I’ve been talking with people in various mediums about how their agile approach is working. All these people have similar problems: they are trying to use a specific agile approach. That approach isn’t working for them. They persist because otherwise, they’re not “agile.” They’re stuck on this one possible solution. They boxed themselves in. We […]
How Do We Recognize When We Box Ourselves In? Read More »
I like to be great at everything I do: my client work, my writing, my relationships. You name it, I want to be great at it. When I have the autonomy to learn and master the work, I can be as good or better than I hope. When I don’t have the ability to learn and
How Can You Become Better than You Fear, as Good as You Hope? Read More »
In Massachusetts, we get our cars inspected every year, on the anniversary of the month of the car’s first inspection. I’m lucky enough to have to inspect my car in January. In the cold, muck, wet, snow. You can tell how much I enjoy this. For inspection, timing is everything. Go too early in the
When is the Right Time? Read More »
I was thinking of how I make tradeoffs. In many projects, people often think we need to optimize for time and against quality. It’s a fake tradeoff, because the cleaner the project environment, the faster the team can proceed. If you’re a software person, you know that the time you invest in build automation and
Can You Trade Off for Ease? Read More »
Sometimes, I find it difficult to see the data in front of me. I might think there is no data. I might make meaning of the data—possibly incorrectly. We need to see the data and what that data means. In one of my middle-manager jobs, my new boss canceled our one-on-ones every week. In three
What Does the Data Mean? Read More »
It’s the resolution time of year again. Too many people will make resolutions and not accomplish those resolutions. I also see the same thing in my consulting and teaching practice. Managers don’t finish their work. Team’s don’t finish their work. Writers don’t finish their projects. Here are several common reasons: the work is undefined; the
How Often Do You Finish? Read More »
I want to be remarkable, worthy of attention, in some ways—in my writing, speaking, and consulting. I would prefer to not be remarkable for my physical appearance. Yet, I am. I decided to embrace my remarkability and help people realize I’m not ashamed of using a rollator. It’s what I need to do to stay
What Makes You Remarkable? Read More »
Back in the ’90s, people started to talk about “sustainable pace.” We work to the best of our abilities during the day. We’re done and pleasantly tired at the end of the day. We could maintain this pace for weeks and months at a time. Maybe even years. (The very first agile books and the
What Is Your Sustainable Pace? Read More »
I’ve been traveling a ton in the past couple of months. That means I get to meet all kinds of people—professionals in my field, hospitality people in hotels, taxi drivers, you name them. People often tell me how they feel about their work. Some of the professionals hate their work. So do some of the
How Much Grunt Work Do You Have? Read More »
I’m in Paris at a conference this week. I was a keynote speaker, which is lovely for my ego. One of the participants asked me how long I’d been a consultant. I answered, “24 years.” He gave me that look, the one that says, “Really?” with one eyebrow up so high he almost had no
How Do You Maintain Your Emotional Balance? Read More »