Douglas Squirrel's career took an unexpected turn. Fired repeatedly for building top-performing teams, it was only a short time before he realized his talent for turning around tech organizations that made him a sought-after consultant. His journey led him to discover trust and fear as the root causes of most technology problems. 

Coaching CEOs and founders to address these underlying issues fostered a culture of collaboration that led to better business outcomes. With insights into agile conversations, Douglas has become a trusted expert. What did he learn along the way? And how can his experience help you improve team productivity?

Douglas Squirrel is a seasoned CEO with an unparalleled perspective on the power of conversation in creating productivity gains across organizations. Having spent 45 years coding and leading software teams in various industries, including fintech, biotech, and music, Douglas has developed a knack for addressing common workplace issues such as trust and fear in conversations. Through extensive experience with over 170 organizations worldwide and coaching numerous leaders, Douglas has gained insightful expertise in aligning business goals and fostering productive conflict. He's also co-authored the book Agile Conversations and runs a highly engaged community, the Squirrel Squadron.

Some topics we explore in this episode include:

• Enhance productivity through engaging conversations.
• Discover the role of trust and fear reduction in organizational transformation.
• Learn the power of agile discussions for effective teamwork and business success.
• Unlock the potential of a trust-based culture to maximize software profitability.
• Master joint design methods for consensus building and pursuit of common objectives.
• How to consider outsourcing software development projects to save costs, increase flexibility, speed to market, and access to tools.
• How to ensure that the software development project is tied to real outcomes by implementing the Mark to Market process, which involves getting software in front of real customers who might buy it or give feedback.
• Encourage engineers to talk directly to customers to understand their needs and challenges better.
• How to work backward to set medium-term goals for the tech organization by understanding what the whole company is trying to achieve and identifying the barriers.
• Repeating a new strategy frequently to create cultural change and help people align.
• And much, much more.