Troubleshooting Agile

Discover how innovation thrives by breaking from tradition as Jeffrey and Squirrel draw inspiration from figures like Henry Ford. They delve into the 'hero license' concept, urging individuals to embrace autonomy and engage in open communication with their teams. The discussion highlights the importance of self-improvement and collaboration, emphasizing that true leadership comes from fostering a culture of continuous learning and inquiry. Listeners are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones to drive meaningful change in their organizations.

Explore the powerful shift from guilt to grief, recognizing that guilt can stifle growth while embracing sadness fosters improvement. Delve into how unrealistic expectations can lead to guilt and how acceptance can nurture emotional well-being. Discover the importance of processing emotions in teams after setbacks, emphasizing empathetic listening. Learn from Pixar's 'Inside Out' how grief can enhance responsibility and productivity in professional settings, paving the way for healthier relationships and better performance.

Explore the art of storytelling as a powerful tool for leadership. Discover how Gemba walks can uncover insights that drive cultural change and operational improvements. Learn how personal experiences can inspire teams and forge a clear vision of the future. Dive into the 'Future Search' methodology for collaborative problem-solving, and get inspired by storytelling masters like Pixar to foster innovation. Empathy in leadership shines through as a key element for inspiring action and resolving conflicts.

Squirrel and Jeffrey tell two stories of leaders who "walked the floor" to see what work was being done, in two very different situations, and how the resulting stories helped transform their teams. SHOW LINKS: - Gemba Walk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba - Container Stacking blog post: https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/an-unexpected-victory-container-stacking-at-the-port-of-los-angeles/ - Container Stacking twitter thread: https://twitter.com/typesfast/status/1451543776992845834 - Secrets of Consulting: http://geraldmweinberg.com/Site/Consulting_Secrets.html --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

The hosts explore the intriguing dilemma of building features for one user versus the broader market. They discuss the risks of narrowing focus and emphasize the importance of balancing individual preferences with collective needs. Incremental delivery and user validation are highlighted as key strategies for reducing risks and validating ideas. The conversation underscores the need to align long-term visions with immediate user feedback, avoiding over-complication in product development.

Ian Ozsvald, a data science expert and co-founder of PyData London, dives into the challenges of aligning data science with product team cadences. He discusses the need to 'de-silo-ify' data science, shares cautionary tales from the insurance industry, and offers solutions for improved collaboration between disciplines. Ian emphasizes the psychological barriers that hinder teamwork and advocates for a cultural shift, highlighting the importance of partnerships between data scientists and software developers to enhance data integrity.

Squirrel and Jeffrey explore their different reasons for recommending that you remove the word "need" from your vocabulary. SHOW LINKS: - “Need” tweet: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/1445683926983340037 - Correct vs useful episode: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/correct-vs-useful --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

A listener asks about conditions where ringfencing might make sense, and we explore the differences among ringfencing, focus, and empowerment. SHOW LINKS: - Listener question: https://twitter.com/DeliverItCast/status/1443304167313915907 - Ringfencing episode: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/the-ringfencing-trap - The Goal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel) --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Jeffrey tells the story of his team writing code that gives incorrect but still useful results, and we reflect on why it can be hard to choose to "pay to learn". SHOW LINKS: - Thinking, Fast and Slow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow - Worse is Better: https://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel helps teams split their work into tiny "slices" they can release daily or weekly, and finds that the biggest obstacle is all the things that developers think they know about users, many of which they have to first unlearn. SHOW LINKS: - Original tweet: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/1435602671306674176 - Falsehoods programmers believe about names: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/ - Elephant carpaccio: https://alistair.cockburn.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Elephant-Carpaccio-exercise-instructions.pdf - Will Rogers: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/11/18/know-trouble/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com