TL; DR: Conflict Fear, Tough Conversations — Food for Agile Thought #219
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #219—shared with 24,328 peers—focuses on how to handle tough conversations and overcome conflict fear. We also appreciate a team-building canvas based on core protocols.
We then educate ourselves on the different stances of the Product Owner role; we give skipping the minimum viable product a second thought, and we embrace one more time the benefits of transparency to build trust.
Lastly, we enjoy a short lesson from the trenches on how holacracy works.
Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #218?
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🏆 The Essential Post
(via InfoQ): How I Tried Holacracy and Lived to Tell the Tale
Sandy Mamoli shares from her successes and failures in her team’s quest to create a self-organizing organization, what worked and what didn’t.
📯 Join more than 250 Peers and Participate in the Agile Metrics Survey 2020
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Learn more: Agile Metrics Survey 2020.
Agile & Scrum: Conflict Fear
(via 99u): 8 Ways to Flip Your Fear of Conflict
Emily Ludolph describes eight steps of how to stop being scared of disagreements and make them productive.
: On Having the Tough Conversations
Len Lagestee shares a simple framework on how to prepare yourself — the coach — for the inevitable dreaded disputes to come.
: Want an Awesome Team? Start With You.
Richard Kasperowski proposes the team transformation canvas—based on core protocols—to facilitate a fast individual and team boot-up.
📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I + Liberating Structures — Berlin, February 18-20, 2020
This extended PSM class adds a third day to the Professional Scrum Master training that focuses on the application of Liberating Structures to Scrum Events such as the Sprint Retrospective or the Sprint Review — to apply the PSM training immediately to practical problems. The class will be offered in English. You can book your ticket right here:
Learn more: 📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I + Liberating Structures — Berlin, February 18-20, 2020.
Product & Lean
(via Scrum.org): Stances of the Product Owner
Robbin Schuurman and Chris Lukassen created a new training class for Product Owners, detailing the path of becoming professional in their role.
(via Fast Company): It’s time to stop designing “minimum viable products”
In this excerpt from his new book, John Maeda reveals how the increased customer expectation in new products came to be, probably leading to the demise of the MVP.
: How to Make Product Decisions With Transparency and Trust
Ellen Gottesdiener points at the benefits product managers can create by creating transparency and trust with their teams.
📅 Scrum Training & Event Schedule
You can secure your seat for Scrum training classes, workshops, and meetups directly by following the corresponding link in the table below:
| Date | Class and Language | City | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💯 🇩🇪 May 19-20, 2026 | Guaranteed: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 incl. 19% VAT (If applicable.) |
| 💯 🇬🇧 May 28 to June 25, 2026 | Guaranteed: AI4Agile BootCamp #7 (English; Live Virtual Cohort) | Live Virtual Cohort | €499 incl. 19% VAT (If applicable.) |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 8, 2026 | GUARANTEED: Claude Cowork: Stop Prompting. Start Delegating. (English; Self-paced Online Course) | Self-Paced Online Course | $129 incl. 19% VAT (If applicable.) |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 9, 2026 | GUARANTEED: HoA 74: "CLAUDE.md" — The One File That Makes AI Remember How You Work. (English) | Meetup | FREE |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 10-July 2, 2026 | GUARANTEED: Claude Cowork BootCamp #2 (English; Live Virtual Cohort) | Live Virtual Cohort | $249 incl. 19% VAT (If applicable.) |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 11, 2026 | GUARANTEED: HoA 75: Token Economics. (English) | Meetup | FREE |
| 🇩🇪 June 30-July 1, 2026 | Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 incl. 19% VAT (If applicable.) |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 July 1, 2026 | GUARANTEED: AI 4 Agile Course v3 — Master AI for Agile Practitioners (English; Self-paced Online Course) | Self-Paced Online Course | $149 incl. 19% VAT (If applicable.) |
You can book your seat for the training directly by following the corresponding links to the ticket shop. If the procurement process of your organization requires a different purchasing process, please contact Berlin Product People GmbH directly.
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