No Nonsense Agile Leadership

In this episode, we're joined by Nikhil Suresh to explore why AI won't fix a company that lacks the systemic capability to ship software. We dig into corporate automation myths, proof-of-concept dopamine loops, foundational data engineering, the LLM hallucination problem, and why organizational feedback loops matter more than ever. Nikhil shares practical examples of analyzing ambulance records, m...

In this episode, we're joined by Christian Crumlish to explore what it actually looks like to build products with AI in the real world. We dig into AI-assisted product management, coding workflows, multi-agent orchestration, testing, verification, and why human judgment still matters more than ever. Christian shares practical examples of using tools like Claude and Cursor to accelerate learning, p...

In this episode, we're joined by Daniel Turhurst North, a veteran technical leader and consultant with more than 30 years of experience in software delivery, executive leadership, and organizational change. We dig into what effective technical leadership really is, why performance problems are often system problems, and how incentives and structures drive bad behavior.  Daniel gives practical advi...

In this episode, we talk to Sander Hoogendoorn about effective technical leadership. Sander explains how rigid processes and micromanagement damage teams and why empowering small autonomous teams is key to success. He reveals how his teams can operate with minimal hierarchy and process by focusing on technical quality through practices like continuous deployment and collaborative coding. Whether y...

In this episode, we talk to Brian Feister about vibe coding. He shares his experience developing a new product using AI and highlights the importance of thoroughly reviewing everything the AI suggests because it lacks common sense. We discuss the risk of junior developers producing poor-quality code and the severe damage a company could face if it begins firing developers and replacing them with A...

In this episode, we talk to Nick Consentino about AI assisted coding. We examine how AI tools such as Co-pilot and ChatGPT enhance developer productivity and enable rapid prototyping. Nick discusses the benefits and pitfalls of using Ai, emphasizing the need for strong domain knowledge to avoid generating large amounts of unmanageable code. We discuss why AI tools shouldn't be viewed as replacemen...

 In this episode, we talk to Charles Lambdin about creating meaningful change in organizations.  We examine the hidden conflicts that prevent organizations from adopting modern ways of working and uncover how incentives, power and stories influence company dynamics. Charles highlights the importance of understanding organization, politics, and building a coalition to drive real change. Read more f...

 In this episode, we talk to Bryan Finster about Test Driven Development.  We discuss what TDD is and why it's essential for high speed, high quality software engineering. Bryan criticizes independent QA teams and we explore how integrated cross-functional teams provide the rapid feedback you need to develop high quality code.  And we discuss how to use value stream mapping to show your leaders th...

 In this episode, we explore how to escape the outdated factory model of software development. We discuss traditional bureaucratic software development, why it fails, and how Agile was meant to fix it by removing departmental silos and liberating talent,  only for managers to turn it back into siloed development in sprints.  We discuss a successful Agile transformation at a digital agency and use...

In this episode, we talk to Mikkel Zanini about humanocracy. Mikkel emphasizes the limitations of traditional bureaucratic organizations and explains the concept of humanocracy, which focuses on maximizing human potential rather than efficiency and control. We explore the principles of ownership, meritocracy, internal markets, experimentation, community, openness and balance that underpin humanocr...

In this episode, we talk to Rich Mironov about increasing your influence with executives. We discuss organisational politics and explain how power, stories and alliances are crucial in shaping company dynamics. Rich describes the disconnect between business and technical teams and the importance of expressing arguments in the language of money. He also provides strategies for product leaders to su...

In this episode, John Cutler talks about surviving the current tech environment.  We discuss how layoffs and blame destroy trust, create fear and conflict and stop people from providing the feedback that leaders need to make good decisions. We discuss whether our workplaces are a meritocracy or highly charged political environments. And we explore survival strategies such as going with the flow, p...

In this episode, we announce Shane Gibson's departure and introduce Donna Spencer as our new co-host. Donna describes her experience as a product designer and user experience researcher. Shane reflects on what he's learned about agile, product development, and leadership from over a hundred interviews with international experts. Murray discusses the podcast's commitment to delivering deep, pragmat...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Joanna Rothman about agile project management. We critique fake corporate agile and discuss the drawbacks of offshoring your development work. We talk about the importance of continuous feedback, continuous delivery and cross-functional teams and we discuss project charters, budgets, scaling, and the need to focus on outcomes rather than deli...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Jurgen Appelo about the crisis in the agile community. We explore how the agile job market has changed with diminishing roles for agile coaches and scrum masters. And we discuss what people can do now that the agile consulting and training gold rush is over. We talk about the poor quality of agile practices in organizations claiming to have d...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with William Malek about the Haier operating model. Haier, a Chinese appliance giant, transitioned from a failing state-owned enterprise to a highly profitable publicly owned organisation with over 5,700 micro enterprises and $50 billion in revenue. We explain how Haier uses an internal marketplace to allow microenterprises to trade goods and serv...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Steve Spear, author of a High Velocity Edge, Wiring the Winning Organization and Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System.   We discuss how good leaders create a system that makes it easy for people to do quality work when and where it's needed by continually asking, what's the problem and how can I help?   Steve explains how to use a...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Gene Kim, leader of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Conference and author of the Phoenix and Unicorn Projects.   Gene describes how DevOps research shows that excellent socio-technical leadership is critical to team success and failure. He explains how technical leaders can dramatically increase team effectiveness by improving the organi...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Arnold Stroobach about the Buurtzorg organization, which decentralized its management and administration to small cross-functional self-managed teams that deliver in-home medical care. Buurtzorg is the Netherlands largest provider of home care with 16,000 clinical staff in more than 1500 local self-managing teams supported by only 50 admin pe...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Chris Jones from the Silicon Valley Product Group about the product operating model, emphasising the importance of cross-functional agile product teams. He shares insights on transitioning to a product model. The value of rapid experimentation, product leadership and common pitfalls. And he discusses successful examples of product transformat...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Woody Zuill about mob programming. Woody explains the concept of mob programming where a cross-functional software development team focuses on completing one feature at a time. Woody describes how mobbing has increased the effectiveness of development teams he's worked with by 10 times while rapidly increasing team learning, capability and sk...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart about Dojo's. Dojo's are a six week immersive learning experience where teams learn and practice new ways of working on real work with skilled coaches. We discuss the structure and implementation of Dojos, chartering, coaching dynamics, and frequent feedback loops. We emphasize the challenges and anti-patterns that...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss product management with John Cutler, famous for his newsletter The Beautiful Mess. We dive into the purpose of product management as a driver of profitable growth. And we discuss how to use the north star framework to align your organisation around common goals. We examine how to use product roadmaps to communicate and prioritize plans and disc...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss UX research with Dr. Nick Fine. Nick explains what to expect from a UX researcher, how to do user research well, and the challenges that researchers have to overcome to obtain valid results. Whether you're a product manager, designer, or developer this episode is packed with actionable insights, real world examples and expert tips to enhance yo...

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss the Vanguard method with Ibbi Hussain, one of the founding architects of this revolutionary approach to organisation change. Ibi describes how the Vanguard method uses systems thinking, service design, and occupational psychology to make profound improvements to call center performance. Join us as we navigate through the philosophy of change, t...