My family traveled to Minneapolis last weekend for a family function. We drove on several highways where they have metered on-ramps. There’s a sign that says, “One car per green.” Often, there are two lanes at the lights. The lights alternate one car from each lane. It’s a nice way to make sure the highway doesn’t become […]
How Can You Make Way for Others? Read More »
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 »
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 »
We solve many problems over the course of a day, week, month, year. Some problems are difficult because the problem is difficult to solve. Some of my book projects are like that—I have to do some of the work to discover what the work is. And, the discovery is relatively small. The problem is deterministic.
Is This Problem Deterministic or Non-Deterministic? Read More »
I was writing the geographically distributed agile teams book this morning with Mark Kilby. I said, “I have to fight for all my empathy skills. They might come naturally to you, but they don’t for me.” He laughed. Empathy and sympathy are quite different. To me, it’s about the context. Here’s the difference: Empathy is
Are You Fighting to Build Your Empathy Skills? Read More »
We encounter a problem somewhere, at work, at home. We often reflect, to discover the root cause(s). That might be useful, especially if we discover a common cause, something within our system of work (or home) that creates problems. However, if we have a special cause—especially a random event—we don’t need to reflect. We can
Where Do We Go From Here? Read More »
You encounter a setback or a loss. Someone, a well-meaning someone, tells you to “just get over it.” How can you? The quick answer is you don’t. (Well, I don’t.) What we do instead is move through the change model. Let me unpack that well-meaning, albeit wrong, sentence. “Just” is not a useful word to describe any
How Can You “Just Get Over It”? Read More »
One of my problem-solving approaches is to generate options. When I don’t generate enough options, I don’t see how to proceed. Before I knew about the Rule of Three, I, often, took the first option I considered. It was often a pretty good option. I learned later that I had more options—and they were often better
How Can You Create Time or Space for More Options? Read More »
I was thinking about resilience and redundancy a lot this week. We had a big weekend last week (we gained a son-in-law) so this week was a week of what I like to call “preventative maintenance.” We had doctor’s appointments, car appointments, and the tree guys came to cut back some of our trees. I
Where Do You Have Redundancy? Read More »
I see problems—often system problems—everywhere. It’s partly that I trained myself to see problems. Sometimes, I trip over them. (Literally. Ouch.) I like to solve problems, too. That’s what consultants do. Most often, we get paid to solve problems. At times, I like to offer these services for free. I might be inflicting help or
What’s the Difference Between Problem Whining and Problem Solving? Read More »