The point of Lean/Agile/etc. is to teach people how to learn so they can deliver value better. If your only goal is to teach others how to rote follow a framework, and actively resist opportunities to incorporate new learnings, how have you grown their ability to learn?
“[W]e’re not going to make people work better (after having decided what they should do differently). We’re going to seek and explore with them what working better means.”
Brilliant.
Such an excellent point: Lean focuses on operational excellence to enable product design excellence. Too many ignore the latter, which I think is why Lean is often seen to apply only for repetitive work.
As someone who is new to lean, is there something I’m not being told?
“From blame comes shame. And then hurt, denial, anger, and retaliation.”
- Daring Greatly - Brené Brown
Unfortunately, in many organizations, “accountability” is code for “blame.” With disastrous consequences.
“The perception that vulnerability is weakness is the most widely accepted myth about vulnerability and the most dangerous.”
- Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
“Any time you see [x], just stop reading. You will only make yourself dumber by reading to the end.”
I love this formulation so much.
After 16 years with my employer, today was my last day. It was also the last day for my colleagues. It was a good run, but I’m excited to see what the future holds!
I’ve been very quiet of late, preparing for something I expect will finally happen around the end of this month.
Shortly after, I intend to be back in force. As I prepare, if there are any topic areas I’ve touched on that are particularly interesting to you, please let me know.
I co-taught SAFe PO-PM training with a colleague the last two days, the first training I’ve done in a long time. It was such a great time! We had a very engaged class that was asking really good questions. It reminded me of the parts of my job I really love. I’m still exhausted (as an extreme introvert, training really wipes me out), but it’s completely worth it. 👍🏻
There has to be some way to disable the Caps Lock key on my Smart Keyboard Folio. I can’t imagine a single scenario where I want it active and yet I hit it nearly daily.
“We, … in knowledge management and strategy work, hire experts and consultants to tell us how the world works instead of figuring it out ourselves. We outsource the legwork.”
Boy does that hit home.
Excellent thread by @andy_matuschak on measures and ideas. Make sure to read the blog post at the end as well. He covered what I was about to write, only much better.
New iPad ordered, but this was by far the hardest time I’ve had hitting buy. The prices have really crept up.
“Agile” does not simply mean “doing a project faster.” If that’s what you take away from prior experiences, I’d suggest you either didn’t experience true agile, or didn’t really understand what you saw.
It is a lot harder to sell, but a slow “transformation” sure seems more sustainable.
✏️Frameworks As End States Versus Next States
If you view a framework as a potential end state, you’ll see its flaws. If you view it instead as a potential next state, you’ll see its virtues.
I recently finished @alshalloway’s Flex Essentials course. It’s worth the price of admission just for the MBI concept, which has changed how I coach areas attempting to scale. Recommended.
“Reflective practitioners” - I like that term.
If you view a working framework as a possible end state, you will find its flaws.
If you view that framework as a possible next state to something better, you will see its virtues.
Apple ID needs a place to continually push their miniaturization skills at scale. Having the Watch and AirPods gives them that outlet. I’m convinced this is why we’re now seeing improved battery life instead of thinner iPhones.
(Hot takes all, I know.) 🔥
Some nice updates at the iPhone X S event today, but the two things that stood out to me: * Apple’s chip design team seems insanely great * Apple’s really laying the groundwork for their glasses project brick by brick
I recently watched Babylon 5 through for the first time. Takes a little while to get into, but fairly compelling once you do. It does take some time to adjust to the early CGI work though.
“Let us redefine progress to mean that just because we can do a thing, it does not necessarily mean we must do that thing.”
This has been running through my head a lot lately.
Learning Builds Systems: Excellent post by @ourfounder.
I also have found reading outside my primary discipline to be extremely valuable. Some of the most helpful things I’ve learned have come from making connections to seemingly unrelated fields.