Definitely, Maybe Agile

Dave Sharrock and Peter Maddison discuss the challenges of implementing Agile practices when working with a complex legacy system with a monolithic architecture. They stress the importance of working out how to incrementally deliver value and describe some of the patterns and strategies you might take.

 This week's takeaways: 

• Understanding the end-to-end system needs and treating the problem space correctly
• Making small incremental changes to systems can be life-changing and empowering for teams
• Enabling teams to make small changes should be the goal
• The approach to achieving this goal will depend on the systems being worked with and how they need to evolve

Feedback is always welcome, including questions, topic suggestions, or participation in a conversation, by emailing [email protected]. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for the podcast to stay updated on the latest episodes. 

 This week Peter and Dave decided to delve into questions that have come up in workshops with senior leaders. Some of the questions they consider are How can we bring senior leadership along on the journey? What are the leaders showing through their actions? How do we measure the success of a leader's contribution?This episode emphasized the crucial role that executive leadership support plays in the success of an agile transformation and encouraged leaders to lead by example and show their commitment to the change.

This week's takeaways:

• A leader's success should also be measured by their availability and response time to team members.
• Growing leaders around them is a sign of a great leader.
• Safety in tough decisions is important for leaders to create a safe conversation.
• It's important for leaders to recognize and grow the people around them to create the next generation of leaders.

We are always eager to receive your feedback! If you have any questions, would like to suggest a topic, or even participate in a conversation, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Also, be sure to hit the subscribe button for our podcast to stay updated on our latest episodes. 

 On this week's episode of Definitely Maybe Agile, Peter Maddison and David Sharrock dive into the world of change management through a conversation about the book "Our Iceberg is Melting." This easy-to-read parable offers a unique perspective on change through the lens of a colony of penguins living on a melting iceberg. The book explores the eight-step model of change management from Kotter's perspective, providing an accessible entry point to the topic. The conversation delves into the nuances of change management, highlighting the importance of gaining buy-in across different characters and perspectives within an organization. So come listen to Peter and Dave chat about the complexities of change management and what we can learn from those penguins.

 This week's takeaways:
• Identify influential players in the organization.
• Broadening awareness of complexity and existential threats.
• Look for something to learn from any situation, no matter how difficult.
• Allow team members to act independently.
• Listen for opportunities to contribute and offer feedback.

Resource:
Our Iceberg Is Melting- https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/419461 

We are always eager to receive your feedback! If you have any questions, would like to suggest a topic, or even participate in a conversation, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Also, be sure to hit the subscribe button for our podcast to stay updated on our latest episodes. 

In the most recent episode, Peter and Dave engage in a thoughtful discussion on Mike Burrows' book "Agendashift". They highlight the book's unique consolidation of practices and experiences that Burrows has accumulated while working with clients. They particularly appreciate the book's straightforwardness and how it almost reads like a how-to guide for those facilitating conversations.

The book focuses on emergent approaches that can be tailored to an individual organization, rather than a one-size-fits-all framework. They appreciate that each chapter includes exercises, underlying principles, and theories. Peter and Dave also acknowledge the book's emphasis on the human behavior side of things, which can be easy to overlook during transformations.

This week's takeaways:

• How do you create outcomes that are relevant?
• Empathy is a change agent super-power
• How to Guide- Facilitator driven

Resources:

• Agendashift- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35439273-agendashift?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_11
• OI-SR- https://www.agendashift.com/resources/oi-sdr
• OI-SR Template- https://www.agendashift.com/resources/oi-sr-template 

 We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected] 

 In this week's episode, Peter Maddison and David Sharrock discuss how Geoffrey Moore's “chasm” model of market adoption can be used to understand organizational change. They explore the differences between enthusiastic early adopters and more reluctant individuals when it comes to change. The model explains the challenges organizations face when adopting new ideas or technologies and the necessary shift in mindset and approach required to successfully navigate the chasm. They also discuss what behaviors or approaches need to be altered based on the specific context of the organization.

This week's takeaways:

• Understand the different stages of adoption, practices, and people.
• Different methods and techniques are needed for different groups of people, depending on their journey.

 We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

On the last episode of the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast, Peter Maddison and Dave Sharrock had a great discussion about 12 year-end suggestions for a more agile 2023. Let’s take a look at the four main categories they discussed.

This week's takeaways:
A.- Marketplace and change:
   1. Stop thinking things are different right now (change is the new black).
   2. Think holistically
   3. Broaden your information-gathering sources

B.- Pragmatic stuff to remember
   4. Shorter time horizons
   5. Rise to your goals, fall to the level of your systems
   6. Strategic: If you say yes to this, what do you say no to?

C. Don't forget
   7. Quality is probably more important than you think
   8. Don't forget your people
   9. Security

D. End of year
   10. Revisit your objectives
   11. Reflect: Notebook story
   12. Sharpen the saw

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected] 

Many businesses are under pressure to undergo digital transformation, but the process is often fraught with difficulties. In this week's episode of the podcast, Peter and Dave discuss what causes digital transformations to run into issues and fail.

This week's takeaways: 

• Focusing on too much change all at once
• Lack of alignment
• Conflicting priorities

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

 How do you know you are going in the right direction? This is a question that plagues many of us. We set out with a plan and a destination in mind, but somewhere along the way, we lose sight of where we're supposed to be going. If this sounds familiar, don't worry, you're not alone. In this week's episode, Peter and Dave talk about how to measure your progress and keep track of whether or not you're headed in the right direction. We'll also discuss some of the indicators that can help you determine if you're making the desired behavioral change.

This week's takeaways:
- Keep your people on board and reward the change
-Incremental delivery. Take small and measurable steps
-Checking-in regularly
- Establish your Leading vs Lagging Indicators

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected] 

Dave Sharrock and Peter Maddison dive into the topic of bridging the gap in this week's podcast. In recent weeks they've talked a lot about transformation through the eyes of technical digital implementation. Now they will focus on bridging the gap between technology and the business side of the organization.

This week's takeaways:

• Customer-centric versus product-centric
• Close customer decision gap
• There's a greater understanding in general of technology and how it can be applied

Resource:
How Apple Is Organized for Innovation- https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-apple-is-organized-for-innovation

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected] 

In the last couple of weeks, Peter and Dave have shared their thoughts on digital transformations and what constitutes that transformation. In this episode, they will cover the underlying piece or underlying umbrella about this, which is digital change management. They'll talk about how to move forward after implementing change.

 This week's takeaways: 

• Make changes small enough that people can get through them. We want lots of small changes, not one massive one.
• Change is continuous.
• Stop optimizing before you have tested your model.

Resources:
Dave Snowden - How leaders change culture through small actions https://youtu.be/MsLmjoAp_Dg

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]