Troubleshooting Agile

An underperforming tech team is missing something, but what? This week on Troubleshooting Agile, Squirrel and Jeffrey share part one of their 3-stage diagnostics for discovering missing conversations Links: - Simon Sinek, Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/ - Toyota Kata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Kata -------------------------------------------------- Order you...

An underperforming tech team is missing something, but what? This week on Troubleshooting Agile, Squirrel and Jeffrey share their diagnostics for discovering missing conversations Links: - Psychological Safety: https://amycedmondson.com/psychological-safety/ -------------------------------------------------- Order your copy of our book, Agile Conversations at agileconversations.com Plus, get acces...

Is your tech team choosing safety by doing everything, or do you dump more than you do? Join us today on Troubleshooting Agile to uncover the more profitable path through "negative space" with Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Previous episode mentioning negative space: https://agileconversations.com/blog/the-two-shirt-solution-for-agile-chaos/ - Where's Wally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where%27s...

Don't let your engineers outsource risk by settling for a list of tasks, instead give them real business-meaningful targets and permission to fail. Join your hosts, Jeffrey and Squirrel on this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to talk OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and getting your team in alignment. -------------------------------------------------- Order your copy of our book, Agile Conversat...

Get a behind-the-scenes look at Open Space in action from CITCON organiser, our own Jeffrey Fredrick. Listen to part three of our three part series to find out how and why you should try anarchic agenda-setting for your next offsite, meeting, or conference. Links: CITCON Berlin: https://citconf.com/berlin2023/ - Open Space: https://citconf.com/openspace.php - Lean Coffee: http://leancoffee.org ---...

Get a behind-the-scenes look at Open Space in action from CITCON organiser, our own Jeffrey Fredrick. Listen to part two of our three part series to find out how and why you should try anarchic agenda-setting for your next offsite, meeting, or conference. Links: - CITCON Berlin: https://citconf.com/berlin2023/ - Open Space: https://citconf.com/openspace.php - Lean Coffee: http://leancoffee.org ---...

Get a behind-the-scenes look at Open Space in action from CITCON organiser, our own Jeffrey Fredrick. Find out how and why you should try anarchic agenda-setting for your next offsite, meeting, or conference, this week on Troubleshooting Agile. Links: - CITCON Berlin: https://citconf.com/berlin2023/ - Open Space: https://citconf.com/openspace.php - Lean Coffee: http://leancoffee.org --------------...

There are over 100 words for feelings, from affectionate to yearning, but it’s likely you only use a few at work, if at all. Join us on Troubleshooting Agile to learn about having empathy for yourself and others, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Conscious Leadership and “The Line”: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/walking-the-line-emotional-unawareness - NVC Feelings & Ne...

Empathetic listening works for intervening with addicts and schizophrenics, why don't you try it in conflicts over product features or customer deadlines? Join us on Troubleshooting Agile to learn how you can incorporate the principles of Motivational Interviewing to improve the outcomes of your conversations, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Motivational Interviewing: https://en.wi...

Computers think in 1s and 0s, but the best tech teams welcome ambiguity and profit from vagueness. Join us on part three of a 3-part series with special guest Juan Pablo Buriticá to learn about his journey of turning heavy machinery auctioneers, Ritche Bro, into a successful tech company, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Juan's article on the capability framework: https://buriti.ca/...

Computers think in 1s and 0s, but the best tech teams welcome ambiguity and profit from vagueness. Join us on part two of a 3-part series with special guest Juan Pablo Buriticá to learn about his journey of turning heavy machinery auctioneers, Ritche Bro, into a successful tech company, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Juan's article on the capability framework: https://buriti.ca/fr...

Computers think in 1s and 0s, but the best tech teams welcome ambiguity and profit from vagueness. Join us on part one of a 3-part series with special guest Juan Pablo Buriticá to learn about his journey of turning heavy machinery auctioneers, Ritche Bros, into a successful tech company, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Juan's article on the capability framework: https://buriti.ca/f...

Convincing a peer can feel like painfully pedalling up a mountain, but a dose of curiosity can take you through the pass and whizzing down the other side. Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to learn more about how to approach your conversations with curiosity - as well as the few occasions when you shouldn’t, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Test-Driven Development for...

Is your tech team always rushing, but never improving? They may have "hurry sickness.” Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to discover if being busy is actually crippling your productivity and what you can do to change it, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Hurry Sickness: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/hurry-sickness - Near Enemy: https://www.theguardian....

Maybe the reason innovation isn't happening is that no one believes you'll really accept failure. But creating some chaos to emphasise risk is OK! Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to discover how you can make innovation and failure part of your company culture, with your hosts, Squirrel and Jeffrey. Links: - Peacetime CEO vs Wartime CEO: https://a16z.com/2011/04/14/peacetime-ceo-war...

Software has become commoditised, but that doesn’t mean there’s a race to the bottom for efficiency. An accessible foundation means what you build on top can be much more ornate. Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to discover why Squirrel and Jeffrey hold firm in their views that software isn’t dead! Links - Squirrel's commoditization tweet: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/...

Commercial and technical debt are twins: when your product is mispriced, your engineering investment is out of whack too. Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to learn how you can build product plans that scale, with special guest Ulrik Lehrskov-Schmidt. Links: - Ulrik’s book The Pricing Roadmap: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pricing-Roadmap-Design-Models-Customers/dp/1544536305/ref=tmm_hrd_...

If you have one product per customer and aren't charging a princely sum, you're not pricing your customers right. Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to find out how you can take lessons in pricing a train ticket and apply them to your SAAS sales, with special guest Ulrik Lehrskov-Schmidt. Links: - Ulrik’s book The Pricing Roadmap: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pricing-Roadmap-Design-Models...

Vague instructions from the Board or CEO are the norm, and in fact mean great opportunity. Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to discover why there's no recipe that gets the right answers to executive problems, with Squirrel & Jeffrey! Links: - The Psychology of being a CEO: https://a16z.com/2011/03/31/whats-the-most-difficult-ceo-skill-managing-your-own-psychology/ - Cynefin: https:/...

You can be your own "devil's advocate" to boost the quality of what you produce. Listen to this episode of Troubleshooting Agile to learn how and why to be self-critical, with Squirrel and Jeffrey! Links: - Devil's Advocate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_advocate - Six Thinking Hats: https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/six-thinking-hats/ -------------------------------------...

Flickr started as an online game, but the company quickly learned that they had much greater value on tap as a photo site, and "unsold" their initial customers instead of sticking to their original idea. By being curious, you can learn what the market really needs, jettison the custom-built "products" that are holding you back, and keep the right customers delighted. Listen for more on the art and...

Are you building a house of cards? On this week’s episode, Squirrel talks about how to test the value of what you’re doing using mark to market - and how not to be Silicon Valley Bank! Listen to find out why you should aim to bring new software to the market every day and what methods of testing you can use to make sure that you’re always adding value to your organisation. Links: - Mark to Market:...

Are “Try-Hards” slowing down your team? On this week’s episode, Jeffrey describes a type of person that shows up in a lot of organisations - someone who isn’t competent, but sounds like they are! Listen to find out about how you can spot (or self-identify) a “Try-Hard” by discounting their visibility and focussing only on their expertise. Links: - Hobbies article: https://brooker.co.za/blog/2023/0...

Are you pushing alone or pushing together? On this week’s episode, we take a closer look at how to be helpfully demanding and how to identify removable discomfort, with a story about helping a product manager who's "pushing" for progress toward a quarterly goal. Listen to find out how to approach your conversations with more curiosity, so you can uncover better solutions. Links: - Brooks on essent...

Are assumptions killing your curiosity? On the podcast this week, Squirrel and Jeffrey discuss abduction - but not the alien kind!! Listen to learn about the methods of abductive reasoning and coherence busting, and find out how you can apply the principles of Wordle to improve your outcomes. Links: - Abductive reasoning: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abductive_reasoning - Affirming the conseque...