TL; DR: Learning from Spotify, The Lizard Brain & Agile—Food for Agile Thought #299
Welcome to the 299th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 32,056 peers. This week, we continue learning from Spotify: Kevin Goldsmith shares lessons learned during the hay days of the “Spotify Model.” Moreover, we delve into the psychology of our inner lizard, constantly on the alert and hiding below a thin crust of civilization and how it relates to team building. Finally, we also witness a desperate attempt by McKinsey to save the PMO by relabeling it ATO. (The sad thing is that C-level folks from BigCorp will go for it.)
We then reflect on autonomy, empowerment, agency, and what that means for work at the team level, and we try to define what “product sense” is about in design, product management, engineering, or venture capital. Also, Ken Norton shares another interview from his outstanding series on successful product practices, and there is an infographic on the differences between projects and products developed by agile teams.
Lastly, we share Patricia Thompson’s journey of teaching Agile in schools, the “triumphs and enlightenment and how we adapted along the way.”
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #298?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Learning from Spotify
(via YouTube): Stealing from the best, lessons from three years at Spotify
In this video, Kevin Goldsmith shares lessons learned from working at Spotify in a senior position during the hay days of the “Spotify Model.”
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via InfoQ): Building Stronger Human Teams by Managing the Inner Lizards
Mike Duskis delves into the psychology of our inner lizard, constantly on the alert and hiding below a thin crust of civilization.
(via McKinsey & Company): Why an agile transformation office is your ticket to real and lasting impact
In a desperate attempt to save the PMO, McKinsey relabels it ATO. The sad thing is, that C-level folks from BigCorp will go for it.
(via Agile Alliance): Teaching Agile in Schools: The Triumphs and Enlightenments
Patricia Thompson shares her journey of teaching Agile in schools, the “triumphs and enlightenment and how we adapted along the way.”
🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM I Certificate: July 13-16, 2021
Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this guaranteed official Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master training class, leading to and including the industry-recognized PSM I certification. The training is designed as a live virtual class of 4 hours per day from 9 to 13 o’clock CEST and will be offered in English.
Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM I Certificate: July 13-16, 2021.
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🎯 Product
: Mandate Levels
In this article, John Cutler reflects on autonomy, empowerment, agency, and what that means for work at the team level.
: Building Products at Slack
Ken Norton shared another interview from his outstanding series on successful product practices.
(via Andreessen Horowitz): The Power of Product Thinking
Julie Zhuo tries to define what “product sense” is about in design, product management, engineering, or venture capital.
: Infographic: Project-to-Product Principles
Matt Philip created an infographic on the differences between projects and products developed by agile teams. Open the graphic in a separate window/tab to enlarge it.
📯 The Lack of Agile Leadership Qualities — Making Your Scrum Work #15
There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. When Scrum becomes an element of an agile transformation, a lack of agile leadership qualities on the incumbents’ side may impede its overall progress significantly despite the best efforts of all other change agents.
Join me and explore the consequences of a lack of agile leadership qualities and what you can do about it in less than three minutes.
Learn more: The Lack of Agile Leadership Qualities — Making Your Scrum Work #15.
🛠 Tools & Measuring
: Using Impact Mapping to navigate Product Discovery
Tim Herbig explains how to use impact mapping to bypass the shallow spots of product discovery.
(via Agile Alliance): How I Used My Agile and Design Thinking Toolkit to Navigate the Unknown and Drive Change
Lymari Castro shares her story of joining the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and guiding their engineering and technology organization through a change initiative.
📅 Scrum Training Classes, Workshops, and Events
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📺 Join 2,900-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel:
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: How to Win with Agile Resistant Teams – A Case Study with Scott Weiner.
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Increasing the Velocity of Value with Dave West.
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Evidence-based Interventions with Viktor Cessan.
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Real Cross-functional Teams for Creating real and better Products with Jutta Eckstein and Maryse Meinen.
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