Hack Your Daily Scrum
The purpose of the Daily Scrum (or the equivalent daily team meeting in another method) is to figure out how the team will collaborate today… Read More
The Latest Viral Scrum Criticism: What’s Right About It?
Another “Scrum is terrible and here’s why” post went viral on social media recently. In this episode, Richard and Peter reflect on the post, the responses to it, and what we can learn from the whole thing. Read More
Can’t Fix It? Make It More Visible
Got a problem in your organization that you don’t seem to have the power to fix? Wish they (whoever they are) would do something about… Read More
Rethinking the Manager vs Leader Meme
You've seen them on LinkedIn: the “manager bad, leader good” infographics and listicles. But there are over a million people in the US with "manager" in their job title—surely there are lots of good ones. In this episode, Peter and Richard explore the origin of the manager vs leader meme and reflect on whether it's actually useful for improving leadership. Read More
Framing a Meeting Right
Ever facilitated a meeting that just seems to keep going off the rails? A framing statement is key to starting a meeting strong, and a… Read More
Communicating In Uncertainty
In this episode, Peter delves into a pivotal moment for Adobe execs, one that showcases the art of communicating big shifts with clarity and integrity. From that example and dozens more, we’ll then distill the six critical tools top leaders use to paint a vivid vision while embracing the uncertain roadmap to reach it. From owning the potential downsides of a choice to communicating how and when we’ll pivot, this episode sheds light on how inspiring leaders balance ambition with grounded realism. Whether you're spearheading a corporate transformation or setting team OKRs, these insights will empower you to lead with conviction and honesty. Read More
Do It Once Before You Scale It
So many orgs using the language of Agile Software Development haven’t ever tried to really practice it with a single team. Which makes “scaling” rather… Read More
Top 5 Backlog Refinement Mistakes Meetup Rebroadcast
Backlog refinement is critical for any agile team—if your backlog isn’t in good shape, everything downstream falls apart. But there’s a common set of mistakes almost everyone makes when it comes to backlog refinement, mistakes that make it overwhelming for Product Owners, frustrating for teams, and ultimately ineffective for everyone involved. In this rebroadcast of the July 2023 Humanizing Work Community Meetup session, Richard looks at those top 5 backlog refinement mistakes and how to fix each one. Read More
Commitments in Scrum and Abnormal Sprint Terminations
Scrum’s rarely used “Abnormal Sprint Termination” rule can help a team strike a nice balance between the need to focus, the need to be responsive, and the desire to make and keep commitments. In this episode, we give a few examples of using this rule to get good results, and what to do if your team is struggling to make and keep commitments. Read More
Does it need to be a meeting?
In many organizations, calendars are packed with meetings. People go from one Zoom call or conference room to another. Individual work gets puzzled around the… Read More