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Food for Agile Thought #340: Roadmaps: Portfolios of Bets, Progressive Organizations, From PM to CEO, Potential of Diversity

TL; DR: Portfolios of Bets, Progressive Organizations — Food for Agile Thought #340

Welcome to the 340th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,173 peers. This week, we list ten progressive organizations with structures rooted in practice, from Kyocera to VISA to Haier. Also, we present research results that unlocking the benefits of diversity requires that team members can ‘express their ideas, questions or concerns and not be embarrassed or ostracised.’ Moreover, we believe that Taylorism is a continuation of the Newtonian Mindset of linear causalities—with serious consequences for the way we work.

We then take a different view on product roadmaps as portfolios of bets and visualize the differences between an earlier-stage VC-backed startup and a later-stage company. Additionally, we discover ways to tame complexity in product development, dissect the abrupt demise of CNN+ and its lessons for pursuing product discovery and explore 20 typically Sprint Planning anti-patterns. Also, there is some career advice: Kristina Walcker-Mayer believes that product management is an excellent apprenticeship to becoming a CEO.

Lastly, we suggest playing a game to reduce your potential risk and avoid falling victim to the planning fallacy, and we appreciate a guide to help you set and achieve your goals based on Stoicism’s first principles of self-discipline, self-control, and endurance.

Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #339?

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📅 Join 230-plus peers on May 30, 2022: HoA #42: The Skinny on Lean Roadmapping and OKRs w/ Janna Bastow.

🏆 The Tip of the Week: Progressive Organizations

Joost Minnaar (via Corporate Rebels): 10 Progressive Organizational Structures Developed By Real Companies

Joost Minnaar lists ten progressive organizations with structures rooted in practice, from Kyocera to VISA to Haier.

➿ Agile & Scrum

Amy Edmondson and Henrik Bresman (via INSEAD Knowledge): Psychological Safety Unlocks the Potential of Diverse Teams

Amy Edmondson and Henrik Bresman present research results that unlocking the benefits of diversity requires that team members can ‘express their ideas, questions or concerns and not be embarrassed or ostracised.’

Boris Karl Schlein (via Medium): Don’t Step into the Three Traps of the Newtonian Mindset

Boris Karl Schlein believes that Taylorism is a continuation of the Newtonian Mindset of linear causalities and details consequences.

Brian Bassett (via Simple Thread): Agile Principles: Reflect and Adjust

Brian Bassett reminds us of the priceless advantages of retrospectives.

🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training w/ PSPO Certificate — Online: May 9-10, 2022

Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this official Scrum.org Professional Scrum Product Owner training class, leading to and including the industry-recognized PSPO I certification. The training is designed as a live virtual class and will be offered in English.

Enjoy the benefits of an compact class of two sessions with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 o’clock CEST.

Learn more: 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training w/ PSPO Certificate — Online: May 9-10, 2022.

Customer review: “Great experience! The class was highly interactive but also paced to adapt to the participants. We learnt by doing and had a lot of fun in the process!” (Link.)

👉 From time to time, we can offer last-minute seats for training classes at cost to individuals who do not have access to a corporate training budget. If you like to be notified about these opportunities, please register here.

🎯 Product

John Cutler: A Portfolio of Bets

John Cutler encourages you to take a different view of your product roadmap, a portfolio of bets, visualizing the differences between an earlier stage VC-backed startup and a later stage company.

(via UX Collective): Designing big, complex products from scratch

Sharing his personal experience at Picnic, Jake Rich delves into ways to tame complexity in product development.

Kristina Walcker-Mayer (via Mind The Product): 📺 The 5 Ways Product Management Prepares You to Become a CEO

Kristina Walcker-Mayer believes that product management is an excellent apprenticeship to becoming a CEO.

Rita McGrath: Say what???? The optimistic launch and ignominious end of CNN+

Rita McGrath dissects the abrupt demise of CNN+ and its lessons for pursuing product discovery.

📯 20 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns

The Sprint Planning is a core event that defines how your customers’ lives will improve with the following Product Increment. Learn more on how to improve its effectiveness by avoiding 20 common Sprint Planning anti-patterns.

👉 Learn more: Scrum: 20 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns.

🛠 Tools & Measuring

(via InfoQ): Improving Your Estimation Skills by Playing a Planning Game

To avoid falling victim to the planning fallacy, Andrew Brown suggests playing a planning game to reduce your potential risk.

Lenny Rachitsky: What Is a Good Growth Rate

Lenny Rachitsky reached out to 24 investors to learn about their perception of good vs. great growth rates by the stage of the business.

✂️ Cutting Room Floor

(via Daily Stoic): Goal Setting: A Philosophical Guide to Setting and Achieving Goals

The Daily Stoic created a guide to help you set and achieve your goals based on Stoicism’s first principles of self-discipline, self-control, and endurance.

📅 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
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 2-30, 2024 GUARANTEED: Product Backlog Management Cohort Class (English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €499 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 9, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #60: A Q&A on Dynamic Reteaming with Heidi Helfand (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 💯 🇩🇪 April 10-11, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 23-24, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #61: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 🇩🇪 May 14-15, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 May 28-29, 2024 Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,189 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 6, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #62: From Backlog Manager to Product Manager: From Outputs to Outcomes w/ David Pereira (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 🇩🇪 June 25-26, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT

See all upcoming classes here.

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.

📺 Join 3,800-plus Agile Peers on Youtube

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🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition

Read more: Food for Agile Thought #339: Product Management Anti-Patterns, Scrum-like Kanban, Fixing Your Product Roadmap, 300+ Agile and Scrum Statistics.

Categories: News
Stefan Wolpers: Stefan—based in Berlin, Germany—has been working for 17-plus years as an agile coach, Scrum Master, and Product Owner. He is a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) with Scrum.org and the author of Pearson’s upcoming “Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide.” He has developed B2C as well as B2B software, for startups as well as corporations, including a former Google subsidiary. Stefan curates the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter and organizes the Agile Camp Berlin, a Barcamp for coaches and other agile practitioners.
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