Do I advocate insubordination? Some of my Modern Management Made Easy technical reviewers wonder. And, when I looked at this definition of insubordination, I had to agree. However, when I read that definition, I don’t see any mutual problem-solving. I also don’t see any mutual purpose or respect. I don’t see how that form of […]
What should managers expect from their agile teams? Should they expect perfect code, or on-time delivery, or cheaper projects? Too many people sell agile as a way to get better, faster, cheaper. The problem is that you can get better code, faster projects, and cheaper results as an outcome of agile across the organization. We
You may think the #MeToo tag doesn’t have anything to do with product development. Not so fast. When people behave badly (more often it’s men than women, but it can be either), the people suffer. When the people suffer, the product suffers. It suffers in development and it suffers in release. The issue is this:
Two development managers were arguing: “I need Tom on my team,” Chase said. “He has the specific knowledge I need. We’re not going to be able to release unless we get Tom on my team.” Pierce retorted, “You can’t have him. He’s working really well with my team. He likes my team. Forget it.” They
Summary: Competition between teams does not improve performance. In fact, the added stress may shift team members’ focus from creating a quality product to self-preservation due to fear of failure. Johanna suggests managers emphasize collaboration between teams over competition. “Jonah and Sarah, this next round I want to initiate a little competition to see whose
“Larry, I need VP approval for this,” said Josh, the director of engineering. Larry looked annoyed. “This is only $30. Why am I signing off on $30?” “Because I have no signature authority on anything. Even though I’m a director, I can’t sign off on any discretionary purchases. I have no capital equipment authorization. I
Summary: A new approach to projects or a new tool is not a quick fix or a silver bullet. Too often, you have ingrained, systemic problems that require a cultural change. That doesn’t mean a new approach or a new tool won’t help. It can. But you also need to adjust the environment that caused
Summary: It is unfortunate that the department attending to employees is called “Human Resources.” That language colors what managers call people in the organization. But the more you call people “resources,” the more they become interchangeable—and more like desks, or infrastructure, or something that is easily negotiable. Resources are not people. People are not resources.
“OK, I’m really glad we can start this management meeting now. It’s time to talk about standardization. I want to create standards for our projects. I want to standardize on agile for all of our projects.” Joseph, the CIO, thought all of his directors would be pleased. “Uh, Joseph, are you telling us you want
One of the familiar tensions in management is how you encourage or discourage people from bringing you problems. One of my clients had a favorite saying, “Don’t bring me problems. Bring me solutions.” I could see the problems that saying caused in the organization. He prevented people from bringing him problems until the problems were