I’ve been thinking about flow… In his first week, Tom, a new manager, realizes the four teams he leads and serves are frantically trying to finish their work. Each team feels too much pressure to have one-on-ones with him, in this, his first week. He first checked the project portfolio. Here’s what he discovered: His […]
If you’re trying to use an agile approach, what do you care about in terms of finishing: That the team finish the work, regardless of the personal or team cost? That you know who did what, so you can reward them? Or that the team completed the work, without undue stress and strain? (also called
Most projects encounter problems at some point, regardless of the size of the team and the people’s capabilities. For example, in a six-person team, TeamA, Tom resigned to follow his wife to her new job. Dick became quite ill and went out on short-term disability for the next three months. And Harry needed significant time
Tim, a C-Level leader, loves his skip-level meetings. He feels the meetings offer him a chance to connect with people he doesn’t normally see. They get to talk about whatever the other person wants. Sharon, a different C-Level leader, never conducts skip-level meetings. She feels that those meetings might cause her managers to feel unsafe,
Stan, a prospective client, had trouble making time for our discovery call. (That’s the call where the client and I discuss the boundaries of a consulting engagement.) After he canceled three scheduled calls, I suspected we would not work together. But then he asked me for an evening conversation, after his day’s “craziness.” (His words,
Is your organization in search of business agility? If so, here’s one pragmatic tip: Reduce WIP (Work in Progress) everywhere. Start with the portfolio of everything you have to do. Ask the Zeroth Question, “Should we do this work at all?” Then, consider these questions, from One Quick Way to Start to Manage Your Project
Brandon, a senior leader, asked, “What is all this hype about agile frameworks and models and practices? Do I really need all that stuff?” I shook my head and grinned. “Nope. Instead, practice this: make change easy, so you can learn from it. That allows you to change again and faster. Especially for management.” “That’s
Sid, a senior leader, wants the benefits of an agile transformation. While he doesn’t care about agility per se, he wants the organization to be more effective. His goals: Open new markets for their products. Gain new customers in those markets. Retain more current customers. He suspects that if the teams release faster, the organization can achieve those
In preparation for a recent consulting engagement, the client, Tim, said, “I want you to track meeting attendance. If people don’t come to your meetings, I want to know why.” Tim was worried about the cultural changes we needed to discuss for the client’s ability to be more effective. Tim had good reasons to worry
Barney, a senior manager, said, “I need everyone to return to the office. I’m okay with what they’re doing, although I miss the buzz of people doing the work. But I don’t know how to build the human connection with them when they’re not here.” I nodded. “You’re always telling me to have empathy with