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Send us a textIs the customer always right? Only if you measure success through their eyes.In this episode of Project Management Masterclass, Brittany Wilkins shares the lightbulb moment from a company town hall that redefined how she leads projects—and why the secret to lasting impact isn't just hitting deadlines or budgets, but embracing a customer-centric mindset.Whether you're serving internal teams or external clients, Brittany breaks down how true project excellence starts by putting the customer at the center of every decision. Discover why customer centricity isn't just a buzzword—it's a leadership mindset that transforms priorities, builds empathy, and drives real value.From stakeholder engagement to iterative feedback loops, she offers practical ways to reframe your project approach and lead with intentionality.
On this episode of the Move Swiftly Podcast, we welcome Yvonne Trost, a visionary leader dedicated to helping individuals and businesses unlock their full potential through Limitless You. Her mission? To build community, nurture trust, and inspire people to maximize their strengths—so that together, we create transformative ideas, solutions, and human experiences that truly enrich lives.With 24+ years of global experience, Yvonne has worked across industries—including Professional Services, Pharma, Hospitality, Telecom, Public Sector, and Finance—as well as within enterprise organizations spanning Technology, Cyber Security, HR, Sales, and Marketing. Through Limitless You, she empowers individuals and teams to break barriers, redefine success, and embrace an abundant mindset in both business and life.
CTO Series: How Open Strategy and Agile Practices Drive Success at NorthCode With Ismo Aro In this BONUS episode, we sit down with Ismo Aro, CTO and partner at NorthCode, to delve into the transformative power of Open Strategy in the tech world. Ismo shares his journey from corporate roles at Nokia and Ericsson to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, and he unpacks how his approach to leadership evolved with the rise of agile methodologies, test automation, and cloud transformation. This episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone looking to modernize their company's strategy and foster a culture of transparency and co-ownership. Pivotal Career Moments: From Waterfall to Agile Mindset “When I joined the agile pilot team, it felt like discovering the way software development should always be done—release early, get feedback fast, and improve continuously.” Ismo reflects on his early days at Nokia, where he began as a test engineer in a traditional waterfall environment. He describes how the shift to agile methodologies transformed the way teams communicated and collaborated. When he joined a pilot project for Scrum, he realized the value of fast feedback loops and early releases. This experience laid the foundation for his future focus on continuous integration and test automation. Key Takeaway: Adopting agile frameworks can improve workflows by shortening feedback loops and promoting direct communication. The Essence of Open Strategy “Open Strategy means involving everyone in shaping the direction of the company—not just receiving updates but truly co-creating the future.” At NorthCode, Open Strategy is a cornerstone of their operations. Ismo explains how they empower employees by making strategy-building a transparent and collaborative process. The company's structure includes a parent company and subsidiaries where employees are also co-owners. Revenue-sharing ensures that when the business succeeds, everyone benefits directly. Key Elements of Open Strategy: Transparency: Strategy is made visible through a kanban board and KPIs accessible to all. Ownership: Subsidiary team members can own up to 80% of their company. Profit-sharing: 80% of client revenue goes to the subsidiary, and dividends are shared annually. “By aligning incentives and opening up the strategy process, you create a culture where employees don't just work for you—they work with you.” How Open Strategy Unfolds Annually “We make ideas visible and let them evolve until they're ready for execution.” Ismo outlines the company's approach to strategy using a high-level roadmap and clear metrics to track progress. The focus is on organic growth through subsidiaries, with a benchmark of starting a new subsidiary once a team reaches 20 people. The company also uses “business spikes”—short, low-cost experiments to test new ideas. Practical Tip: A business spike allows you to explore an idea quickly without committing significant resources, making it easier to pivot when necessary. Navigating Challenges in Open Strategy “Some people want to co-create, while others prefer to focus on their work—and both are valid.” Ismo acknowledges that not everyone in the organization is equally interested in strategic discussions, and that's okay. Open Strategy doesn't require everyone to participate equally—it provides opportunities for involvement at different levels. The key is fostering an environment where insights and information flow freely from the ground up, rather than top-down mandates. Key Insight: Open Strategy thrives when participation is voluntary and inclusive, rather than forced. Measuring Success: KPIs and Transparency “We believe in showing our utilization rates openly because our people have a stake in the results.” To measure success, NorthCode tracks KPIs such as revenue, profit, and utilization rates. Unlike traditional consulting companies that keep these metrics private, NorthCode shares them openly to build trust and foster a sense of ownership. Monthly meetings focus on tactical updates, while strategic sessions aim to inspire employees to contribute ideas for the company's future. Fun Practice: The “nightmare competitor” exercise encourages the team to imagine an ideal competitor and then adopt some of their hypothetical best practices into NorthCode's strategy. “When people can see the metrics that matter, they're more motivated to take ownership of their impact.” Inspiration from Open Strategy and Business Agility “We take concepts from corporate books and tailor them to fit our context as a growing, agile company.” Ismo cites two key books that shaped his thinking: Open Strategy and The 6 Enablers of Business Agility. However, he emphasizes the importance of adapting corporate-level concepts to suit smaller, more agile organizations. He believes that while agile is mainstream in software development, many companies remain rigid in their overall strategy. Recommended Reads: Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite by Stadler et al. The 6 Enablers of Business Agility by Harbott Key Reflection: Ismo's approach underscores the importance of agility not just in software but in company operations and strategy-making. Final Tip: Embrace modern tools like Large Language Models (LLMs) to streamline workflows—but remember, they enhance your work, not replace it. About Ismo Aro Ismo Aro is the CTO and partner at NorthCode, specializing in software development and workflow modernization. With experience at Nokia and Ericsson, he has held various roles, from test engineer to entrepreneur. Ismo co-founded NorthCode after selling a previous company and also served as Chairman of the Robot Framework Foundation, contributing to the growth of the widely used open-source test automation framework. You can link with Ismo Aro on LinkedIn.
BONUS: Building Agile Startups with Nick Hughes of Founders Live Welcome, Agile friends! In this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Nick Hughes, the founder of Founders Live, a global startup community now operating in more than 100 cities and 50 countries. Our conversation explored what it really takes to build a business and how the principles of agility can help entrepreneurs adapt, iterate, and thrive. If you've ever wondered how to sharpen your message, build resilience in the face of setbacks, and foster meaningful connections in the startup world, this episode is for you! The Birth of Founders Live “Test, learn, iterate, and grow. That's how I built Founders Live.” Nick's story began over 10 years ago when he noticed something missing in the entrepreneurial world—a supportive community where early-stage founders could connect, learn, and grow together. As a founder himself, he knew firsthand how isolating the startup journey could be. He decided to experiment with an idea, and it worked. Founders Live has since become a thriving global movement where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas, connect with like-minded people, and celebrate innovation in an engaging, fun atmosphere. Each Founders Live event follows a simple but powerful format: five founders deliver 99-second pitches, followed by four minutes of audience Q&A. Then, the crowd votes on the winner. Add some networking, food, and drinks, and you've got a recipe for an unforgettable experience! The takeaway here? Test small, see what works, and refine from there. The Power of a 99-Second Pitch “It's not easy to create your 99-second pitch. But that time frame forces founders to really think: What is my message?” Nick's 99-second pitch format is more than a clever gimmick—it's a forcing function for founders to get crystal clear about their message. In a short window of time, founders must distill their big idea into something precise, engaging, and impactful. Many founders tell Nick that while it's nerve-wracking at first, they walk away feeling more confident and impressed with their own ability to communicate under pressure. It's not just about pitching—it's about building communication agility and clarity of purpose. Why Networking and Mentorship Matter “If you figure out ways to help people and open doors for them, it comes back to you tenfold.” One of the most valuable aspects of Founders Live is its emphasis on connection. Nick shared that many of the most successful founders he knows have built networks by being generous—by “opening doors” for others. Whether it's offering advice, making introductions, or helping someone troubleshoot a challenge, those who give tend to receive tenfold in return. His advice for founders? Show up, participate, and look for ways to add value to your community. Authenticity and generosity go a long way in building strong relationships that will support your growth. Embracing Agility and Resilience “Agility is looking at things as experiments—identify what works, keep that, and stop what isn't working.” We also dove into the mindset that helps founders bounce back from setbacks. For Nick, agility means viewing everything as an experiment. When things don't go as planned, the question isn't “Why did this happen to me?” but rather “What can I learn from this, and how can I adjust?” Successful founders are constantly iterating—testing, learning, and evolving. The entrepreneurial journey isn't a straight line; it's a cycle of experimentation and improvement. Agility doesn't just happen in the product—it starts with how you frame your challenges and your willingness to pivot when needed. Common Misconceptions About Entrepreneurship “We all want creators in the world, but it's a tough road. You need to build something that adds value before pitching it.” According to Nick, many first-time founders enter the startup world with unrealistic expectations. Building a business isn't just about pitching your idea to investors—it's about creating something valuable, getting traction, and proving adoption first. If you don't have traction or proof points, you're burning bridges by pitching too early. His advice? Focus on solving real problems and showing early growth before you seek funding. When you walk into the room with evidence that people love your product, your pitch becomes much stronger—and much harder to ignore. Intrapreneurship: Innovating Inside Larger Companies Not every entrepreneur is working outside the corporate world—some are internal innovators looking to make a difference within their organizations. For those intrapreneurs, Nick had some great advice: define your opportunity clearly, understand your company's risk tolerance, and align your goals with measurable outcomes. If you want to pitch new ideas inside a company, start by identifying what success would look like and communicating that vision effectively. Intrapreneurship thrives when there's clarity around expectations and potential rewards. Nick's Resource Recommendation When I asked Nick for a resource recommendation, he shared the book “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life” by David Brooks. It's an inspiring read about finding purpose and meaning by building something bigger than yourself—a fitting message for entrepreneurs seeking to create meaningful impact. We closed with Nick's final piece of advice: “Test, learn, iterate, and grow. That's how I built Founders Live.” This simple but powerful mantra reminds us that agility isn't just a process—it's a mindset. Whether you're launching your own startup or driving innovation within a larger organization, success comes from being open to experimentation and continuous improvement. About Nick Hughes Nick Hughes is the founder of Founders Live, a global community and event platform for entrepreneurs, now active in over 100 cities across 50 countries. With a background in founding companies, Nick created Founders Live to foster connection, mentorship, and growth for startups worldwide. To learn more about Nick and Founders Live, visit FoundersLive.com or connect with Nick Hughes on LinkedIn.
Agile in Hardware: Agile for Physical Products, Insights from Dainese's Helmet Project With Massimo Terzo In this Agile in Hardware episode, Agile Coach and Consultant Massimo Terzo shares the story of his experience implementing Agile methodologies for physical product development, highlighting Dainese's journey to develop an innovative motorcycle helmet. Massimo shares essential strategies and unique challenges in applying Agile to hardware, emphasizing continuous learning, collaboration, and a customer-focused mindset. Whether you're in software or hardware, this conversation offers valuable insights for anyone navigating complex product development. The Agile Journey Begins: Adapting for Dainese's Helmet Project “Dainese is a cutting-edge company, but they faced market pressures that required faster development – this helmet project was all about innovation, under intense time constraints.” Massimo provides an overview of Dainese's motorbike helmet project, an Agile transformation journey for a purely physical product – with no software involved. As Dainese faced heightened competition and urgent market deadlines, they knew they had to accelerate product development. Massimo describes how Agile's typical techniques for software, like continuous delivery, had to be redefined for hardware. Instead of delivering functional increments, they focused on incremental learning to develop elements like airflow and ventilation. Prototyping became a central strategy, allowing the team to test quickly, gather feedback, and make informed design choices in a dynamic environment. “In hardware, Agile isn't about delivering functional slices but rather about acquiring critical knowledge incrementally to guide design.” Introducing Agile to Hardware Teams: Building an Agile Mindset "Getting the right people on board was key – we needed people open to Scrum values and willing to collaborate on cross-functional teams." Massimo talks about his initial steps coaching the Dainese team, who were accustomed to a waterfall approach. He began by training the team, especially focusing on the Product Owner, to adopt an Agile mindset. With enthusiastic support from the R&D Director, Massimo led a “Lift-Off” workshop to unify team goals, map out the project, and visualize workflows through story mapping. The team started to think of “increments” as stages of understanding rather than fully-functional slices (as we would do in software), and this helped shift them towards Agile principles of continuous improvement. “Starting with a ‘Lift-Off' workshop set a foundation for collaboration and got everyone focused on a common goal.” Bridging Agile and Waterfall: Working with Supplier Constraints "Suppliers were essential in this project – we had to adapt our Agile adoption to respect lead times and certain traditional practices." Massimo highlights the complex supplier relationships in hardware development and the need for hybrid planning. Agile principles like sprint planning and incremental development were adapted to accommodate suppliers' lead times and waterfall-style deadlines. The team balanced traditional Gantt charts for high-level planning with Agile sprint cycles for flexibility, using reverse planning to align the two approaches. By including a dedicated buyer in the team, they improved communication with suppliers and maintained transparency, ensuring project timelines could be met. “Adapting Agile to work with supplier constraints meant creating a roadmap that respected both Agile flexibility and traditional lead times.” Key Success Factors for Agile in Physical Product Development “Every Agile framework should be adapted to fit the product and the context. Don't get too focused on ‘doing Agile'—focus on making your product development faster and smarter.” Massimo provides his top advice for anyone looking to apply Agile in hardware contexts. He encourages teams to draw inspiration from Agile frameworks but adapt them to their specific product needs. Breaking down complex questions into smaller, testable hypotheses, fostering cross-functional skills, and investing in fast, reliable prototyping are essential steps to stay agile. He emphasizes transparency and reducing feedback loops as core practices to make informed, timely decisions, ultimately making the entire development process more efficient. “Agile isn't a template – it's a mindset for making product development faster, leaner, and more responsive to change.” Resources for Agile Hardware Enthusiasts “Whether you're new to Agile in hardware or looking to deepen your knowledge, these resources offer essential strategies.” Massimo shares his recommended reading list for those interested in Agile for physical product development. He suggests The Agile Factory by Claudio Saurin, Scrum for Hardware by Paolo Sammicheli, and Joe Justice's Scrum Master book. He also recommends exploring agile procurement and supply chain insights from Mirko Kleiner. About Massimo Terzo Massimo Terzo is an Agile Coach and Consultant with expertise in Agile methodologies for physical product development. Over the past decade, he has guided numerous organizations, including a major car manufacturer, through complex Agile transformations. Known for his knowledge in Agile for hardware and engineering, Massimo is a frequent speaker, inspiring teams to adopt agile practices for real-world product development challenges. You can link with Massimo Terzo on LinkedIn.
Send us a textWhy do even successful agile teams struggle to maintain their improvement momentum?In this compelling episode, Peter Maddison and David Sharrock answer this question and challenge the myth that continuous improvement is "just a mindset." Drawing from both scientific research and hands-on experience, they reveal why sustaining improvement is physically and mentally taxing, and why the journey becomes increasingly difficult after the initial quick wins. Through insights from sports coaching and real-world software delivery, they offer a fresh perspective on making continuous improvement truly sustainable.This week´s takeaways: Continuous Improvement Needs Constant NurturingSmall Steps Lead to Big ChangesMake Progress Visible and Achievable Want more practical insights on scaling agile and DevOps practices? Join Peter and Dave as they unpack the complexities of modern software delivery and organizational transformation. Subscribe to Definitely Maybe Agile wherever you get your podcasts, and share your thoughts at feedback@definitelymaybeagile.com.
Whether you're leading a startup or steering a large organization, tune into the latest episode of the Empowerment Minutes podcast, where we unlock the secrets to developing an agile mindset that fosters innovation and dynamic success. Discover essential strategies every leader needs to thrive in today's fast-paced world and lead your organization successfully. Whether leading a startup or steering a large organization, these insights will empower you to break through barriers and lead with confidence and agility. Don't forget to like, comment, and share if you find these strategies helpful. Join the conversation and let us know how you apply these strategies in your leadership journey.
Entdecke eine neue Perspektive auf das Agile Mindset! In der neuen Podcast-Folge Agile World treffen Miriam Sasse und Ellen Duwe die Wirtschaftspsychologin Karen Eilers. Als Leiterin des Instituts für Transformation in Hamburg begleitet sie Organisationen bei Veränderungsprozessen und bringt ihre Expertise im Bereich des Agilen Mindsets ein. In einem faszinierenden Interview spricht Karen Eilers über ihre Forschung zum Thema Agile Mindset, über das bereits über ein Jahrzehnt gesprochen wird - und niemand weiß genau, was es wirklich ist. Agile Mindset - Gibt es das überhaupt? Im Interview geht Karen auf unterschiedliche Dimensionen des Agile Mindsets ein, wie die Lernorientierung, kollaborativen Austausch, Kunden-Ko-Kreation und Selbstorganisation. Sie erläutert, wie diese Dimensionen die Einstellung und das Verhalten von Einzelpersonen prägen und wie Organisationen die Entwicklung eines agilen Mindsets fördern können. Erfahre mehr über die Bedeutung des Agilen Mindsets für Deinen Arbeitsalltag und entdecke Impulse sowie Erfolgsfaktoren für eine agile Arbeitsweise. #agile_world #AgileWorld #Agile #AgileTalkShow #AgileManifiesto #AgileCoach #ScrumMaster Agile World Deutsch LinkedIn Agile World Deutsch Buchseite Agile World Deutsch Webseite Big Thank You to Sabrina C E Noto Karl A L Smith Agile World ® News and Broadcast Network © 2023 California, USA | Music by Debs from Detoxen (Facebook)
Rise and Thrive: Conversations For Greatness with John Merkus
Bio Victor is a Lean/AGILE Strategy and Transformation Consultant, helping organisations in emergent environments navigate the path to a successful future via "Agile Ways Of Working". This usually involves developing and implementing Lean/Agile Strategies for these organisations, coaching & mentoring Senior Leaders, Managers and Teams in attaining the Agile Mindset that allows them to achieve high performance. Experiencing this evolutionary journey with clients from traditional ways of working to successfully achieving full Agility is his career passion. With a career path spanning over 30 years, starting as an accountant and Business Analyst, Scrum Master to being an Agile Coach today. His best skill amongst many is as a motivator and his work ethic is all around making work fun. Other passion outside work include helping Africa as a whole achieve Agility – Victor is the creator of the A.P.I.A.M-R.A.T.S Agile Culture Model and also an amateur chef, gastronome and suffering Chelsea FC fan. Victor lives in England with his family, 3 dogs and 12 fish. Interview Highlights 01:40 & 08:00 Childhood bereavement 04:00 The importance of adapting 09:45 A.P.I.A.M-R.A.T.S model 14:50 Using local language 20:00 WakandAGILITY 22:25 Sustainable transformation 29:00 Transformation buzzword 32:15 The importance of timing Social Media · LinkedIn: Victor NWADU | LinkedIn · Email: victor@wakandagility.com · Medium: Victor Nwadu – Medium · Twitter: @wakandagility Books & Resources · The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt: The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement: Goldratt, Eliyahu M · Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet: Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders L. David Marquet · The Wisdom of the Crowds by James Surowiecki: The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations: James Surowiecki, Erik Singer · WakandAGILITY.com: Enabling Agility for Africa: Agile Training, Support and Networking | Wakandagility · The A.P.I.A.M. – R.A.T.S. MODEL | LinkedIn Episode Transcript Intro: Hello and welcome to the Agile Innovation Leaders podcast. I'm Ula Ojiaku. On this podcast I speak with world-class leaders and doers about themselves and a variety of topics spanning Agile, Lean Innovation, Business, Leadership and much more – with actionable takeaways for you the listener. Ula Ojiaku So I have with me here Victor Nwadu, who is an agility strategist, Agile coach, everything-in-between, maestro. Victor, it's an honour to have you on the Agile Innovation Leaders Podcast. Thank you so much. Victor Nwadu Thank you, Ula, thank you for having me. Thank you. Ula Ojiaku So let, just tell us, Victor, about your background. What are the things that you've experienced, that have shaped you into who you are today and how you've ended up to where you are professionally? Victor Nwadu I mean, just cutting to the flow, I'm from Nigeria. I'm also, like all Nigerians, educated in Nigeria and then for some, you know, reason found myself here in the UK. If I wanted to pick on anything that has, you know, brought me to where I am and what has driven me to who I am today, I think it's just, it's my childhood, right. I was born to working class parents that, you know, Catholic people that worked hard for everything they've got. And as a Nigerian, you are told, it's instilled in you from a very young age, what the benefit of hard work is. Unfortunately, I was traumatised at the age of 13 by the death of my mum. So, and yeah, left with five siblings and my dad was broken by the course of events, but, you know, at that young age getting to where I am, having to, you know, do what I had to do to get to school and all that and still have these five siblings with me as well. Ula Ojiaku Because you're the first. Victor Nwadu Yes, I'm the first. You know how it is, especially when you're Igbo, right, you're expected to be strong and do it. Ula Ojiaku Di-Okpara (First Born) Victor Nwadu Di-Okpara, you say, that kind of thing, you know, so, yeah. But thank God for today and I find myself here today talking to powerful people like yourself. And I mean, I think that that has made me stronger, and I miss my mum terribly, but if I look back, to be honest with you, the course of events in one's life really defines, helps one define one's destiny. And that's how, you know, so I believe that what I went through in life has made me stronger, you know? So, yeah. I came to the UK, became an accountant, funnily enough, I did what we need to do. Then I find myself being a BA then a, after systems accounting, because I loved computers and all that, you know, then find myself doing, I don't know if you know what SAP is, so I did that for a while. Met a chap, a BA guy that I was doing his invoice, I saw how much was earning and I said, what, Jesus, I mean, tell me what to do, man. I then became a BA from that, then became, at that time, luckily, Scrum was just coming into the industry and, you know, we, I found myself doing something called an Agile BA, that's how I got into Agile. Then became a Scrum Master, became an Agile coach, and the rest is history. So that's basically it in a nutshell. Ula Ojiaku That's interesting, that you started off as an accountant and now you're an agile coach. I mean, I'm not throwing stones. I started off as an Electronic Engineer and I'm an agile coach, but yeah, it's all about, what I'm trying to also tell young people, including my children, that what you start off with doesn't necessarily mean that that's the career you're going to have for your whole life, you know, there is a whole lot of options, but it's just about starting somewhere. Victor Nwadu Especially now, I say the same thing to my kids, especially my son. You need to be in a state of mind where you need to adapt. A lot of paradigm shifts are happening underneath us and, you know, you need to be ready, and you need to be ready to go and adapt to the present circumstances. Otherwise, you know, and this is why we do what we do. Ula Ojiaku Yeah, and I think it starts with a mindset as well, you know, just having that Agile mindset, not to flog it, but agility starts first with the mind. What's your take on it? Because things are changing to be able to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Victor Nwadu Exactly. I mean, so we are living in exciting times, like you know already, agility was born out of the times that we're living in. It all started with the internet and outsourcing and all that, the world becoming a small village and all that. Then, we then have this digital thing going on and the information age and that brought yourselves all sorts of fantastic things. Things are, because we are utilising and leveraging the power of technology, we find out that we don't need to do certain things. Unfortunately, some jobs have to go, but then new ones are coming in. So all these things started happening, and again, it's affecting generations right now. If you were Generation X like me, you would've seen at least three more generations in your time when these changes are happening. It's crazy. So we now have, how do we survive? You know, you survive by adapting. If you don't adapt, you become obsolete, extinct, and that has tailored it to the industry, and the way we work. And even now talking to you, I'm working from home, I have a home office, you know, and that makes it even more fantastic because I can work anywhere in the world. Right. So what it does now is that it creates a bigger competition, right, where anybody can apply for any job anywhere in the world. It also helps the earth, and I don't want to go into that working from home debate, but that's all these things that are happening are as the consequences of the various paradigm shifts that are happening. So we need to adapt, like you said, in the mind, our mind needs to be open to change. And we need to put ourself in a place where we leverage all the advantages of those changes for our own benefits and so yeah. Ula Ojiaku Well said Victor. I mean, I completely associate with what you've said so far and the changes that are happening, especially with technology. For example, the recent one that's making waves is like AI, you know, so we're now in, someone said we're in the knowledge, information age, but now it's something like augmented age. So it's not just about the information, but it's also about being able to leverage, you know, technology like AI to still do productive work. But it still ties back with being adaptable, being able to learn and unlearn, to remain creative because machines are not taking over anytime soon. Victor Nwadu They can't take over the creative aspect and we need to automate and become, the competitive edge now is about who does things quicker, who gets to the market quicker and who get to the customer quicker? Who satisfies the customer in terms of the value threshold. So yeah, that's what we are, you know, we're creative, but we'll still be the same, but if you don't have creative guys in your design and engineering design, or software design, you're still going to fall back into that obsolete group of people that don't change or are not changing as quickly as it should. So yeah, I agree totally with that. Yeah. Ula Ojiaku Thank you. I know we went off into a rabbit hole, but I did want to just take you a little bit back to what you said earlier when you were talking about the things that happened to you that shaped you into who you are. And you mentioned your mum's death at 13, you know, I'm really sorry about that, and I can't imagine how tough it would be because my son just turned 13 and I can't imagine the difficulty it must be, well, you did say it must have been for you. You said events in one's life defines one's destiny. Can I, so my twist would be, because the same thing could happen to two different people and you have two different outcomes. So could there be something about how they react to it as well? Victor Nwadu Yeah, obviously. I mean, the way people react is the key, right. Yeah. So one person could react, have reacted, okay, fine. You hit the ground, I mean, you fall and you cry, and you get traumatised. Then you kind of rebuild yourself and stand up and keep going. And some people, it's just like a tough man's thing, right? It's a storming it and all that. So people stay in that trough, they never, some teams just stay there, they never rise above, you know, so some people, not because it's their fault, maybe their environment, maybe because resources that are not there to guide them, to help them stand up, you know? Yeah. We're not the same. So, yeah, I just happened to be who I'm hopefully strong enough to have been able to lead myself from that trough. Ula Ojiaku Well, you inspire me and I know that you are an inspiration to many other people as well, so thank you for sharing your story. So you did put together this model, agile culture model A.P.I.A.M-R.A.T.S. Can you tell us a bit about that? Victor Nwadu Actually, I have a little of pause on that. So it's something that, you know, that's been on my mind, the pet project, purely because, you know, some people are saying, are you trying to create another agile, and no, it's not. It's just like a clarion call to people that are coming to Africa and the Middle East to engage in a transformation process. We're looking at the way Agile is, when the forefathers of agile went to Utah to dream up this fantastic thing. I'm sorry, they were not thinking about Africa, they were thinking from their own Western perspective, right. And then we Africans, Agilists and change leaders from Africa, we know that things we've learned from what the manifesto and the principles have taught us, are not that straightforward in from where we come from. So it manifests itself with many of my colleagues in the West that have gone to Africa and met these challenges and have complained. And I say, yes, it's because we are totally different, mindset is different, the Western mindset is totally different. So I've kind of modelled it more to Africa and the Middle East, and mainly to Nigeria and South Africa because that's where I got most of my data from. And it's A.P.I.A.M-R.A.T.S it's actually Agile Practice in Africa and the Middle East. Okay. And the R.A.T.S, I get lots of stick from my friends, the R.A.T.S is just when I kind of listed out the main things, main factors, some of them not that bad, some of them, the bad ones, it just, the best way I could figure it out to make, to create a soundbite was, it came out as R.A.T.S. So you have your religious intrusion, the R is religious intrusion, the A is an age respect paradox, and the T, obviously time. The other one is secrecy cults, and the fifth one, which I've added on later on was language, the leverage language and that kind of stuff, right? So the religious one is the effect of religion in the way we work. If you go to any African or if you go to Nigeria today now, you will see, say for example, people doing their standup. The standup, daily standup is, that's supposed to take an average of 15 minutes. They will give an average of five minutes for prayers and, you know, the way we pray, evangelistic sometimes things more than that. And imagine a Muslim guy in that scene. You know, imagine a Western guy, a Western agile coach and like woah, really? You know, so you have that aspect of it. You also have the age respect paradox. So it's a paradox because yes, while people in the West understand age and respect, in Africa and in the Middle East we take it up a notch or two. You know, where sometimes actually the negative aspect is that somebody that is older than you now thinks because he's older, you cannot allocate well as part of a member of the team, you feel, oh, it's an insult for you to tell them what to do, which is wrong and very crude, but it happens, it happens. So we have that and we also have the African Time, so it's not fair to call it African because the French do it. It's not labelled an such connotative when the French do it… Ula Ojiaku I've been to different countries. They do it. I'm not going to name it, name them. Victor Nwadu Yeah. So, exactly. So the way it's been made to feel as if some kind of, like we, Nigerians and Africans started it. I don't really like it, but, you know, that has become something that of note and something that has kind of embedded itself in our culture and our behaviours. Yes, the French do it, but is in social circles, however, we've kind of brought it into professional, our professional lives, where we lack that discipline for some reason of keeping exactly to time. And that itself, obviously as you and I know, has an effect on cost of delay and all that kind of stuff. Ula Ojiaku And morale as well. Victor Nwadu The fourth one is secrecy cult. For some reason, we don't share knowledge. And I'm happy, agile is, has brought the fact that we need, when we bring transformation into an organisation, part of it is making the organisation at the end of the day, a learning organisation, where we collaborate and collaboration means we have to share knowledge, we have to share, you know, for us to win. Okay? So, yes, so for some reason in Africa, that doesn't take place as much as we would love to see that. The last I've put there is language, so this one is very important for me because, and Sophie Oluwole that's one of the, she's late now, but she's one of the people that have kind of been evangelising the need for us Africans to get rid of the Western language, like English or French. We should start teaching our kids chemistry, maths and everything, the academic learning journeys should start with our local language. It's easier on the brain, it's less stressful, and they learn. Then we can learn English later on, or however, we shouldn't waste time to learn a foreign language, then start learning the basics of academia, right. So if you look at it, it's timeframe itself is a waste in terms of agile thinking, right? So for me, I brought it into an agile space because you find out that, I have worked across global teams, right? And when, as an agile coach, you give teams freedom to please, create and design within yourself with your local language. Only come to me when you, you know, when you need to, when you need me. And then you'll normally find a language champion that will do the translation or whatever. And so you find out that it's easy, the engagement is easier, and they're loving you for giving them that freedom. So I've been bringing it to Africa to be the way we work in Africa so that we as teams are, we don't become too stressed or thinking of how we sound when we speak English. When we are designing, we are talking about, and when we are in an agile space, we are talking about and discussing with our local language, we are free, and you find out the mind is less stressed. So these ideas just keep flowing, the brainstorming session is fantastic, lively, because you don't have to, oh, let me think of how I'm going to put, structure this, my idea in English before I have to speak, it just comes out, like it's easier. So I think we have more benefits if we trace ourselves back into our local language, especially if the team is regional and everybody there is speaking the same language. Ula Ojiaku I was going to get there, so it seemed like you read my mind. I was going to say, but what if the team, because in Nigeria there are over 200 languages or 200 ethnic groups, since we've started off with Nigeria, you know, what happens? Because you might still have to go to a shared common language. Victor Nwadu That's a very good question. So, but the thing is, like most African, especially in India, places like India and even in the Middle East, we have a kind of broken English, we have a local slang anyway, that's a kind of, it's mixed with English, like in Africa, Pidgin, we call it Pidgin, it's a mixture of Creole and Hausa, Wazobia, that kind of thing going on there with English, everybody already speaks that language. Why don't we use that? So that's a tie breaker anyway, that, why don't we use that, you know? So yeah. So, but basically, when you go to places like Enugu or Kaduna, you tend to be of that particular region. But if we have a thought person there that's from other place, let's use our local vernacular to break that ice in terms of the way we speak and communicate. So that's my answer to that. Ula Ojiaku Okay. And where you have someone, if there's only maybe one person who's not of the culture, not from that country, doesn't know it, where does inclusion come in here? Victor Nwadu It's highly unlikely, but however if it happens, because in the small village that we have now, the global village that we have, I normally would have a language champion, somebody that's, you know, you should be able to find some kind of, somebody within the, just like your Agile champion, the team. You find somebody that can translate, right? Otherwise, I've developed all sorts of apps right now, where you can use something as Google translates. So when you, when you want to give important meetings and you want to write, you just do the one in English, then translate it to their local language and just send it out. Everybody will understand and they'll come back to you. So, yeah. But it's very rare, very, very rare, to find a place where the English language and French has not touched on this planet, or Spanish. So when that happens, you just, we just use tools that, simple tools are available to us, Google translate, use an Agile champion to kind of leverage and that, kind of make that disability or handicap a non-existence or minimise the impact of it in the way we communicate. Ula Ojiaku On a slightly off tangent point in terms of languages, Mandarin is also like going up there, you can't ignore that. So what have you been working on lately as you've talked about the A.P.I.A.M-R.A.T.S model, why you came up with it and how, in a little way, how it could be used, but what else have you been working on lately that you'd like to share with the world? Victor Nwadu Apart from work and all that, I give a lot to my people. I have tried to empower a lot of people, so I've created this WakandAGILITY group where we, it's a global support thing where we kind of give masterclasses to people that are coming into the industries from masters and Agile coaches already there, but want to, you know, so I kind of hold these master classes for free actually, because, I am looking at the scope of how we can kind of create, make sure that as Africa develops and becomes more hungry, resource hungry, we have the resources on the ground to accommodate those requests, right? Ula Ojiaku So skilled manpower, you mean? Victor Nwadu Exactly. We don't have it. So, and now to train up, agile training is expensive. So that's my own way of giving back. But apart from that, I've been working with people, great people, great change analysts, internationally based people like, I don't know if you know her, Mary Laniyan, she's based in the UK and we have a lovely woman that did African something sometime ago that invited me to Lagos Abiodun Osoba. We also, in fact, I think we have somebody, her name is Anu Gopal, she's even a powerhouse in agile affairs, I think one of those, yeah. I also have Etopa Suley from Canada. You know, all these guys who come together in the last Agile 20 something, we came off with the whole government manifesto for Nigeria. That was our presentation, it's fantastic, right? It is there on the internet right now, so yeah, so it's people like this I'm working with, we came up with the manifesto for good governance for Nigeria and many other projects like that. So yeah, that's what I spend my time doing behind the scenes, apart from work and spending time with my family. Ula Ojiaku That's really awesome, and I'm sure some of the listeners would want to know more about it. So we'll make sure the links are in the chat. Do you still do run these sessions? Victor Nwadu Yes, I do. It's keeping with the requests. I have a lot of requests, and you know. Ula Ojiaku So there is a question I have for you with respect to transformation, because as an Agile coach, I would expect that you've been involved in a number of transformation efforts with organisations in involving leaders and teams. Can there be a sustainable transformation without vision or strategy? Victor Nwadu So, it's possible for you to have a transformation, well a transformation, it's possible for that to just happen once, right? So it's like a rider, you know, you are told to ride through one end of the Serengeti to the other with dangerous animals and valleys and all that. With a horse, no compass. And you don't have a compass, you have a map or maybe don't have a map, you just know just face there, you get to the end, right? And you don't have a compass. You don't know the health of the horse and you just got on that horse. And yet, it is probable that you may be able to get to the end. But how sustainable is that? That is why the word sustainable that you use is very important. How sustainable is that for us to now create some kind of tourist pamphlet for other people to come behind us to use? It's exactly the same way. So it's probably, it's very, very probable for you to run this kind of transformation rather than just win with one team or whatever, then where's the playbook for those coming behind you, if you want to kind of multiply that, accelerate it within the organisation. So that's why sustainability is important. You know, how sustainable is that? How can we we create a model, or a playbook for us to use as an organisation for our own peculiar transformation, right? That's why it's important for us to have vision. I mean, you know, we need to have a strategy, you know, so the vision itself, first of all is the what and the why we are doing it, and all that kind of stuff. Then the strategy, the Agile strategy is very important. The Agile strategy itself is the vision plus how we're going to do it. Under it, in a timeframe, and how we're going to fulfil the objective required to actualise that vision, right? And with regard to the scope, timeline, course and the organisational culture. So that's the strategy. We need to have all that. When you have that and you place it, and you can start to kind of base it under the kind of, your playbook of entry, the change itself and the exit, then you have something to go with, you know? So, yeah, that's basically how it works. You cannot have a sustainable transformation without a clear vision, without a realistic strategy that kind of makes sure that all these aspects of the scope itself, the objective, the goals, and then taking into consideration the culture I dealt with, you know, you cannot have a, what is known as transformation, a sustainable one without having a transformation strategy. So that's it. Ula Ojiaku You may have touched on this, but I'll say, just going back to your Serengeti Crossing analogy. I mean if you are crossing, or the person has been assigned a horse cross, that it's important to say why are we crossing the Serengeti? Because it might be that if you evaluate the why it might be better for you to stay where you are and don't put yourself and other people in danger and waste resources crossing, just for crossing's sake. Victor Nwadu Yeah. I mean, all these things will come in when we are laying out the strategy and, you know, we will have the vision, somebody comes, you know. I have to say transformation is sexy nowadays. So the metaphor is dealing with the, the Serengeti itself is the transformation, what we assume to be all the wahala inside the transformation. Ula Ojiaku What is wahala? Beause not everyone understands what wahala is? Victor Nwadu Wahala means all the troubles in life, all the challenges you meet in everything. So we need to first of all understand that nowadays transformation is sexy. Where many organisations, I heard a rumour that many leaders engaged in these big companies engaged transformation purely for the benefit of their PE ratio in the stock exchange. It's a rumour, I haven't confirmed it, but I don't know how to confirm it, but I do know that it's very sexy to say your organisation is carrying out its transformation. Everybody wants to be a saviour, that's what we're doing. So that is part of the big problem and the challenges that we face as change leaders in the transformation, because the success of the transformation depends on the leaders and the person at the top. How committed they are to it. So the commitment of that leader is tasked from the top. If they don't have the buy in, if they're not convinced about it, they're just doing it for show, when push comes to shove, and it will happen, the challenges will come and hit you. Cultural challenges, personality challenges, the ego of leaders or middle managers, and you'll hit them as you already know. How committed is the leader at the top to come down and say guys, and create that space for us to be able to make this transformation happen? Because as the ultimate impediment remover, that person should be able to have the time, to have the commitment to come down to the team level, to the whatever program level, whatever, and be able to remove that impediment for that to happen. So if this leader or sets of leaders or whoever is given the mandate to commission a transformation doesn't have total commitment or is not bought in, is not doing it for some show or for some reason, it's not going to work. Ula Ojiaku Very true. Do you have any anonymised stories of your experience in guiding organisations in enterprise agility or transformation journey. Because one thing you've said, you know, transformation is sexy, it's really a buzzword. And if you ask two people, and they could be in the same leadership team, you know, C-suite team, what is transformation? And they'll give you different answers. It's just a buzzword, which means different things to different people. But do you have any story underpinning, you know, what you have said about leadership being key? Victor Nwadu If I give you all the stories, you're not going to leave here, right. However, I want to make a few things very, very clear that just standing in most organisations, that starts their transformation journey with a few teams, as you would expect. When they succeed in that they then call it an enterprise wide transformation. Where you take a few teams to delivering some funky, sexy, innovative products, that is not enterprise wide transformation, that's not business transformation or business agility, right. It is you showing that, and delivering a particular product as quickly to the customer, whatever works using agile ways of working. So there's that misconception there, that's the number one misconception that people think, oh, when we succeed with a few teams, yeah, we have, no, we haven't, because you still need to scale it, you know, to the entire enterprise, to non-IT enterprise to both upstream and downstream and all that. It is when your organisation as a whole, no matter how tall it is, can have a transparent view of where everything is, when an organisation can adapt to news in the market very quickly, when an organisation can innovate, it has the people they have been enabled to, to have a different idea, different mindset towards failure and seeing failure as a learning bridge, all those kind of mindset things, but happening in very large scale so that the organisation becomes a learning organisation, everybody's learning, we have a lot of COPs (Community of Practices), you know, that's when you say a transformation has been successful, that's when you can actually say the organisation has transisted from a traditional stoic, siloed set up to where we have open collaboration, and the cultures, mindsets and the culture have been changed in that the mindset of people that lead and those that make things happen is one, and they have this adaptive way of behaving. When something happens in the market, nothing shocks them. Even when it does, you have some, I understand some people even have an anti-disruptive, you know, when you come up with an idea in your organisation and you go back and you go out to the market and sell it, you become disruptive, you disrupt the market. However, some organisations as well are having anti-disruption strategies. If somebody else comes, how quickly can we respond? So those are the kind of things that shows that organisation has actually transisted from those traditional ways of working to an agile way of working. However, the other aspect I want to draw to our attention is about timing, when we are thinking of transformation. So for me, my advice is first of all, number one, to get the top person involved in it. Timing is very, very important. You need to have time for this transformation, to start this transformation. The time when you start transformation is very important. You don't want to start it when you have disruption in the market, things will not happen normal way, and it's better for you to do transformation in peace time, what I call peace time, before some major disruption, so that you can leverage what you've learned from that transformation in that, when that disruption happens. Timing is very important when you're carrying out a major transformation in your organisation, okay? You need to have committed leaders, leaders that are really committed to the cause, they're not just doing it for show and leaders should be able to come down and do Gemba walks, and see that what is actually happening in the kitchen is what their executive information system is relayed to them, right? There needs to be complete transparency from the top to bottom. So that we are sure that what the developers and the guys creating all our products are doing is exactly tied to the revision and objective of the executive. So that's part of it. And for me it's common sensical things that we already know. However, when we have transparency, this transparency increases trust. And it needs to start with the leader, he needs to show transparency by example, right? So it increases trust, and trust enables organisation-wide collaboration, right? So when teams start collaborating, teams that were locked in silos start collaborating, we start seeing silo breaking, and when you start breaking the silo, you start seeing aggregates, paradigm shifts happening. And that is when you now then see that almighty cultural change emerge. So it comes from, and transparency, it comes from transparency leading to trust, and trust leading to collaboration that breaks down silos. And when that thing happens, you start having all this shift because we now trust each other. There are no more silos, then the cultural shift that people say is hard to do, it is, however, if you follow this, if you allow this thing to flow the way I just listed, it'll flow in its normal cadence, right, without having to have unnecessary, you know It's not easy to have a cultural, don't get me wrong, when we are as change analysts and change agents, it's not easy for cultural change. No matter where we are in the world, people don't like change as a result. However, it starts with common sensical things like the leader taking the first step, the leader coming into, sometimes when you have a Gemba walk, you come into a meeting and you, like, for example, in some recent, not recent, about two years ago, where the leader came into a meeting or for an impediment that had been there, so kind of a Scrum of Scrum meeting, that had been a feature type impediment, and had been there for quite a while. And he came in and after they've had the conversation, he just raised his hand and everybody was surprised to see him and just said, what is it? And he kind of listed back to him, you know, this impediment that I've been there for roughly about almost a month was dealt with within two days. That is one of the major advantages where you have the leader there, and you need to ask yourself a question, what was causing the impediment delay? The verification of the impediments and the delay of the action of impediments before the leader came in. Middle management, also cultural things, bureaucracy, my space, your space, so the person at the top comes in and slashes through. If you have leaders that are prepared to do that, that have the time to do that, transformation will take its normal course without unfortunate circumstances happening. Ula Ojiaku You've said a lot of things in this time and space and they make sense to me, but is it possible, because you said transformation is ideal when done in peace time. How can you, it's almost like saying you time the markets. Because there are other people, many organisations that have admitted, for example, the Covid, the pandemic accelerated their transformation per se. Victor Nwadu Accelerated, but many of them died. You know, yes we have unforeseen circumstances that you cannot help that, right? Aliens landing on the planet and disrupting the world, you cannot help that, right? But I was saying that if you are given a time to select, so it's better for you to do it now before any, covid is part of it, but you also have market disruptions as well, right? So the best time would be when you think just kind of stability, because it starts from a small team, then expand. So you want to make sure that team is not distracted by bigger factors that may be beyond the help, the beyond the reach of the remediating powers of the leaders in the organisations, right. So that's given, if you are given, you know, if you can help it. If you can't help it, start it as quickly as possible, but you know, it's better to have it started in peace time. Ula Ojiaku Awesome, thanks Victor. I can see that you are quite passionate about what you are saying. So what books have you recommended to people about this topic or anything else and why? Victor Nwadu I have many books. The main book, that for me has kind of created powerful insights in the way I do my work, the way I even see life. One of them, the top one is The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Then the other one is Turn the…. Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet. We'll put it in the links. You know, I use that a lot. And it's just leadership should be, you know, it should be about enabling, self-managing, self-organising team. I mean, in the way we work nowadays, you can't know everything. And that was what the point he was trying to say that as a captain, yeah, he's supposed to know how they work, but the details, there are experts that is within his reach, there are the guys that are the experts, so enable them to do the thing and you just deal with it. And the third one will be this one. I just read this book, it's called The Wisdom of the Crowds by James Surowiecki. He was saying that data shows that if you take, if you ask people to solve a problem and a group of people from just non-experts, and you get the experts to predict that same problem, the crowd will be, the answer will be closer to the reality than the experts themselves. Why, I don't know, maybe it aggregates knowledge of the crowd coming together rather than experts, and the other point he was making also, is how the HiPPO opinion (HiPPO: Highest Paid Personality), like when you have a team of engineers and the manager comes in that meeting and you ask a question of how do you think we can do this and he gives his opinion first, his opinion is going to skew the answers of everybody else. So this is why it's important, where you have a meeting and some HiPPOs are there, let them be still, let us hear the opinions of the team, the ordinary members of the team before if they need to give their opinion, right? Otherwise we just have a skewed opinion and that opinion will not be the best for that particular question. So that is another very good book. Ula Ojiaku Thank you. So there are three books. The Goal, Turn That Ship Around, The Wisdom of the Crowds. So how can the audience find you or contact you? Victor Nwadu You can get me at wakandagility.com, you can get me at victor@wakandagility.com. You can get me at LinkedIn, Victor Nwadu, you just type it there, you'll see m there. Ula Ojiaku Any ask for the audience, or any final words, Victor? Victor Nwadu Final last words, yes, Agile is real. Agile is here. And so be inspired, be prepared, be Agile. First of all, you be inspired to change, to have that mindset to adapt to your present circumstances. You know, be prepared for future disruptions, for anything, and be Agile, right? That's it. Then you will definitely succeed. You will definitely live longer. You will definitely transcend all the challenges, all the Covid 19 time, even aliens coming to this world or whatnot. Ula Ojiaku So can we hold you to, to account for it? Can we take it to the bank and say Victor said if we're inspired, prepared, and agile… Victor Nwadu It will help. I mean, from my experience in life, it'll help if you're inspired, you have to be inspired. People that are not driven cannot achieve much. You need to be passionate about what you do. And then you need to be prepared. You need to be prepared by having the skillset, challenge yourself to learn, constantly learning. Then be agile, all those things that we do, your mindset, the way you think, you know, having agile ways of doing things, you know, having a different mindset towards failure. When you fail, it doesn't mean you have, you know, you've done anything bad or the end of the world, failure is a sign that that option is not going to work and you've learned something new, you pivot and try a new one. So if we have that kind of mindset, we'll be innovating every year, every six months, every three months. If we have a different attitude towards failure, so be inspired, be prepared, be Agile. Ula Ojiaku Thank you so much, Victor. It's been a pleasure having this conversation Victor Nwadu It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much, Ula. Ula Ojiaku The pleasure is mine. That's all we have for now. Thanks for listening. If you liked this show, do subscribe at www.agileinnovationleaders.com or your favourite podcast provider. Also share with friends and do leave a review on iTunes. This would help others find this show. I'd also love to hear from you, so please drop me an email at ula@agileinnovationleaders.com Take care and God bless!
Understanding The Link Between Agile Thinking & Agile Mindset Agile thinking and the agile mindset are increasingly important concepts in both business and personal development. Rooted in the principles of Agile methodology, originally developed for software development, these concepts have far-reaching applications in various fields. This article explores the essence of agile thinking, the agile mindset, and the key principles underpinning them, explaining their significance in today's fast-paced world. Agile thinking is a way of approaching problems and projects that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer satisfaction. It's about being adaptable, responsive to changes, and focused on delivering value. The agile mindset is the set of attitudes supporting this approach. It includes: Embracing Change: Seeing change not as an obstacle but as an opportunity for improvement. Continuous Learning: Always seeking to learn and grow, both from successes and failures. Collaborative Effort: Believing in the power of teamwork and open communication. Delivering Value: Focusing on creating real value for customers or stakeholders. 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/
As the new year approaches, many of us find ourselves reflecting on the past year and contemplating the changes we want to make in the coming months. But as you prepare to set your health goals for the new year, I encourage you to embrace both intentionality and agility. Too often, we expect the journey toward our goals to be linear. But when we move away from rigidity and focus on building habits aligned with your identity and values, the outcome is often much more positive. In this episode, we look at the importance of clearly defining your goal, understanding the deeper reasons behind it, and being prepared to navigate the unpredictable nature of the journey, making adjustments as you go.ReferencesCal Newport's podcast Deep QuestionsAudio Stamps00:52 - Dr. Rentea explains why this time of year is always a good time to do a review of your year and look at what you did and didn't accomplish.02:00 - Dr. Rentea shares a recent scenario from Cal Newport's “Deep Questions”, a podcast which offers advice about cultivating focus and productivity. Dr. Rentea draws similarities from this to setting new health goals for the year.06:16 - It's important to make your health goal for the year, but to also know the “why” behind it.07:55 - Dr. Rentea gives a personal example of a health goal she has set for herself and the driving reason behind it. 11:00 - We find out why you need to be agile when it comes to your goal and why you have to be willing to look at things through a different lens each week.14:00 - You get to set the goal you want to achieve but make it realistic to start with and aim for a 1% upgrade each week.Quotes“Yes, I want you to make the goal, but then I want you to focus more on the identity and the values and who you need to be to achieve that.”“I need to know how it is foundational to your core and your identity because that will keep you going.”“Part of you being agile means you're willing to look at things in a different lens weekly. You're willing weekly to look at, ‘Is this working or not? Do I like what is happening? What am I willing to do differently?'”“We can have a big vision, a big goal. But then we see week to week what actually works in your universe and allows you to flex more. It allows you to be agile. It allows you to pivot.”“When they say it's a lifestyle, it means in all scenarios, you figure it out. It means you don't just bounce at the first moment of inconvenience.”“I want you to meet yourself where you're at. I want it to be realistic. I want it to be a 1 percent upgrade–something where you almost don't even think it's going to move the needle and you execute on that. And then the next week you get to make a bigger, bolder move.”All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast. If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com
Amy C. Waninger welcomes Angel Henry, the Founder and President of AngelsSpeaking, to the Including You podcast this week to chat about agile mindsets. Angel is also the author of Dents in the Ceiling. Connect with Angel on LinkedIn. https://bit.ly/2RNMbtf Including You is brought to you by Lead at Any Level. Learn more about them on their website. http://bit.ly/2lPvOMM
Complex challenges often come without a playbook. In a world that's rapidly evolving and increasingly becoming more complex, an agile mindset empowers us to adapt quickly, think on our feet, and embrace change as an opportunity rather than a setback.In this episode of the HAPPINESS SQUAD podcast, Ashish, Anil, and Johanne Lavoie, Partner at McKinsey & Company and leadership expert, explore the importance of an agile mindset in the face of complexities.Johanne is also the Dean of McKinsey & Company's signature multi-client program, leading with inner agility, which helps senior executives lead with greater purpose and impact in times of increasing complexity. As an author and frequent lecturer, Johanne actively engages in broader conversations at the nexus of leadership, mindfulness, and business. Joe has played a key role in the transformation of so many lives, including that of Ashish's, and in this episode, we'll discover powerful practices and habits that can help us live healthier, meaningful, and fuller lives. We'll also dive deeper into how inner work for leaders is pivotal in fostering a human-centric approach to leadership.Things you will also learn from this episode:The Role of Inner Work in LeadershipThe False Polarity of WorthinessThe Adaptability ParadoxHow to Build Trust and Human-centric LeadershipThe Power of Mindful Practices for Personal GrowthResources:Johanne Lavoie at McKinsey & Co.https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/johanne-lavoie Future proof: Solving the ‘adaptability paradox' for the long termLeading With Inner AgilityBooks:Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Jean Coetzee: Unpacking Ownership, Accountability, and Responsibility in Scrum Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Jean shares a pivotal moment in his role as a Scrum Master with a newly formed team. With limited experience in Scrum, the team struggled to grasp the concepts of ownership, accountability, and responsibility. Jean recognized the need for experimentation and introduced the idea of pushing a car from point A to B, emphasizing that the task was about getting the car to its destination, not just pushing it. Through this analogy and patient guidance, Jean successfully shifted the team's focus from tasks to delivering true value in their Agile practices. [IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company. About Jean Coetzee Jean is passionate about humans, and how they work together from a psychology and neuroscience perspective. Jean, credits the early ScrumMaster podcasts for shaping his Agile career. These insightful episodes provided vital guidance during the early days, boosting confidence in serving others effectively. Jean learned to navigate uncertainties and gain confidence in their Scrum Master role, all thanks to this and other podcast contributors. You can link with Jean Coetze on LinkedIn.
“As Long as You Are Willing to Adopt Change in Your Business, Then You're in the Right Place.” How do you implement change in your organization so you aren't caught by surprise when inevitable change arrives at your doorstep? In this episode, David takes a deep dive into agile frameworks and how to apply them in your business.
Wayne Turmel and Richard Maltzman about the importance of meetings in building great teams. Richard emphasizes the role of project leaders in facilitating effective meetings and discusses the principles of project management and Agile methodology. He also introduces the concept of "meeting goblins," which are different personalities that can emerge during meetings. Richard highlights the need for leaders to manage these personalities and create a safe and productive meeting environment. Key Takeaways 1. Meetings are a crucial touchpoint where strategy meets operations in a project. 2. The purpose of a kickoff meeting is to build the project team and ensure everyone understands the project's goals and importance. 3. Agile methodology has brought new meeting techniques, such as stand-up meetings and information radiators, that can be beneficial in any project. 4. Meeting goblins are different personalities that can emerge during meetings, such as the reticent person or the bully. Leaders must manage these personalities to create a productive meeting environment. Featured Guest Name: Rich Maltzman About: Richard Maltman is a master lecturer at Boston University and previously had a career at Nokia. He is an expert in project management and has co-authored books on facilitating great project meetings and building great teams. https://www.linkedin.com/in/exclaim/ http://projectmeetings.us/ Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:35 The Unspoken Power of Meetings in Project Leadership 03:11 Bridging Remote Work with Project Management 04:06 Meetings: More Than Just Info Sharing 05:03 Kickoff Meetings: The Team Builder's Starter Pack 06:03 Sustaining the Team Vibe Throughout the Project 07:07 The Facilitator: A Project Leader's Hat 08:21 Embracing the Agile Mindset 09:25 The Agile-Waterfall Blend: Taking the Best of Both Worlds 11:24 Agile Meeting Techniques Unpacked 12:17 Virtual Meeting Facilitation 101 14:09 Meet the Meeting Goblins 15:05 The Meeting Ensemble: Handling Different Personalities 16:12 Inclusion Matters: Giving Everyone a Voice 17:21 Leading Through Dominating Meeting Moments 18:14 Going Off-Script for Urgent Issues 19:09 Facilitation & Its Influence on Project Leadership 20:30 The Notetaker & Whiteboard Artist: Unsung Heroes 21:11 Closing Related Episodes Do Virtual Meetings Kill Creativity with Elise Keith Creating Ethical Visibility on Remote Teams Remote Work Rants: Meeting Cancellations and Time Zone Troubles The Importance of Empathetic Conversations on Remote Teams with Robert Bogue Additional Resources Learn more about Wayne Turmel Email Wayne Turmel Connect with Wayne Turmel on LinkedIn Purchase a copy of The Long-Distance Leader Purchase a copy of The Long-Distance Teammate Purchase a copy of The Long-Distance Team The Kevin Eikenberry Group Your Host Wayne Turmel: Master Trainer and Coach for The Kevin Eikenberry Group, co-author of The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership and The Long-Distance Teammate: Stay Engaged and Connected While Working Anywhere, and trainer of remote teams for over twenty years. Read More... Subscribe to Long-Distance Worklife wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate the show 5 stars and leave a review! Connect with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longdistanceworklife/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2P22kW5iaX8zU3B0-HVCUA Website: https://longdistanceworklife.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@longdistanceworklife Want us to answer one of your questions? Contact Us!
In an era where the pursuit of equity has yet to be achieved, it is glaringly evident that individuals who hold minoritized identities continue to be significantly underrepresented in the C-Suite. Drawing upon her own experience in Senior leadership in the tech industry, Angel G. Henry has made it her mission to transform corporate environments into inclusive spaces that value and amplify every voice – at all levels of the organization. On this episode of The Workplace Communication Podcast, Angel explains how the Agile Mindset Framework can be applied to the realm of diversity, equity, and inclusion. With its emphasis on transparency, prioritization, action, and reflection, this framework has the potential to revolutionize leadership practices, converting complex DEI challenges into tangible, immediate gains. Join us as we explore the transformative potential of an Agile mindset in reshaping the corporate environment into a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive space. Leadership tips you won't want to miss:
In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Angel Henry about what companies can do to disrupt non-inclusive and discriminatory workspaces. Angel Henry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/theagileenthusiast/) is the author of Dents in the Ceiling: Tools Women and Allies Need to Breakthrough, which provides a first-hand account of 30+ women of color working in tech and Corporate America experiences navigating sexism, racism, bullying, forging allies, and rebounding resiliently throughout their careers. She is also the Senior Director of the Transformation Value Management Office and DEI Vice-Chair at Genesys, a software company that sells customer experience and call center technology to 10K+ businesses in 100+ countries, orchestrating 70B+ remarkable customer experiences annually. Their clients include big brands like Microsoft, PayPal, Lenovo, Vodafone, and Singapore Airlines. Angel has 20+ years of IT experience, primarily in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, and 15+ years in the project management discipline. She is also recognized as a thought leader on the topic of the Agile Mindset, which fosters an environment of innovation, productivity, and inclusion. Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 627454) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Each HCI Podcast episode (Program ID: 24-DP529) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCPHR recertification through SHRM, as part of the knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™). Human Capital Innovations has been pre-approved by the ATD Certification Institute to offer educational programs that can be used towards initial eligibility and recertification of the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) credentials. Each HCI Podcast episode qualifies for a maximum of 0.50 points.
Angel G. Henry is the President of AngelSpeaking, Inc., an Agile Mindset Trainer, an IT Adjunct Instructor, and an author. With over 20 years of IT experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, she is a recognized thought leader in project management and fostering inclusive environments through the Agile Mindset. Angel's upcoming SHRM and HRCI-accredited webinar: Solving The Talent Retention Challenge: Leveraging an Agile Mindset for Employee Engagement Link to registration: https://solvingtalentretention.eventbrite.com Code for an ADDITIONAL 25% off discount for your listeners: AGILE2023 Guest: Angel Henry: Founder & President @ AngelsSpeaking linkedin.com/in/theagileenthusiast Hosts: Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org. Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels. Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/ Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy this podcast please consider leaving a review as it helps us reach more listeners. © MMXX TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.
In this captivating episode, host Gunesh Patil sits down with Lisa Crispin, a renowned author and influential figure in Agile testing, for an exploration of her remarkable journey in software testing, and a deep dive into the ever-evolving world of Agile methodologies. The podcast begins with a trip down memory lane as Lisa recounts her early days in customer support during the 1980s. She shares vivid anecdotes of dealing with irate customers on the other end of the line, takes us back to a time when software was deployed via tapes, and she sent fixes via mail. The technology landscape of the era, including Wang OS, DB2, SQL, PCs, Xerox Star, Apple Lisa, and Next, provides a colorful backdrop to her journey. As the conversation shifts gears, Lisa offers insights into the evolution of Agile methodologies, reflecting on Agile then and now. She shares experiences from the world of Extreme Programming and notes how, contrary to popular belief, customers didn't always crave frequent changes. Lisa unveils what she considers the secret ingredient of Agile: releasing small, frequent chunks of software. She suggests that the fifth Agile value should be "Joy." The discussion touches on the magic of Agile Testing Mindset and the pursuit of joy within teams. Listeners gain valuable insights into biases, including confirmation bias, and how these biases can affect teams and lead to catastrophic results. Lisa underscores the importance of diverse teams in covering all bases and minimizing biases. Prepare to be inspired and enlightened as Lisa Crispin shares her incredible journey and offers valuable wisdom on Agile methodologies, testing mindset, biases, and decision-making in this thought-provoking episode. Whether you're a seasoned professional or an aspiring tester, this conversation promises to broaden your horizons and spark your curiosity. This episode is sponsored By ShiftSync, a Tricentis Community. It is a community for anyone interested in all aspects of quality engineering, from left to right across the software development spectrum. Join here https://bit.ly/LT-SS-Reg-Podcast ➥ Telegram Channel Follow on: Apple | Google | Amazon | Spotify | Gaana | JioSaavn
Toby Rao: The Critical Impact of Effective Stakeholder Engagement in Agile Projects Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Toby shares his experience of working with a team in this transition. Toby emphasized the importance of addressing the initial challenges, including stakeholder engagement and logistics. He highlights the need to overcome mindset barriers within the organization. Key takeaways from this conversation include: the importance of seeking to understand before being understood, helping others grasp the team's needs, involving leads and stakeholders from other teams to identify blockers, and being open to negotiation for the team's success. Ultimately, creating shared understanding and transparency led to successful collaboration. In this episode, we refer to the Tuckman Stages Of Group Development. [IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company. About Toby Rao Toby is an ICF-credentialed Coach and accredited IC Agile trainer, and practices as a certified Executive coach. With a dynamic Agile journey beginning in 2007, he's an active contributor to the global Agile community. He is based in Washington DC Metro, and speaks at Agile events worldwide and co-founded the A20 Agile conference. Toby also co-founded two thriving Agile meetups in the Washington DC area, with a combined 1300 members. You can link with Toby Rao on LinkedIn and connect with Toby Rao on Twitter.
Agile Scrum is a lightweight framework that promises to significantly improve internal audits by creating a mindset that generates stakeholder value through adaptive solutions for complex auditing problems. This mindset is needed as organizations face unprecedented changes and pressures in today's business landscape. Internal audits must keep leaders informed and aware of potential risks. Such a mindset addresses some of the often-experienced auditing challenges such as a lack of senior management support, insufficient audit preparation time, difficult auditees and lack of time needed to write audit results. Featuring special guest Thomas Bell and hosted by ISACA's Robin Lyons.
Rohit Ratan Mani: Breaking Free from the Command & Control Mindset, and Embracing Agile Mindset as a Scrum Master Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Rohit shares his journey from a project management mindset and a need for control to a Scrum Master mindset. As he learned more about being a Scrum Master, he realized he was a bottleneck for the team's progress. Going on leave highlighted the team's dependence on him, and he felt frustrated. This experience led him to embrace the art of letting go and find new ways for the team to work independently. He emphasizes the importance of doing things differently to foster a mindset change. We discuss the conflict between control and empowerment, with the key takeaway being the significance of awareness and a willingness to change. [IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company. About Rohit Ratan Mani Rohit is an Enterprise Agile Coach, helping Leaders, individuals and teams to develop a growth mindset to be top achievers in their respective work area and in personal life. You can link with Rohit Ratan Mani on LinkedIn and connect with Rohit Ratan Mani on Twitter.
In this episode of The Agile Coach, host Vivek is joined back again by Adam Miner, an experienced Agile Coach with a background as a Scrum Master. He has worked in various roles in the Agile space, including coaching and mentoring teams in Agile practices. Adam has a deep understanding of the Agile mindset and values and is skilled in facilitating change and driving organizational agility.Adam shares his experience transitioning from a Scrum Master role to an Agile Coach role. He emphasizes the importance of developing the skill of influencing people through organic trust and respect. Adam believes that the ability to influence is crucial for both Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches. He also highlights the value of understanding the Agile mindset and principles, rather than focusing solely on specific frameworks or certifications. Adam discusses the challenges of working with leadership and management teams, particularly in overcoming resistance to change. He emphasizes the need for Agile Coaches to balance their knowledge of Agile practices with strong interpersonal and leadership skills. Adam encourages new Agilists to be opportunistic and step out of their comfort zones to gain experience. He also advises seeking guidance from experienced professionals in the desired role.HIGHLIGHT QUOTES"The most effective skill in an Agile environment is the ability to influence people through organic trust and respect.""If you understand the mindset of agility and take the values and principles to heart, you can apply them to any process or situation.""It's difficult to convince leadership that changing the way they think is necessary to achieve different results.""The best coaches have a delicate balance of training and coaching, combining Agile knowledge with strong interpersonal skills.""The goal for any coach should be to scale Agile leadership and create self-organizing teams."Get to know Adam and what he's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-miner-77793129/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/
Chuck Durfee: Clash of Perspectives, Managing Differences between Startup and Established Company Mindsets in an Agile Team Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Chuck discusses a team he led for a mission-critical software project with structural challenges. The arrival of a new developer from a startup background, while the rest of the team had experience in larger companies, created friction. Misunderstandings arose when the new developer pushed the message "move fast, break things," leading to frustration as the team, and the company were not ready to hear and act on that message. Chuck sought help from his manager, who asked questions to understand the situation. Lessons learned included the importance of setting clear expectations, focusing on people problems, fostering relationships with product managers, and ensuring regulatory clarity. Effective communication and problem-solving within the team were highlighted as crucial elements for success. Featured Book of the Week: "The Coaching Habit" by Bungay Stanier In this segment, Chuck recommends the book "The Coaching Habit" by Bungay Stanier, which focuses on the power of asking questions. Chuck highlights that he found seven specific questions from the book to be highly effective in his role. One of these questions is the strategy question: "If I say YES to this, what do I need to say NO to?" This question helps in making thoughtful decisions by considering trade-offs. Chuck also advises staying curious a little bit longer, emphasizing the value of maintaining a curious mindset during coaching conversations. [IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM's that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome! About Charles “Chuck” Durfee Chuck Durfee is an Engineering Manager in the Denver area. He leads teams to deliver quality software on-time and within budget. With expertise as a Scrum Master and Agile Coach, he uses relationships, teamwork, and a pragmatic approach to solve complex business problems. In this episode, we explore his perspective as an engineering leader, and learn what makes a great Scrum Master from the perspective of the leaders they work with. You can link with Charles “Chuck” Durfee on LinkedIn and connect with Charles “Chuck” Durfee on Twitter.
Agile methodologies have been used in software development for years. But how can we bring the same concepts of Agile software development to all aspects of government management? Joseph Mitchell, Director of Strategic Initiatives & International Programs at the National Academy of Public Administration and Ed DeSeve, Executive Visiting Fellow at the IBM Center for the Business of Government, Coordinator for the Agile Government Center (and Senior Advisor at GovNavigators!) join the program to talk about the work they help lead at the Agile Government Center trying to answer that very question. Show Notes:GSA Instructional Letter on AIGSA IT Modernization Centers of Excellence: AI Guide for GovernmentGSA Announces News TMF New Targeted Investments
Agile World 1 Minute 1 Question answers audience questions about Agile practice. One of us asks a question about an Agile topic and the other has 1 minute on the timer to answer the question in a meaningful way. It's fast and fabulous! Today's question: What is an Agile Mindset? Co Hosts Minaxi Punjabi is a multifaceted, professional services leader with 16+ years of experience. She has led Agile Teams at several US Federal Agencies, established and nurtured Agile communities of practice and Agile Center of Excellence for Organizations resulting in delivering impactful outcomes consistently. She is a co-creative-leader and community builder. She is currently serving Agile 2022 on the Enriching Organizations Track amongst her many other volunteering commitments.As a lifelong learner of the disciplines of neuroscience and anthropology she uses her coaching competencies to bring about a strong collaboration within team members of diverse strengths to collectively deliver value incrementally. Her way of working is going to the Gemba before making any presumptions and recommendations for change. This has resulted in her successfully implementing change for adoption and use, impacting and improving metrics across the board for the business, people, processes, and technology involved.She practices empowering individuals to self-organize into teams via facilitating and coaching. She has created spaces of trust for conflict resolution, open dialog and discussions leading to healthy collaborations and alignment of values. Cynthia Kahn wouldn't it be awesome if we could take the essence of the agile practices we apply to software development and change our approach to business and life in general? Cynthia Kahn knows it's possible. For over 20 years, she's been helping software companies apply agile concepts to set goals, create action plans, and achieve the results they want. Now, she applies the same agile techniques as she coaches businesses on how to focus on what's important, reduce overwhelm, and remain competitive.In 2016, Cynthia co-founded GSD Mindset, an agile consultancy. GSD stands for Get Stuff Done She helps businesses clarify their objectives, then plan and build products customers love. Cynthia also co-authored the GSD Scrum Handbook and created the popular Scrum in 1 Day workshop. Big Thank You to Sabrina C E Bruce Karl A L Smith Agile World ® News and Broadcast Network © 2023 California, USA --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/agile-world/message
This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Misi Eyetsemitan to address the topic of Portfolio Management in an Agile ecosystem. In this episode, they discuss Agile Portfolio Management as a dynamic approach that enables organizations to effectively manage and prioritize their projects, initiatives, and investments. Dan and Misi explore how Agile Portfolio Management embraces flexibility, adaptability, and continuous learning. This transformative approach empowers teams to respond quickly to changing market demands, seize opportunities, and deliver value incrementally. In this rapidly evolving business landscape, Agile Portfolio Management is a vital framework for organizations seeking to navigate complexity, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable success; listen to today's episode and learn more about its implementation, benefits, factors, components, and even its challenges. Key Takeaways Challenges when implementing an Agile Portfolio Management: Trying to do too much can be an obstacle. Scaling can be complex when an organization is transforming to Agility. Mindset changes are needed! Context switching can be painful. In the hands of the customer, everything cannot represent the same value. Shifting from a project mindset to a product mindset. Shift to a customer-centered practice; this is a paradigm shift. Ask: What kind of product does our customer want? What does this product mean to the customer? Agile Portfolio Management is a Team Sport; it pertains to all the organization. Agile Portfolio Management is a good platform for business Agility. Organizations can deliver great value in the customers' hands as a result of working with Agile Portfolio Management. There is continuous planning since there is a constant evaluation of the ongoing process. It is very useful to leverage insights from the market, the customer, and those executing the development. Factors that need to be considered when making decisions in terms of what is most valuable: Cost of delay. Value in the hand of the customer. What needs to be prioritized? What are our: Must haves, Could Haves, and Should haves? What are the components of Portfolio Management? Trust must exist not only for leaders but for those who execute. There needs to be a system alignment in respect of what the priorities are. Consistent communication and partnership, everyone needs to understand the “whys.” How to get started in Portfolio Management: It can be a challenge to hoard money at the beginning to realize later that it needs to be spent or there won't be the same amount the following year. To successfully implement an Agile Portfolio Management there needs to be transparency and trust. Decentralization of decision-making, especially at the local level. Teams need to be able to scale the Agile Mindset across the organization. Implementing customer-centric strategies all across the organization. Mentioned in this Episode: Agile Portfolio Management, by Jochen Krebs Want to Learn More or Get in Touch? Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com! Email your thoughts or suggestions to Podcast@AgileThought.com or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!
What Is The Agile Mindset? - Is it Culture? An Iterative Mindset. Create value in small, iterative steps allowing for early and frequent feedback on each piece of work, which helps eliminate waste and build better products faster. Be data-driven, evidence-based and use that data to decide what to do more of and what to do next. A Product Culture. Form long-lasting, durable, product teams that reflect the company's focus, vision, and purpose. Have a top-down vision that influences the teams' roadmaps and day-to-day work. Prioritize diligently. Build and support only so many products and services, and do them well. A Customer-Centric Mindset. Include the big picture, product vision and an appreciation for WHY it matters to users before doing anything. Don't guess what customers want, be customer-driven and empirical about it. A Culture of Learning. Team members share knowledge, make learning a priority, and invest in communities that grow people and skills that benefit the company. All failures are opportunities to learn something. A Culture of Experimentation. A Design Thinking mindset is utilized from idea formation through delivery. Instead of requirements, think hypotheses. What's the smallest thing we can do to learn something? A Culture of Continuous Improvement. Teams are empowered to change and improve their own process. Self-reflection, transparency, courage, and respect lead to sustainable value delivery and better results. A Culture of Psychological Safety. People will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with any ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes. This breeds greater innovation, inclusive collaboration and a greater flow of ideas that can impact our products, people, and company. These seven mindsets and cultures are the most important things a company and its employees should embody in order to be agile. The agile mindset is the combination of all these concepts and they represent the key tenets of the new ways of working. https://medium.com/practical-agilist/what-is-the-agile-mindset-3c320fc955d7 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/
On this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, hosts Sarah and Rachel sit down with Diana Frost, Chief Growth Officer at Kraft Heinz to discuss agile leadership, the importance of learning from failures, and the company's growth strategies. Diana shares how her commitment to an agile mindset and a "village" approach to team dynamics have shaped the culture at Kraft Heinz. By embracing failures as learning opportunities, the company has not just managed to stay current, but also continues to infuse their core values into their everyday operations. Diana gives an insider's look into Kraft Heinz's strategic partnership with Microsoft and the company's $2 billion investment in innovation over the next five years. She highlights how striking a balance between speed, scrappiness, and scalability is key to their "agile at scale" approach. Furthermore, she discusses the integration of AI technology in their operational efficiency, drawing attention to the delicate interplay between human intuition and data-driven decisions. Diana emphasizes the importance of the human touch even with new technological advancement, believing that humanity is still integral to driving creativity and innovation. Key Takeaways:● Agile leadership, characterized by fast learning and growth from failures, leads to a more resilient and innovative company culture● A "village mindset" in team dynamics fosters support, collaboration, and enhanced problem-solving● Striking a balance between agility, scalability, and human intuition is essential to successfully leveraging technology for growth and efficiency Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you are familiar with Scrum.org, you may associate the organization with Professional Scrum and/or Professional Scrum Training Courses and Certifications. Behind those hands-on training courses are highly qualified Professional Scrum Trainers (PSTs), who go through a rigorous process to take their real world Scrum experience and create value for Scrum.org students. In several episodes of the Scrum.org Community Podcast, our host and Scrum.org CEO Dave West interviews Professional Scrum Trainers about their experiences that led to their becoming a PST and exploring what Professional Scrum means to them. In this episode, Dave interviews PST Jay Rahman about his experiences that led him to where he is today.
Eric Ng, Senior VP of Marketing at Two Chairs, has an agile mindset which has enabled him to keep adapting to the significant changes brought about by technology developments in the marketing discipline—including many new channels, formats, and granular measurement tools. Eric shares insights about screening for a flexible mindset when building teams, and how trust, empowerment, and co-creation are key for nurturing growth. Eric explains how his flexible attitude has allowed him to adapt to new hybrid/remote working arrangements. KEY TAKEAWAYS [02:58] Seeing the Apple 1984 commercial in grade school, Eric knew he wanted to do marketing. [03:30] At college, Eric co-founds Student.com with friends which goes well, he learns a lot when his second start-up fails completely. [05:01] Eric joins Apple's advertising agency Chiat/Day which was a dream job for him. [06:27] Marketing is about resource allocation or figuring out how to make (increasingly informed) bets. [07:24] Flexibility is essential in an ever-changing industry—mixing testing and iterating with renewed use of broad-based ideas to drive fame. [10:02] Eric reflects on his experience building teams, and how screening for mindset is paramount. [11:27] Eric's methodology to consolidate his team's learning is that they must teach others in turn. [13:02] Working for a mission-oriented organization makes motivation, branding and recruiting easier. [15:30] Two Chairs offers a diverse group of therapists to serve market requirements as people's needs and relationship with therapy evolve. [16:37] If connection with your therapist—the therapeutic alliance—is the best predictor of success, having a diverse therapist offering increases potential matches and outcomes. [19:02] The pandemic reduced mental health-related stigma along with willingness to be vulnerable. [20:12] Eric never worked remotely prior to the pandemic, but his perspective has shifted significantly. [21:05] Rethinking many aspects of work in hybrid situations, including how to recognize people's successes. [22:18] The dial tone, a remote version of the high-five! [24:24] Meetings are important, they just need to be well thought out. [26:09] Shifting your mindset to manage distributed teams starting with trust and empowerment. [27:20] Empathy is essential to understand who each person is, what they are doing, what their needs are. [29:00] Cultivating trust requires a safe space, time to adjust, and guardrails to avoid the worst. [30:24] People do best when they can discover on their own and co-create. [32:30] Eric sees potential of simplification in the future, especially in healthcare which can be overcomplicated and confusing. [35:00] Eric asks Sophie what excites her—understanding better how we each work, how we can come together effectively as a team, and what we learned by about what we are capable of under pressure. [36:55] Technological and societal changes are bringing additional layers of diversity we can address in different ways. [40:16] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: If adapting with an agile mindset becomes overwhelming, take one small step that you haven't taken before and explore the new experience. RESOURCES Eric Ng on LinkedIn Two Chairs website QUOTES (edited) “I think that's one of the things when you're growing where everything seems to be going well if you don't hit a roadblock, you don't grow.” “I'm hoping that the team members who are learning are also going to teach others. It gives them that opportunity to solidify the things that they're thinking about and really learn. There's nothing like teaching something in order to learn it!” “That connection with your therapist — this idea of a therapeutic alliance — is perhaps the best predictor of having successful outcomes for mental health. So if you match really well, you end up having a great outcome. I'm obviously interested in user experience as a marketer, but in this case, the actual outcomes for a patient or a client really, really matter.”
AngelsSpeaking, Inc. is a consortium of executive coaches, consultants, and trainers that leverage the Agile Mindset Framework to deliver services to organizations seeking to start or advance their inclusion journey. In this episode, Adam Torres and Angel Henry, President of AngelsSpeaking, Inc., explore the AngelsSpeaking, Inc. journey and how it's helping organizations "move the needle" to become more inclusive. Follow Adam on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/askadamtorres/ for up to date information on book releases and tour schedule.Apply to be a guest on our podcast:https://missionmatters.lpages.co/podcastguest/Visit our website:https://missionmatters.com/More FREE content from Mission Matters here: https://linktr.ee/missionmattersmedia
Now in his fourth year as president of Western New England University in Western Massachusetts, Dr. Robert E. Johnson brings to the role unusually wide-ranging leadership experience and an infectious entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. During our conversation, President Johnson shares his vision for 'A New Traditional University,' as well as his thoughts about what colleges need to do to remain relevant and financially viable in the years ahead. He is particularly passionate about the value of an agile mindset. According to Johnson, "While the traditional organizational structure starts with the 'how are we going to do this' and then backs into the 'what', the agile organization starts with the 'what;' and when one starts with the 'what' the possibilities are only limited by our imaginations," says Johnson. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chelip/message
This week, Dan Neumann is joined by ChatGPT, a large language model developed by open AI. An AI language model, I'm designed to understand natural language and generate human-like responses to questions and prompts, trained on a vast amount of text data, and have knowledge of a wide range of topics including software development project management and Agile methodology. ChatGPT shares his expertise and insights with Agile Coaches' Corner listeners in this episode. Key Takeaways ● ChatGPT shares what is most valuable for an Agile practitioner. ○ The most valuable thing for an agile practitioner is to embrace the agile mindset, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration, continuous Improvement, and flexibility. ○ Understanding Scrum and Kanban is crucial for Agile practitioners. ○ Ongoing learning is essential for Agile practitioners to stay current on techniques. ● Why can it be difficult for people to adopt an Agile mindset? ○ The agile mindset requires individuals to be open to change and embrace a culture of continuous improvement this means being willing to experiment, take risks and learn from failure. ○ Individuals are required to communicate effectively with others and be willing to share knowledge and expertise; for people who are used to working independently or in silence, this can be a challenging adjustment. ○ It requires focusing on bringing value to the customer/end-user and pivoting quickly in response to changes in requirements. ○ Adopting an Agile Mindset requires self-awareness and a willingness to be open to feedback and critique. ● The fixed mindset trap happens when individuals and organizations focus on what has worked in the past and show resistance to change. ○ To overcome this, people must be ready to look for new ways of thinking and working, willing to take risks, and learn from failure. ● Does science back up the growth mindset? ○ Some argue that the growth mindset concept oversimplifies the complex factors contributing to success. The emphasis on individual effort and motivation may overlook the role of systemic factors, such as social inequality and structural barriers. ○ Despite criticisms, many practitioners and organizations find value in the growth mindset concept as a way to promote learning collaboration and a focus on continuous improvement. ● How can leaders start to embrace the uncertainty that goes into important moments like budgeting, release cycles, and communication? ○ It is essential for leaders to recognize that uncertainty is a natural part of any complex project. ○ Rigid expectations can be counterproductive. ○ Leaders can shift the focus from fixing deliveries to outcomes. ○ A Leader can create a culture of psychological safety and experimentation where Teams can feel confident in taking risks. ● Why does ChatGPT name Scrum as a methodology? ○ Scrum is indeed a framework rather than a methodology. ● Can a Chatbot take the work of humans? ○ ChatGPT cannot fully replace a human since it doesn't have human experience, empathy, and intuition that a human coach has. ○ Agile requires knowledge of human behavior, group dynamics, and organizational culture. ● Agile is a mindset and a way of thinking about work, it is about embracing uncertainty, continuously learning and improving, and collaborating with others to deliver value to customers. Want to Learn More or Get in Touch? Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com! Email your thoughts or suggestions to Podcast@AgileThought.com or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!
What is a mindset? How is it different to an agile mindset? How is it different from a growth mindset? What needs to shift to build an agile mindset? Which do people find the most challenging? Can you shift your mindset? How does this happen? What gets in the way? How might you recruit someone with an agile mindset? Lena Ross is the co-founder of the Agile Change Institute, author of essential change management texts and a Tudor enthusiast. She joins Tash this episode for a great chat about all things mindset, our favourite retros and when to delay a response. Lena recommends: Becoming Elizabeth The Tudors The Other Boleyn Girl The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory Brain Hacks by Lara Honos-Webb Get More Lena and Agile Mindset at: Agile Change Leadership Institute website https://aclinstitute.com/ The Agile Mindset Microlearning Credential https://aclinstitute.teachable.com/p/the-agile-mindset The Agile Mindset Scorecard (Self Assessment) Quiz https://agilemindset.scoreapp.com/ Lena's online store for eBook/Playbook Where Design Thinking Meets Change Management https://lena-ross.myshopify.com/products/design-thinking-meets-change-management
Agile World 1 Minute 1 Question (1M1Q) answers audience questions about Agile practice. One of us asks a question about an Agile topic and the other has 1 minute on the timer to answer the question in a meaningful way. It's fast and fabulous! Today's question: What is the Agile Mindset for Managers?? Co Hosts Minaxi Punjabi is a multifaceted, professional services leader with 16+ years of experience. She has led Agile Teams at several US Federal Agencies, established and nurtured Agile communities of practice and Agile Center of Excellence for Organizations resulting in delivering impactful outcomes consistently. She is a co-creative-leader and community builder. She is currently serving Agile 2022 on the Enriching Organizations Track amongst her many other volunteering commitments.As a lifelong learner of the disciplines of neuroscience and anthropology she uses her coaching competencies to bring about a strong collaboration within team members of diverse strengths to collectively deliver value incrementally. Her way of working is going to the Gemba before making any presumptions and recommendations for change. This has resulted in her successfully implementing change for adoption and use, impacting and improving metrics across the board for the business, people, processes, and technology involved.She practices empowering individuals to self-organize into teams via facilitating and coaching. She has created spaces of trust for conflict resolution, open dialog and discussions leading to healthy collaborations and alignment of values. Cynthia Kahn wouldn't it be awesome if we could take the essence of the agile practices we apply to software development and change our approach to business and life in general? Cynthia Kahn knows it's possible. For over 20 years, she's been helping software companies apply agile concepts to set goals, create action plans, and achieve the results they want. Now, she applies the same agile techniques as she coaches businesses on how to focus on what's important, reduce overwhelm, and remain competitive.In 2016, Cynthia co-founded GSD Mindset, an agile consultancy. GSD stands for Get Stuff Done She helps businesses clarify their objectives, then plan and build products customers love. Cynthia also co-authored the GSD Scrum Handbook and created the popular Scrum in 1 Day workshop. Big Thank You to Sabrina C E Bruce Karl A L Smith Agile World ® News and Broadcast Network © 2023 California, USA | Music by Bensound.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/agile-world/message
We explore the role of an Agile Coach with Dimple Shah, who takes us through a day-in-the-life and explains necessary skills for success. The post Coaching the Agile Mindset appeared first on InterVision Systems.
One of our subscribers asked us to review an article by Amith Lokugamage called What Makes an Agile Mindset Different. He did a great job on the posting and covered many important topics. Here is what stood out MOST to me: Create an agile mindset: Be willing to try something new and bet on the ideas that you believe in. Embrace continuous improvement: Innovation is all about improving, so it's essential to continually improve and develop new products or services. Value innovation and have a culture of creativity: This will encourage your team members to come up with creative ideas, which might not work out or even be rejected, but it will push them to try often, which is essential for innovation. https://medium.com/@amithl86/what-makes-an-agile-mindset-different-5175081b41e0
New Coaching Program Designed to help build multiple Learning and Growing Pathways for Coachees. Reserve a Free 30 minute Session to discuss opportunities and your Goals. Goal: To learn, practice and gain experience in the Agile Mindset via one-on-one coaching, sharing thoughts, challenges, commitments, practicing and reviewing concepts presented by other coachees in our Agile Community. We want to maximize the experience and opportunities to the greatest extent Reserve a 30 minute meeting session today to learn more https://5ammesterscrum.com/5ammesterscrum-coaching-program/
เรียนรู้ชีวิตของพ่อมดการเงิน George Soros #8
Every organization, everywhere is trying to achieve Operational Excellence, whether they have the vocabulary for it or not. Operational Excellence is delivering exactly what your customers need (effectiveness), with a minimum of byproduct (efficiency). The Agile Mindset helps organizations achieve the first goal. The Stable Mindset helps organizations achieve the second goal. Agile is about close customer feedback, short feedback loops, prioritizing value, and planning at multiple levels to support quick changes where necessary. Stable is about removing human failure from the execution process. A typical IT organization wastes about 35% of its work efforts redoing work that wasn't done correctly the first time. Some groups report 50%, or as much as 80% of their efforts are attributed to this “Hidden Factory.” When expressed as a dollar amount, the effects are alarming. The Stable Framework™ was designed to combat this problem. It's a combination of the latest Agile and Lean techniques and provides a simple, but robust Quality Management System “in a box.” Heavy emphasis is placed on customer and supplier relationships, and Kaizen-based continuous improvement. Altogether, these tools provide organizations with the transparency and conscientiousness needed to execute the right steps, the right way, every time. . Stable can be used to compliment a Scrum development team, or it can be implemented as a complete substitute for Scrum. In addition to Development, Stable is applicable in Operations, Implementation, DevOps, and any other work containing repeatable process steps. The Stable Framework™ is comprised of one Process Asset Library, two roles, three domains, four core meetings within a repeating time-box, and five quality principles. Taken together, they form a tool-set enabling IT groups to perform six process improvement fundamentals.
Looking at the back issue of our catalog from May 29, 2020 our Interview No. 3 with Senior Scrum Master Coach Krishna Ajjampur on 5amMesterScrum. We never made a podcast version of it until today. 3rd in a new series of Interviews with Agile people like you and me across the globe. Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Business Analysts, Managers, Business Owners etc... Today's interview is with Senior Scrum Master Coach Krishna Ajjampur from Bengaluru, India. He is what I might call a builder of Agile Mindset. Please send me feedback and if you would like to be a part of this experiment please let me know. I'm kind of wondering it this might be helpful for those who are in between jobs and also help our scrum world through sharing ideas and concepts. Please like and subscribe and share 5amMesterScrum. Please send me your topics. You are are doing Great Please Keep on Sharing. 5am Mester Scrum Happy Scrumming, 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) Reach out to Krishna Ajjampur's LinkedIn profile if you are looking for #5amMesterScrum #agile #scrum #scrummaster #interview #PSM #Bengaluru #india #agilecoach #coach
This week, Dan Neumann welcomes his colleague Michael Guiler to today's episode. In this episode, they will be answering questions regarding several Agile topics, such as leadership, effective communication, Team readiness, best practices, motivation, and transparency, among others. Join this fun and insightful conversation with Dan and Mike! Key Takeaways What is a good-to-go technique to help leadership transition from being tactical to being more servant leaders? Enable people who are closer to the work to make decisions in their field. Ask questions instead of giving directions. Rewire the communication path to be more practical and direct rather than following a hierarchy where there are chances of getting “lost in translation.” What does a Team that is ready look like? A Team that is ready is open to a conversation, they have an Agile Mindset where they know they need help, and they are open to discussing it. An Agile Mindset is keeping the curiosity high at all times and the readiness to run an experiment. What are best practices for? Best practices are just resources but certainly not “the way” of doing things correctly. Best practices are ways that have been used successfully in the past, and when used again they are not assuring their efficacy; a Team needs to test them to see if they apply to that particular situation. What does it take to help leadership transitioning to the model of motivation that Daniel H. Pink proposes in his book Drive? Daniel H. Pink proposes three pillars for motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. He also addresses the distractions to motivation that organizations can fall into. Know your purpose at all times. Is there such a thing as “too much transparency”? There is no such thing as too much transparency; be open, get to know the people, share, and then you can moderate. Make sure that you are sharing information with people who can handle it. Mentioned in this Episode: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink Want to Learn More or Get in Touch? Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com! Email your thoughts or suggestions to Podcast@AgileThought.com or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!
#5amMesterScrum Show 823 Live - Need Lots of Fields to track data, Waterfall v Agile Mindset & Graffiti you code - Today's topics: (1) Trigger warning when the waterfall mindset kicks in when build an agile team in Jira or Azure Devops or other programs. Warning when they say they need "lots of tracking fields" and (2) Graffiti you Code as a Team 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 Show 823 went live on Youtube Monday 6/13/2022 from Philadelphia, PA Happy Scrumming, 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) #5amMesterScrum #agile #scrum #coaching #philadelphia #philly #data #jira #azuredevops #teambuilding
The post Embracing the Agile Mindset appeared first on InterVision.
On today's episode, Marcy Pawlak, Cisco's Head of CX Cloud Programs & Transformation joins the show to talk about what having an agile mindset means and how that methodology needs to be used in the tech industry to continue innovation. She also tells us why a horse trainer decided to get into tech and find a career where she could always be learning.
A common misconception is that agile is a process, but it's not; it's a way of thinking. You're not just repeating steps, you're continuously inspecting and adapting and looking for ways to create a better team and a better product. In today's podcast, we sit down with director of product management, Alex Courtney, and discuss topics such as how to teach kanban, what makes a good agile candidate and solving the problems of a team. Our Speaker: Alex Courtney Alex received his bachelor's in business administration and management from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and his MBA from the University of Central Missouri. Since graduation, Alex has worked in many agile roles including those of a product manager, scrum master, and agile coach. He is currently working as the Director of Digital Product for BJC HealthCare. We are proud to introduce Alex Courtney.
This week I explore agility and how it opens pathways to getting more done. If you often feel trapped by plans that go off track or unable to shift tactics when it hits the fan, then an agile mindset might set you free! Helpful Links:Access The Energetic Entrepreneur - Free mini workshop here. Join The Energetic Entrepreneur Facebook Community. Request access here. Head to YouTube to comment on the show and find cool videos here.Download the Easy Peasy Sprint Planner here.Jump to my website to contact me here!Prefer the transcript? Head here.