Badass Agile

By Fuse Chamber, IncTechnology

Badass Agile episodes

September 11, 2019 Badass Unscripted – Getting Good At Mayhem
There’s been a change in how people organize in enterprise. But with flat hierarchies, and self-organizing teams, has the concept of leader or even team captains become obsolete and forbidden?
You know what we should teach more of? How to respond to mayhem – rapidly changing expectations in unstable conditions.
What I’ve found – and what’s helpful to communicate to clients – is that the first 3 sprints (literally, the first 6-8 weeks) are mayhem. On a new scrum team, or in new business/technical landscapes, there will always be challenges with insufficient information, assumptions, inadequate tools, unclear expectations, unfamiliar teammates and accountabilities….with firm deliverable dates. Overwhelm is inevitable, and therefore wholly expected.
10 min
September 11, 2019 Badass Unscripted - Getting Good At Mayhem
You know what we should teach more of? How to respond to mayhem - rapidly changing expectations in unstable conditions.
What I’ve found - and what’s helpful to communicate to clients - is that the first 3 sprints (literally, the first 6-8 weeks) are mayhem. On a new scrum team, or in new business/technical landscapes, there will always be challenges with insufficient information, assumptions, inadequate tools, unclear expectations, unfamiliar teammates and accountabilities….with firm deliverable dates. Overwhelm is inevitable, and therefore wholly expected.
But the alternative, which is happening more frequently, is to overplan the future (which is often futile). The only thing that works is getting comfortable with discomfort. Try, fail (aka ‘learn’), repeat. That’s how you improve, and eventually reduce mayhem - at least as much as is humanly possible.
9 min
September 09, 2019 Episode 107 - 4 Reasons Why We Still Need Captains
There's been a change in how people organize in enterprise. But with flat hierarchies, and self-organizing teams, has the concept of leader or even team captains become obsolete and forbidden?
Here are just 4 reasons why, despite the levelling of roles within teams, we still have - and need - captains and leaders…at least at times.
* Sometimes, people just need a little push
* Someone needs to hold themselves accountable to grow the team
* A leader first and foremost sets an example for others to follow
* People who are comfortable sharing wisdom must do so…for the benefit of the others in the team who are uncertain or inexperienced
10 min
September 08, 2019Episode 107 – 4 Reasons Why We Still Need Captains
There’s been a change in how people organize in enterprise. But with flat hierarchies, and self-organizing teams, has the concept of leader or even team captains become obsolete and forbidden?
Here are just 4 reasons why, despite the levelling of roles within teams, we still have – and need – captains and leaders…at least at times.
Sometimes, people just need a little push
Someone needs to hold themselves accountable to grow the team
A leader first and foremost sets an example for others to follow
People who are comfortable sharing wisdom must do so…for the benefit of the others in the team who are uncertain or inexperienced
10 min
September 05, 2019 Badass Unscripted - 100% is Waste
Seeking perfection is a major source of wasted effort; particularly if you are seeking it BEFORE taking action.
There’s no such thins as perfect output, only perfect effort.
Perfection is sought literately over time. Modern business requires that we move ideas from vision to backlog to executed Iteration One quickly. In almost all cases, perfection is neither required nor desired out of the gate. Holding back or being unwilling to try for fear of making mistakes is the only kind of true failure. Remember this - there IS such a thing as starting a race so late that it is practically impossible to win.
8 min
September 04, 2019 Badass Unscripted – 100% is Waste
Seeking perfection is a major source of wasted effort; particularly if you are seeking it BEFORE taking action.
There’s no such thins as perfect output, only perfect effort.
Perfection is sought literately over time. Modern business requires that we move ideas from vision to backlog to executed Iteration One quickly. In almost all cases, perfection is neither required nor desired out of the gate. Holding back or being unwilling to try for fear of making mistakes is the only kind of true failure. Remember this – there IS such a thing as starting a race so late that it is practically impossible to win.
8 min
September 03, 2019 Episode 106 - Business Agility - Placing Small Bets
Forget Sprints and Standups - Business agility is about travelling light so you can go faster. One important way to do that is by taking small, frequent experimental risks, also known as placing small bets.
* Test with small investments - Rent or borrow equipment,
* Copy other success stories and replicate them in unrelated domains
* Get volunteers or part-timers to help. Use gigsters
* Learning and research - Get aggregators or summaries
* Start with small commitments and experiments - lunch and learns versus coffees
* Slice your scope
* Work backwards from high-value outcomes
16 min
September 02, 2019Episode 106 – Business Agility – Placing Small Bets
Forget Sprints and Standups – Business agility is about travelling light so you can go faster. One important way to do that is by taking small, frequent experimental risks, also known as placing small bets.
Test with small investments – Rent or borrow equipment,
Copy other success stories and replicate them in unrelated domains
Get volunteers or part-timers to help. Use gigsters
Learning and research – Get aggregators or summaries
Start with small commitments and experiments – lunch and learns versus coffees
Slice your scope
Work backwards from high-value outcomes
16 min
August 29, 2019 Badass Unscripted - Making Agile Teams vs. Making Teams Agile
Do you take an existing team and ‘make’ them agile? Or do you build teams of agile people - people who have, or are likely to have, the right mindsets and openness to new practices?
Here is where the rubber hits the road when it comes to executive support; do we do the easiest, most convenient thing, and expect them to squeeze the square peg of legacy mindsets, rigid thinking, and antiquated practice, and jam it into the round hole of agile beliefs and actions, or do we take the hit and scramble a team of cross-functional, experimental minds?
6 min
August 28, 2019 Badass Unscripted – Making Agile Teams vs. Making Teams Agile
Do you take an existing team and ‘make’ them agile? Or do you build teams of agile people – people who have, or are likely to have, the right mindsets and openness to new practices?
Here is where the rubber hits the road when it comes to executive support; do we do the easiest, most convenient thing, and expect them to squeeze the square peg of legacy mindsets, rigid thinking, and antiquated practice, and jam it into the round hole of agile beliefs and actions, or do we take the hit and scramble a team of cross-functional, experimental minds?
6 min