock, an experienced Agile consultant who has worked with organizations ranging from startups to large corporations. Arne shares his insights on what truly makes teams perform at their highest level, why simply assembling talented individuals isn't enough, and how organizations can move beyond the "feature factory" mindset to focus on outcomes and impact. The Myth of Individual Talent in Teams "A team of experts is not an expert team." Arne breaks down the common misconception that placing highly talented individuals together automatically creates a high-performing team. Drawing parallels from sports, he points to examples like the "Red Army" hockey team and the famous "Miracle on Ice," where team cohesion proved more valuable than individual star power. Through his consulting work, Arne observed that quick-fix workshops often produced short-term improvements but failed to create lasting change. Sometimes, teams even deteriorated after temporary interventions. This led him to Richard Hackman's work on team effectiveness, particularly the 60-30-10 rule: leaders should spend 60% of their time designing teams, 30% launching teams, and only 10% on coaching interventions. Coaching alone cannot change a team's trajectory without proper design and launch Leaders should engage with coaches at the beginning of team formation Teams need sufficient stability to achieve meaningful impact Existing teams can be relaunched or redesigned to improve performance In this segment, wer refer to Richard Hackman's 6 conditions for effective teams, and to Margaret Heffernan's Superchicken Paradox Ted Talk, and to the episode with Heidi Helfand about Re-teaming. Balancing Delivery Focus with Team Development "Organizations trends go in waves." Arne discusses the pendulum swing in organizational approaches, noting how Agile emerged as a countermovement to process-centric methodologies. Currently, he observes a strong emphasis on delivery, with many organizations repositioning Scrum Masters as delivery leads. This trend, while addressing immediate business needs, often undermines the fundamental team-building aspects of the Scrum Master role. Arne suggests that we need to find balance between delivery pressure and people-centered approaches, treating these as polarities to manage rather than problems to solve. In this segment, we refer to the book Polarity Management by  Barry Johnson, and to Arne's blog post about cross-functional teams. Moving Beyond the Feature Factory "Delivery manager will undermine team responsibility." When organizations want to shift from deadline-driven development to outcome-focused work, Arne recommends examining team design fundamentals first. He cautions that adding delivery managers won't fix teams that haven't been properly designed and launched. Most organizations operate as "feature factories," focusing on output rather than outcomes. Arne suggests two high-impact practices that can help teams deliver more value: Implementing meaningful sprint goals and effective sprint reviews Using OKRs with specific checks on value delivered, not just features completed Arne emphasizes that the Scrum Master role is a full-time position, and when they're pushed to prioritize delivery management, important team-building work gets neglected. Proper team design creates the foundation for shared delivery ownership without requiring additional management roles. In this segment, we talk about an article that explains how to use OKR's with a “value-check” included.  About Arne Roock Arne works as a consultant for Agile methods and (leadership) team effectiveness. As a trainer and coach he supported both startups and big corporations in different industries. For the past ten years he took a deep dive into the tech industry as an embedded coach with Jimdo and Spotify. You can link with Arne Roock on LinkedIn and connect with Arne Roock on Mastodon.

CTO Series: The Anti-Scaling Paradox: Why and When a CTO Should Refuse to Grow His Team with Markus Hjort In this BONUS episode, we dive into a fascinating conversation with Markus Hjort, Co-founder and CTO of Bitmagic. With over 20 years of software development expertise, Markus shares invaluable insights on tech leadership, team scaling, and how AI is transforming the landscape of software development. From pivotal career moments to practical advice on aligning tech strategy with business objectives, this episode offers wisdom for technology leaders and developers alike. Defining Moments in Tech Leadership "As a leader, for me, it is important that we have a positive attitude." Markus reflects on two pivotal experiences that shaped his leadership philosophy. Early in his career, he received feedback about his positive approach to challenging tasks, which reinforced his belief in maintaining an optimistic outlook when facing difficulties. This approach has allowed him to inspire team members during tough situations. The second defining moment relates to estimation skills. After participating in a rescue mission for a delayed project, Markus learned the importance of making realistic ballpark estimates rather than succumbing to unrealistic deadlines. His initial two-year estimate for a project was met with resistance from a client who wanted it done in two months, but the project ultimately took four years to complete - twice his original estimate. Leads by example with a positive attitude toward challenges Values the skill of making quick but realistic ballpark estimates Recommends "Programming Pearls" for developers to improve estimation skills Emphasizes that product developers should create different options to reach goals In this segment, Markus refers to the book Programming Pearls. Aligning Tech Strategy with Business Objectives "Nothing should come for me as a surprise." When it comes to ensuring tech strategy supports business goals, Markus emphasizes the importance of continuous communication with key stakeholders. Through regular informal discussions, he stays aware of emerging ideas and maintains strong relationships with decision-makers. This approach helps him anticipate future feature requirements and translate technical strategy into business objectives. The foundation of this alignment is built on trust and transparency. Maintains constant discussions with critical stakeholders Develops awareness of emerging ideas through informal conversations Identifies and builds relationships with decision-makers Translates technical considerations into business language Fostering Collaboration Between Tech and Business Units "In the end we create the shared understanding and the habit of working together which creates better alignment and trust." While structured meetings are important, Markus believes that true collaboration happens when people work together across departmental boundaries. In previous roles, he implemented small, cross-functional teams that included business representatives during feature development. At Bitmagic, they conduct regular gameplay test sessions that anyone in the company can join, fostering unpredictable connections and conversations. These informal interactions are especially valuable in a remote-only company. Creates small teams with business representation for feature development Implements regular demo sessions open to everyone in the company Encourages cross-departmental work to build shared understanding Emphasizes the importance of informal discussions in remote environments Scaling Engineering Teams Strategically "You have to be careful when to scale, and when not to scale." Markus advocates for a measured approach to team growth during scaling phases. He believes in small teams of talented individuals and prefers to grow at a deliberate pace rather than rushing to add new members. Sometimes, he's even paused hiring to focus on meeting milestones with existing resources. When rapid scaling is necessary, Markus recommends considering contractors to reduce risk and gain specialized expertise quickly, particularly in fields like gaming that require deep specialization. Believes in small teams of talented individuals Grows team size at a deliberate pace Sometimes pauses hiring to focus on delivery with existing team Strategically uses both employees and contractors based on circumstances Navigating Financial Challenges in Startups "From the tech view it was clear this was not a good idea, but from the business perspective, it was the right decision to make." One of the toughest challenges Markus faced involved making difficult decisions during financial constraints. In a previous startup, when resources were tight, he had to split his team between the main product and a "side project" that had been sold to generate revenue. Though technically suboptimal, this business-driven decision was necessary for survival. This experience highlights the complex balancing act CTOs often face between technical ideals and business realities. The Impact of AI on Software Development "It has changed my way of thinking of my work as a programmer." Having worked on AI-powered game development for over two years, Markus has witnessed the rapid evolution of AI technologies. This experience has influenced his approach to team expansion, as he considers how AI might augment human capabilities. Personally, he now uses code assistants regularly and wouldn't return to traditional programming methods. AI has transformed his workflow as a programmer and expanded his capabilities, particularly as a full-stack engineer. Measuring Engineering Success Beyond Metrics "In early startup stages, one of the critical metrics is 'the working software.'" Rather than relying heavily on rigid metrics, Markus focuses on practical indicators of success for engineering teams. In early-stage startups, he prioritizes the frequency of releasing working software to end users. Additionally, he monitors team energy and morale, looking for signals in commit messages and code review comments that might indicate the team's well-being. As teams grow, he sees value in using tools to help track these emotional indicators systematically. Focuses on frequency of releasing working software Monitors team energy and morale as key indicators Looks for signals in commit messages and code reviews Considers team well-being as important as technical output Recommended Reading "Press 'pause' when you feel you are in a crisis situation." Markus credits "Rapid Development" by Steve McConnell as a significant influence on his approach to software development, particularly before Agile methodologies became mainstream. One lasting lesson from the book is avoiding the anti-pattern of "abandoning all planning under pressure." Instead, Markus recommends pausing when facing a crisis to reassess and plan effectively, rather than rushing into reactive solutions. About Markus Hjort Markus Hjort is the Co-founder and CTO of Bitmagic, with over 20 years of software development expertise. Starting with Commodore 64 game programming, his career spans gaming, fintech, and more. As a programmer, consultant, agile coach, and leader, Markus has successfully guided numerous tech startups from concept to launch. You can link with Markus Hjort on LinkedIn and listen to Markus Hjort's podcast in Finnish, and follow his work with the future of AI in gaming at Bitmagic.ai.

In this podcast episode, hosts Josh Anderson and Bob Galen delve into the challenges and responsibilities of leadership beyond traditional hierarchies. They discuss the importance of having difficult conversations, the pitfalls of the "ladder game" where feedback gets lost in translation, and the need for mentoring and agile coaching skills. The conversation emphasizes that true leadership means building strong relationships, offering honest, timely feedback, and fostering a culture where every leader feels supported. Ultimately, the discussion encourages leaders to step up, address issues directly, and invest in the growth of their peers, creating a compounding effect that benefits the entire organization. Stay Connected and Informed with Our NewslettersJosh Anderson's "Leadership Lighthouse"Dive deeper into the world of Agile leadership and management with Josh Anderson's "Leadership Lighthouse." This bi-weekly newsletter offers insights, tips, and personal stories to help you navigate the complexities of leadership in today's fast-paced tech environment. Whether you're a new manager or a seasoned leader, you'll find valuable guidance and practical advice to enhance your leadership skills. Subscribe to "Leadership Lighthouse" for the latest articles and exclusive content right to your inbox.Subscribe hereBob Galen's "Agile Moose"Bob Galen's "Agile Moose" is a must-read for anyone interested in Agile practices, team dynamics, and personal growth within the tech industry. The newsletter features in-depth analysis, case studies, and actionable tips to help you excel in your Agile journey. Bob brings his extensive experience and thoughtful perspectives directly to you, covering everything from foundational Agile concepts to advanced techniques. Join a community of Agile enthusiasts and practitioners by subscribing to "Agile Moose."Subscribe hereDo More Than Listen:We publish video versions of every episode and post them on our YouTube page.Help Us Spread The Word: Love our content? Help us out by sharing on social media, rating our podcast/episodes on iTunes, or by giving to our Patreon campaign. Every time you give, in any way, you empower our mission of helping as many agilists as possible. Thanks for sharing!

BONUS: X-Matrix and Obeya: How to Make Strategy Visible and Actionable for Everyone with Jim Benson and Karl Scotland In this BONUS episode, we explore the groundbreaking work of two renowned agilists - Karl Scotland and Jim Benson. Together, they've developed innovative approaches to making strategy accessible and actionable across organizations. We delve into how their combined expertise in X-Matrix strategy deployment and Obeya visualization creates powerful frameworks for aligning teams and keeping strategic conversations alive throughout execution. The Genesis of Strategic Visualization "It's not about whether agile works or not. It's about whether your business is being successful." Karl Scotland shares how his journey from tactical agile practices to strategic thinking began with a deceptively simple question: "How will we know if this agile thing is working?" This fundamental inquiry exposed a common gap in organizations - the disconnect between implementation methodologies and measurable business outcomes. Karl explains how this led him to develop the X-Matrix, a powerful visualization tool that connects true north, aspirations, strategies, tactics, and evidence on a single page, creating coherence across organizational efforts. Jim Benson reflects on his complementary path, observing how organizations often focus intensely on transformations without creating clear alignment between corporate needs, team activities, and customer value. This absence of a "full story" connecting strategic intent to daily work leaves teams uncertain if they're actually doing the right things. Jim highlights how their combined approach addresses this critical gap through collaborative strategy development and visual management. Seeing Strategy, Tactics, and Work in One Place "Strategy has often been things that C-level people do when they go on a retreat to Cancun...and everybody's like 'why?' and they're like 'Cancun'...the story of how that came about isn't there." Karl and Jim introduce their innovative approaches to making strategy visible and actionable. The X-Matrix provides a powerful framework for capturing the five key elements of strategy (True North, Aspirations, Strategies, Tactics, and Evidence) on a single sheet, showing how these elements correlate. This creates a comprehensive strategic story that answers what an organization is doing, why they're doing it, how they'll know it's working, and what success ultimately looks like. This strategic framework then comes to life in the Obeya room, which Jim describes as a physical or virtual space containing a family of visualizations. These include value stream maps, A3s, time series data, personal Kanbans, collaborative problem-solving tools, and KPIs - all designed to support the execution of the strategy articulated in the X-Matrix. By bringing these elements together, teams can maintain a living strategic conversation, allowing for continuous learning and adaptation based on real evidence. In this section, we also refer to:  Esko Kilpi's Interactive Value Creation blog, where he explores different aspects of value creation, including how conversations are the core interaction pattern. The Catch-ball process from Lean The Backbriefing, From Stephen Bungay's book The Art of Action   Maintaining Living Strategic Conversations "You don't create an annual strategy, but you create a living strategic conversation within the organization." The power of connecting X-Matrix and Obeya approaches lies in their ability to catalyze and sustain meaningful strategic conversations. Karl describes the X-Matrix as an "architecture for your Obeya" and emphasizes the importance of continuous strategy development rather than static planning. He introduces concepts like "catch-ball" from Lean and "backbriefing" from military commander Stephen Bungay, which create feedback loops to ensure shared understanding and effective execution. Jim highlights how this approach transforms strategy from an annual event into an ongoing dialogue where everyone can see how their work connects to larger goals. He emphasizes the importance of choosing language carefully, noting his appreciation for Karl's use of "evidence" rather than "metrics" - a subtle but significant distinction that encourages learning and psychological safety rather than mere measurement. This creates environments where people feel safe to discuss what's actually happening rather than hiding problems. The Changing Landscape of Agile and Strategy "I want people to own the process themselves, which is the agreements of how they will interact, and then they deploy tools like their Obeya to facilitate that process and those interactions." When discussing the recent PMI and Agile Alliance merger, both speakers offer thoughtful perspectives on the evolution of agile methodologies. Jim describes this as part of an ongoing commodification of agile practices, suggesting that we're entering a post-framework era where teams can draw from multiple approaches to craft ways of working that suit their specific context rather than adhering to rigid methodologies. Karl reflects on how the early agile community started with like-minded people coming together to share ideas and be "heretics," but eventually evolved into larger, more commercially-driven conferences and organizations. He sees the future in smaller, more focused communities of practice developing around specific interests or approaches - like the collaboration he and Jim have renewed with their course and strategic visualization work. Creating Professional Engagement Through Visualization "The word 'evidence' is a painfully poignant word... Evidence is something that grows over time based on investigation." A fascinating insight from this conversation is Jim's observation about the transformative power of visualization and language in creating psychological safety. He notes that when organizations approach their Kanban or Obeya with a learning mindset - seeking evidence rather than just tracking metrics - the entire conversation changes. Problems become opportunities for learning rather than failures to hide. Karl's careful choice of terminology in his TASTE model (True North, Aspirations, Strategies, Tactics, Evidence) reflects this intention, deliberately moving away from terms like "annual targets" or "process metrics" to encourage more holistic thinking. This approach helps create environments where strategic conversations can flourish across organizational boundaries, keeping everyone aligned on both direction and progress. About Karl Scotland and Jim Benson Karl Scotland is known for his groundbreaking work with the X-Matrix, integrating Agile principles with strategic planning. His innovative approach focuses on aligning True North, aspirations, strategies, tactics, and evidence into a single, collaborative visualization. Karl has extensive experience helping organizations develop continuous strategy development practices that connect strategic intent with execution. You can link with Karl Scotland on LinkedIn. Jim Benson is the visionary author of Personal Kanban and The Collaboration Equation. Jim's expertise lies in collaborative management, visualizing work, and fostering humane, team-driven environments. Through his work at Modus Institute, Jim helps organizations create systems that support continuous improvement and meaningful workplace conversations. You can link with Jim Benson on LinkedIn.

Zvonimir Durcevic: How Feedback Transforms Product Owners Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: Embracing Feedback and Adapting Over Time  Zvonimir shares his experience with a Product Owner who demonstrated exceptional growth over a two-year period. What made this PO stand out was their willingness to receive feedback from the team and adjust their behavior accordingly. When the team expressed difficulty accessing the PO for questions and early feedback, the PO responded by rearranging their schedule to sit near the team part-time. Zvone emphasizes how these incremental changes, driven by openness to feedback, transformed this person into an exemplary Product Owner. The key insight: great Product Owners honor past practices while embracing necessary changes for the future. Self-reflection Question: How might your willingness (or reluctance) to accept feedback be affecting your development as a Product Owner? The Bad Product Owner: The Reluctant Subject Matter Expert In this segment, Zvonimir describes working with a Subject Matter Expert who was assigned the Product Owner role despite not wanting the responsibility. While this person excelled at documenting requirements from their extensive knowledge, they resisted taking on core PO duties. The organization assigned them the role but didn't push for proper adoption of responsibilities. Consequently, the team and Scrum Master were forced to assume PO duties to fill the gap. Although this arrangement functioned temporarily thanks to the team's capabilities and the SME's knowledge, it created an unsustainable situation where role accountability was unclear. [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about his recent interviews with Butch and Suni in the aftermath of their flight, the update NASA put out about Starliner, and how it all lands from where we are now.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Ryan, David, Theo and Violet, Fred, Steve, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Matt, Pat, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Will and Lars from Agile, Josh from Impulse, Joonas, Russell, Bob, Donald, Pat from KC, Jan, Heiko, Stealth Julian, Lee, Joel, Better Every Day Studios, Kris, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsEric Berger (@SciGuySpace) / XEric Berger | Ars TechnicaStarliner's flight to the space station was far wilder than most of us thought - Ars TechnicaNASA to put Starliner's thrusters through an extensive workout before next launch - Ars TechnicaNASA likely to significantly delay the launch of Crew 9 due to Starliner issues - Ars TechnicaThe ShowLike the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.comFollow @WeHaveMECOFollow @meco@spacey.space on MastodonListen to MECO HeadlinesListen to Off-NominalJoin the Off-Nominal DiscordSubscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhereSubscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off NewsletterArtwork photo by FireflyWork with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Zvonimir Durcevic: The Solution-Focused Retrospective for Agile Teams, Turning Problems Into Goals Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Zvonimir defines Scrum Master success as being explicit and intentional about defining and achieving goals. He references Richard Hackmann's model of team effectiveness as a framework to evaluate whether he's helping teams become truly effective. For Zvone, success comes from creating structures that provide teams with feedback about their performance and being explicit about the team's purpose through practices like chartering. By focusing on these elements, Scrum Masters can help teams build the foundation for sustainable success. Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Problems Are Disguised Goals This solution-focused retrospective format, inspired by the work of Ralph Miata and Veronika Jungwirth, allows teams to briefly acknowledge problems before pivoting quickly to what they want to achieve instead. Zvonimir explains that while teams need space to express challenges, the format redirects energy toward envisioning a better future through solution-focused questions. The process includes validating problems, using scale questions (0-10) to assess current status, reviewing past attempts at reaching goals, and designing small experiments to move toward desired outcomes. This approach helps teams shift from problem-orientation to goal-orientation. Self-reflection Question: How might reframing your team's persistent problems as goals change your approach to addressing them? [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Ryan Singer is one of the earliest employees and the former Head of Strategy at 37signals (the makers of Basecamp), where he spent nearly two decades refining a product development approach that helped the company build super-successful products with small teams. Based on these lessons, he wrote "Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters," and Ryan now works with companies of all sizes to them them escape the cycle of endless sprints, missed deadlines, and dragging projects.What you'll learn:1. Why traditional Agile and Scrum methods often lead teams into endless cycles of work without meaningful shipping milestones.2. The “appetite-driven” approach to product development where teams set fixed timeboxes (usually six weeks maximum) and vary the scope instead of expanding timelines.3. The exact process for running effective “shaping” sessions that collaboratively define projects before committing resources.4. Why most teams struggle with too little detail in their planning, not too much.5. Why a 30-to-50-person team size is the critical breaking point when growing startups need to adopt more structured processes.6. Practical techniques for bridging the engineering-design divide by bringing technical and product perspectives together earlier in the process.7. The powerful “breadboarding” and “fat marker sketching” techniques that help teams align on solutions without getting lost in high-fidelity details.8. The clear warning signs that your current development process is failing before it's too late to change course.9. Proven strategies to implement Shape Up methods, whether you're working in a startup or enterprise environment.10. A step-by-step approach to transitioning from Scrum to Shape Up by piloting the methodology with a single team before broader implementation.11. Why the PM role shifts upstream in Shape Up, focusing more on problem definition than project management.12. How to adapt Shape Up principles to your company's unique context, even if it's nothing like Basecamp.—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs• Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app• Airtable ProductCentral—Launch to new heights with a unified system for product development—Where to find Ryan Singer:• X: https://x.com/rjs• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/feltpresence/• Website: https://www.ryansinger.co/• Course: https://www.ryansinger.co/srl/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Ryan's background(04:38) The origins of Shape Up(07:40) Implementing Shape Up in different companies(09:56) How Shape Up is different(19:02) The core elements of Shape Up(26:29) Shaping sessions and timeboxing(37:23) Flexible sprint planning(38:56) The output of a shaping session(46:57) Balancing detail and flexibility(53:50) A deep dive into shaping sessions(01:01:32) Fat marker sketches(01:02:48) Getting started using Shape Up(01:13:20) Signs it's time to try the Shape Up method(01:18:25) Feature factories(01:25:59) The role of the PM in Shape Up(01:28:26) What makes Basecamp unique(01:35:55) The second edition of the book(01:38:30) Linking product strategy and shaping(01:41:53) Conclusion and final thoughts—Referenced:• Basecamp: https://basecamp.com/• David Heinemeier Hansson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-heinemeier-hansson-374b18221/• Jason Fried on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-fried/• Jason Fried challenges your thinking on fundraising, goals, growth, and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/jason-fried-challenges-your-thinking• Des Traynor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destraynor/• Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/• The ultimate guide to JTBD | Bob Moesta (co-creator of the framework): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-jtbd-bob-moesta• How to find work you love | Bob Moesta (Jobs-to-be-Done co-creator, author of “Job Moves”): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-find-work-you-love-bob-moesta• Scrum: https://www.scrum.org/• 37signals: https://37signals.com/• Jobs to Be Done Theory: https://www.christenseninstitute.org/theory/jobs-to-be-done/—Recommended books:• Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work That Matters: https://basecamp.com/shapeup• Demand-Side Sales 101: Stop Selling and Help Your Customers Make Progress: https://www.amazon.com/Demand-Side-Sales-101-Customers-Progress/dp/1544509987/• Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice: https://www.amazon.com/Competing-Against-Luck-Innovation-Customer/dp/0062435612/• Job Moves: 9 Steps for Making Progress in Your Career: https://www.amazon.com/Job-Moves-Making-Progress-Career/dp/0063283581—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe