Have you been part of an Agile or Scrum adoption that ran into challenges because some roles were not being performed effectively...? Did it cause frustration and unhealthy conflict...? Are you interested in a different way to respond to challenges with roles...? This video blog will share some ideas based on the Systems Coaching model created by CRR Global as part of their ORSC framework. This is a sequel to my video blog - The Ghosts Of Transformations Past.

How can someone become an excellent technology professional? Should they just focus on the technical aspect of their profession? Or should they consider other aspects? In this video blog, I offer 6 dimensions that technology professionals could consider as they travel on the path of excellence. This is a sequel to my blog on this topic - "Who Is An Excellent Technology Professional?"

Have you wondered what it takes to become an excellent technology professional? Is it the smartest developer / tester / (insert specialization here)? The one who can find the solution to the trickiest problem faster than anyone else? Or are there other factors that come into play? In this video blog, I share how my thoughts on this topic have evolved over my 25 year career in the technology industry, as I played different roles - from a developer, manager, director, Scrum coach to founder and CEO of a startup.

Have you ever joined an organization as a Scrum Master, Coach or Trainer with a smile on your face, good intentions in your mind and love in your heart, only to be received with inexplicable levels of hostility, contempt and aggression? Were you surprised about what was happening to you, why and what you might try next? Interested in a model that might help you make sense of what might be happening as a stepping stone to serve your organization? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this video blog might give you some ideas...

Does your Scrum Team find itself locked into destructive conflicts where each team member is convinced that their way is the only way, the best way and that everybody else who dares to disagree is crazy? Are you interested in shifting the dynamic from an "us vs. them" adversarial conflict to an "us vs. the challenge" partnership? What would be like if your team could harness every conflict to reveal new possibilities the team can align around? In this video, I will share an approach using the 10 Thinking Hats Of Scrum that can help your Scrum Team elevate the context of your conversations by evaluating options in the human-centric context of the people the Scrum Team exists to serve.

A 4-step approach to help you decide whether you should spend your precious and limited time on planet earth to use Scrum, bash Scrum or just move on with your life and ignore Scrum.

Managers in Agile organizations often struggle when their teams don't evolve into high-performing, self-managing teams. The struggle is to find the right balance between command and control management and being completely hands-off, letting the teams do whatever they want. How might a manager discover adjustments they can try to help their teams grow? this video blog might offer some ideas...

Are you sick and tired of wasting your precious Agile "Transformation" budget? What questions could you explore as you send out RFP's, RFQ's, interview partners and write SOW's? Watch this video to learn 9 questions you can ask potential Agile "Transformation" partners so you stop wasting your "Transformation" budget.

Are you sick and tired of destroying precious time, money, goodwill, potential and value in the name of "transformation"? Do you want to learn 7 reasons why this keeps happening over and over again? Interested in learning 7 ways to stop this from happening? Watch this video and help your company stop sacrificing value at the altar of "transformation".

Is your Product Ownership consistently optimizing sustainable, measurable value from your products and services? Or do you feel that Product Ownership is stuck in your company? If you fall in the second category, this video blog is for you! You will learn 6 ways to get Product Ownership unstuck by combining ideas from the world of Scrum, Agile Product Management and Co-Active Coaching.

Are you in the market for a new Scrum Master or Agile Coach? Do you need any help in preparing questions for the job interviews? Here is a short video with 10 questions I would like you to consider based on what I have learned about the art and craft of Scrum Mastery and Agile Coaching from Scrum.org, the Co-Active Training Institute and the ROI Institute. Word of warning - there might be an unexpected twist towards the end of the video, in case you make it that far :)

Is your preferred approach to starting an Agile "Transformation" sending a bunch of worker-bees to Agile Training and then waiting for the magic to happen?

10+ years of helping organizations scale Scrum from one team to 500+ teams has taught me one thing - most practitioners abandon the scientific principles and core values of Scrum in their pursuit of scaling Scrum. To many of these practitioners, Scaling Scrum is a whole another ball-game to which Scrum principles and values do not apply.

10+ years of helping thousands of practitioners with implementation of Professional Scrum has taught me one thing - most practitioners have a very superficial understanding of Scrum. To most, Scrum is nothing more than "Daily Standup" and "Sprint Demo".

The Sprint Review is one of the most crucial events that can help your organization maximize the value of the work done by the Scrum Team. However, in 10+ years of helping clients implement Scrum, we have discovered that the Sprint Review can be a massive waste of time because of two big mistakes. In this video, we explain what these two biggest mistakes are and how our clients have learned to avoid them.

In this blog post, PST Ravi Verma shares tips on how to manage outcomes with Evidence-Based Agility

Around 14 years ago, my Coach - Peggy Reed changed my life by sending me to Scrum Training. I fell in love with Scrum and chose to become a Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer with the support of Ken Schwaber.

Of late, I've been noticing an interpretation of the Scrum Master role - the Scrum Master as An FFFCDO for Developers - a Fierce, Ferocious, Fearsome Chief Defense Officer!

I interviewed a Scrum Master candidate last week. This blog is inspired by him.

 

When we introduce Scrum to an organization, many people are skeptical of the monetary benefits and ROI of the Scrum Master position. The question I am often asked is - "How do you justify the salary of the Scrum Master?"

More than 10 years of helping organizations travel on the path to Agility have taught me some hard lessons about what differentiates the organizations that practice self-defeating pseudo agility from those who practice authentic, evidence based agility.

As you walk this path, remember that just like Scaled Professional Scrum is Scrum, Co-Active Scrum Coaching is Co-Active Coaching. All the cornerstones, contexts, principles and practices of Co-Active Coaching must be upheld in Co-Actives Scrum Coaching.

I might have had an epiphany as I was teaching one of my recent classes. OK, maybe two.

After more than a decade of helping organizations travel on the path of Agility, it feels more like traveling on the path of Agile Suffering.

There have been times when I have struggled mightily in my coaching relationships. Whether the relationship is with a person or with a team. The conversations are exhausting, draining for me. Likely for my coachee(s) as well.

When (Patricia Kong - Product Owner of Enterprise Solutions at Scrum.org) taught me how to combine the chocolatey-goodness of Evidence Based Management with the hazelnutty-goodness of Hypothesis Driven Delivery, I was ecstatic! "AHA!", I says to myself.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Agile movement, is it also time to formally "cancel" waterfall?

I need your advice to solve a personal problem...

Let's explore lessons from three of my success stories and two failures so you don't make the mistakes I made.

This blog addresses unanswered audience questions from the Scrum Pulse Webinar - A Cycle Time Journey: 164 to 8 Days in 6 Months.

Do you know anyone in a management role who is part of an "Agile Transformation" (I prefer "Agile Enablement"). How are they doing? Are they experiencing any stress or anxiety?

On the 25th birthday of Scrum, I have a free gift for all Scrum practitioners... Do you know any Executive who is willing to spend 15 minutes to save 15% or more on the cost of their company's Scrum adoption...? ;)

Many members of Management perceive Scrum as a way to get more velocity, widgets, thingamajigs, outputs, etc. etc. with less money, less people and less time.

The foundation of Agility and Scrum is the principle of Empiricism - using what is happening in front of us to learn and adjust what we do next...

Do you know anyone who has scars from trying to help large, multi-billion dollar organizations travel on the path to Agility? Do you know if those scars still hurt?

Is your management concerned about risking boat-loads of time, money and good-will on an "Agile Transformation" (I prefer "Agile Enablement"), only to have their hearts broken when they see nothing more than a bunch of Jira boards and "Daily Standups"?

As I look back at 10+ years of being a guide for organizations on the path to Agility, I have come to the dreadful realization that I have failed more than I have succeeded.

Somewhere between the 15th and 45th minute of the first pre-sales call, the prospect usually asks me - "Based on what you have heard about our company, by when do you think we will be 100% Agile Transformed and what will it cost...

Have you ever faced challenges in enabling effective adoption of Scrum in an organization? If not, you have something awesome going and this blog might not be a good use of your time.

What is the biggest mistake managers make as they transition from a traditional command and control culture to an agile culture based on Servant Leadership and Self-Organization? What is the single most important adjustment needed in an Agile manager's focus?

True story - happened in one of my recent Professional Scrum Master workshops. I think had just mentioned that there is no "Sprint Commitment" in Scrum, only a "Sprint Forecast".

Like many old, boring people, my favorite radio channel in the car is National Public Radio. Since I live in Dallas, TX, my local channel is KERA. Of all the shows in KERA, my favorite is a show called Think With Krys Boyd. Almost each show I listen to leaves an imprint on my mind and modifies the way I think.

The role of the Scrum Product Owner is probably the most misunderstood of the three Scrum Roles. As I look back at the different incarnations and interpretations I have seen of Product Ownership, I thought it was time to articulate the different stances I thought an Effective and Professional Scrum Product Owner might consider.

Many times, clients ask Agile Coaches like me to come in and share our "expertise" with them. But sometimes they really don't want our "Expertise". What they really want is someone with lots of TLA's to come and tell them that there pre-existing opinions are correct.

THE (MIXED) BLESSING OF NEXTGEN REWRITES  About 10 years ago, I experienced the mixed blessing of being part of yet another nextgen rewrite project.

IMAGINE Imagine you have just been asked to build an Agility Enablement Organization for your company. Sounds like fun, but there are some constraints you need to work within or around…

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION