Failure is an Option-Collaberwocky Episode 4
The Lean Startup movement has focused considerable energy in the message that we learn from failures. Small, easily recoverable, failures can be invaluable in the success of a company. However, many ignore failure and focus on success. Since success is a rarity and failure much more common, we limit our learning opportunities by that success focus. However, many also do not understand how the scientific process actually works. We therefore tend to build experiments that are invalid. In Episode 4 of Collaberwocky, Corey Ladas, Jabe Bloom, and I...
read moreSpeaking from Power in an Uncertain World–Collaberwocky Episode 3
Are you a manager trying to get by in a flat or agile company? Do you find the role of manager repeatedly maligned? This is more than just “It’s lonely in the middle.” There are significant positive shifts in making the workplace more productive, efficient and effective. However, each of these shifts has been accompanied by changes in roles – and these changes are rarely clearly spelled out. In Episode 3 of Collaberwocky, Jabe Bloom, Corey Ladas, and I discuss how to speak from power in this new uncertain...
read moreThe Language of Management–Collaberwocky Episode 2
In this episode of Collaberwocky, Jabe Bloom, Corey Ladas and I discuss “The Language of Management.” It seems that different rungs of the corporate ladder come with different perspectives. None are complete and all have their own biases and areas of focus. Further, many management theories give rise to a sort of class warfare between the different rungs. “My manager doesn’t understand me.” “The C-Level suite are out of touch.” “The people who work for me are idiots.” Far too often, this causes the rungs to appear so far...
read moreIntroducing Collaberwocky – Collaboration Conversations
For years I have been trying to get myself to do an interview show. There was one problem – interviews are not very collaborative. After doing Lean Coffees for a few years and hosting Lean Camp Seattle last year, it became clear to me that conversation creates information – and that was compelling. So we launched Collaberwocky, a series of conversations about collaboration. This runs exactly like a Lean Coffee. We get together with a few participants, we build a kanban, vote on what we’d like to discuss, then we discuss. The first five...
read moreJust Released: Why Plans Fail: Cognitive Bias, Decision Making, and Your Business.
A new Modus MemeMachine eBook about Cognitive Bias and Daily Business Decision Making
read moreWhy I’m Excited About Lean Camp
JUST LET ME LEARN! Hallway conversations are almost always what people peg as their favorite parts of conferences. Yet conferences rarely provide ample space and time for people to have these conversations. When we actually converse with our peers or with the speakers, we learn more and, more importantly, we retain more. We are actively engaged in the learning, rather than just being spoken to. When Jeremy Lightsmith and I sat down to plan a conference, we didn’t spend any time on the format at all. We both knew we wanted conversation,...
read moreProcess Lies
Our processes are never exact, change and continuous improvement are key to success.
read moreHeroes Are Just Alright With Me
It’s three o-clock in the morning and you’re awakened by the unwelcome beep of a text message. You don’t even have to look at your phone to know what it’s about. Good news always sleeps ‘till noon, as the saying goes, and so you surmise (quite rightly) that somewhere – somehow – something’s gone wrong with the servers and the site is down. Your business is based entirely on global eCommerce. Every minute the site is down customers are annoyed and sales are lost. You stumble out of bed and make your...
read moreSpechetti
When coders have crazy unreadable code its referred to as “spaghetti code.” Single strands of code are impossible to trace through the tangled masses coders can weave. When this happens, it becomes incredibly difficult to understand the original intent of the code, the order in which changes were made, and how to go about making things better. This creates something known as “technical debt”. As time goes on, the difficulty in interpreting the code makes it time consuming and expensive to expand upon or to fix bugs. It strikes me that...
read morePersonal Kanban Book
The Book Personal Kanban brings lean principles to daily life for individuals and small teams.
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