Agile Best Self Heart-to-Heart Podcast

Today’s episode features data governance expert Laura Madsen. In this conversation, Laura talks about how Agile methods influenced her work, the story behind her North Star statement, and reveals some insights on how the Agile Best Self mindset lives in the space between. You’ll have to listen to the episode to learn about what that means. No spoilers!

Let’s learn a bit more about Laura:

Laura Madsen isn’t shy about her dislike for formal bios, to her they tend to come across as stuffy and disingenuous – two things Laura is absolutely not. That said, she’d be selling herself short if you knew nothing of her wealth of experience from 20+ years in data and analytics, authoring books on data governance and healthcare analytics, impassioned speeches about innovation, data governance, and the value of data in healthcare.  But what’s really important to know is that Laura spends her days helping you build programs that align with the aspirational vision of today’s modern companies with the less-than-glamorous work of data management. 

Laura co-founded the Minneapolis-based consulting firm Via Gurus to converge two of her biggest passions: helping companies define and execute successful data strategies and radically challenging the status quo. 

You can find more information about her book, Disrupting Data Governance, here. If you are a data professional that wants to up their leadership game in this space, this is a must-read.

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson

Today’s episode of the Agile Best Self Heart-to-Heart podcast features Joe Justice.

We get a chance to learn about what Joe has been doing during the pandemic, which includes a stint with Tesla, writing three books, including two children’s books and pursuing with great passion some new innovations in the area of affordable and sustainable housing.

Joe is one of the most skilled Scrum trainers in the world. In his book, Scrum Master: The Agile Training Seminar for Business Performance, Joe shares his insights taken directly from his experiences as a Scrum trainer, coach and executive.

Joe Justice works globally as an interim executive for agile organizations, bringing multinational companies twice the work in half the time. His teams have held 4 world records. He is a TEDx speaker, guest lecturer at both MIT and Oxford University in England, featured in Forbes 5 times to date including as owner of a “Company to Watch” by Forbes Billionaire Club, cited in more than 5 business paperbacks and hardcovers, the subject of a Discovery Channel mini-documentary for his work creating the discipline Scrum@Hardware while working directly with the co-creator of Scrum, Dr. Jeff Sutherland.

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson

In today’s conversation, David shares insights on a number of topics, including how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and how it relates to Innovation. He makes several connections to the Agile Best Self framework and how it can be used to create a better world for all.

David Edgerton Jr. is the managing principal for The DEJ Group, an executive search and recruiting firm that focuses on finding and connecting exceptional diverse talent with inclusive companies. The firm also provides executive coaching and custom training services for minority entrepreneurs and professionals.  

David has over twenty-four years of corporate experience and also has served as an adjunct professor for over eleven years – teaching information technology, project management and business analytics.  With his passion in minority business development, David was recently appointed an entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Minnesota to assist and coach startups as a part of the Discovery Launchpad MN program.

David has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and a MBA from the Carlson School of Management. He has worked for several companies in the Twin Cities including The National Marrow Donor Program, Best Buy, Imation Corporation, Smead Manufacturing, and Ambient Consulting. 

He currently volunteers as a member of the board of directors for the Walker West Music Academy in St. Paul.  He is also an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and serves as a church musician and worship leader at his church.  David is married to Michelle and has three children.

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson

In Part 2 of our conversation with Laura, we get into the topics of business agility, her thoughts on the post-pandemic world of work, and how our Agile Best Self like-hearted community can build a bigger stage to enable others to be their best selves.

Laura M. Powers is the Founder & Principal at Powered by Teams – an agile consultancy focused on helping leaders and their teams thrive in the midst of change.  She is also the Vice President of Operations at the Business Agility Institute and a startup mentor at Silicon Valley Ignite.  She has been involved in the design of electronics for space applications, aircraft engines, diapers, electric cars, complex software systems, and custom electro-mechanical systems at AT&T Bell Labs, Hewlett Packard, Agilent, Sales.com and eBay – as well as several startups you’ve never heard of.

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson

In the first of two episodes, we had a blast sitting down with Laura to talk about gratitude in the face of the pandemic world. We talked about how she uses an Agile Best Self North Star and the Agile Best Self Principles.

Laura M. Powers is the Founder & Principal at Powered by Teams – an agile consultancy focused on helping leaders and their teams thrive in the midst of change.  She is also the Vice President of Operations at the Business Agility Institute and a startup mentor at Silicon Valley Ignite.  She has been involved in the design of electronics for space applications, aircraft engines, diapers, electric cars, complex software systems, and custom electro-mechanical systems at AT&T Bell Labs, Hewlett Packard, Agilent, Sales.com and eBay – as well as several startups you’ve never heard of.

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson

Today we are excited to release our latest Agile Best Self Heart-to-Heart podcast episode with Jesse Fewell!

In his book, Untapped Agility, he shares the story how Agile Best Self came into being.

Here’s a quick bio for Jesse:

Jesse Fewell is an author, coach, and trainer who helps senior leaders from Boston to Beijing transform their organizations to achieve more innovation, collaboration, and business agility.

A management pioneer, he founded and grew the original Agile Community of Practice within the Project Management Institute (PMI), has served on leadership subcommittees for the Scrum Alliance, and written publications reaching over a half-million readers in eleven languages.

Jesse has taught, keynoted, or coached thousands of leaders and practitioners across thirteen countries on 5 continents. His industry contributions earned him a 2013 IEEE Computer Society Golden Core Award.

His book, “Untapped Agility – 7 Leadership Moves to Transform your Transformation,” was released in 2020.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson