TL; DR: Social Status — Food for Agile Thought #404
Welcome to the 404th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 48,271 peers. This week, we explore intriguing perspectives on social dynamics: David Pinsof delves into the psychology of social status, while Alex Ewerlöf discusses ownership in project management. We also feature Daniele Altomare’s insights on ethics in Agile environments and John Cutler’s viewpoint on the influence of culture on organizational frameworks.
Then, Packy McCormick warns about the pitfalls of execution without a robust strategy, using Breather as a case study. Aatir Abdul Rauf identifies common blunders in product discovery that affect success. Also, Melissa Perri and Teresa Torres address complex issues in large companies, emphasizing skilled product management and standardized processes.
Finally, Justin Garrison examines Amazon’s unique document-centered meeting approach. Lenny Rachitsky and Dr. Nicole Forsgren unpack productivity in DevOps with the DORA and SPACE frameworks. Dave Hora advocates for strategic agility in software production, while Casey Rosengren explores non-coercive leadership strategies. Lastly, a McKinsey report delves into the growth and impact of generative AI tools in organizations.
🏅 The most popular discussion on LinkedIn this week was: Your stakeholders don't care about how good you are at Scrum. But they'll listen if you show how agility makes them successful. 🚀
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Social Status
: Status Is Weird
David Pinsof delves into the peculiarities of social status and the unspoken games people play to achieve it. Status, often shrouded in denial and indirect pursuits, is subject to change and cultural context. Learn more about the psychology of status.
📖 Book Tip of the Week: Maarten Dalmijn
I recently finished reading Maarten Dalmijn’s new book “Driving Value With Sprint Goals: Humble Plans, Exceptional Results” — great work! He mentions many issues I address in my classes, but it is the first time I realized the beauty of applying the Sprint Goal as a magnifying glass for Scrum and all its nitty, gritty details.
Moreover, I like starting the narrative with von Clausewitz and friction, followed by von Moltke the Elder and Auftragstaktik/commander’s intent. It provides a compelling framework to develop the rest of the book. So, if you are looking to understand agile product development beyond the mechanical replication of some Scrum practices, acquiring Maarten’s book is a lower-brainer! 👍 💯
➿ Agile & Scrum
: Broken Ownership
Alex Ewerlöf investigates scenarios where elements of the “ownership trio”—knowledge, mandate, responsibility—are absent, arguing that this leads to broken ownership. The article underscores the interconnectedness of these elements for successfully managing any project.
(via Medium): Navigating the Ethical Dimensions of Agile
Daniele Altomare explores the role of ethics in Agile environments, emphasizing the importance of fostering a culture of ethical behavior. He discusses common ethical dilemmas, provides tools for ethical decision-making, and underscores the significance of maintaining values in Agile transformations.
: Whenever you read about a “framework” that was home-cooked in a company […] remember that what you need to copy is the culture
John Cutler asserts that organizational frameworks reflect the unique culture within a company, not an input to shape it. These frameworks’ effectiveness varies across companies due to distinct cultural contexts. Learn more about culture’s role in shaping practices, think of the Spotify model.
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — August 29-30, 2023
Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this official Scrum.org Advanced Scrum Master training class including the industry-recognized PSM II certification. The PSM II training class is designed as a live virtual class and will be offered in English.
Enjoy the benefits of a compact immersive class with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 o’clock CEST.
Learn more: 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — August 29-30, 2023.
👉 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
: In Defense of Strategy
Packy McCormick argues that execution without strategic direction, even with the best resources, can lead to failure, using Breather’s downfall as an example. A good strategy is crucial, especially for companies excellent at execution.
: 11 lesser-known mistakes PMs make during discovery
Aatir Abdul Rauf reveals common mistakes Product Managers make during product discovery, leading to failed engagement and retention goals, low adoption rates, and frequent strategy pivots. Learn more about avoiding these product discovery pitfalls.
and (via Produx Labs): 🎙 Navigating Conflicting Methodologies in Product Management with Teresa Torres
Melissa Perri and Teresa Torres discuss the challenges in large companies, including conflicting methodologies and strategic alignment, highlighting the role of a skilled product manager and standardized processes.
📯 Scrum Anti-Patterns Taxonomy — The Big Picture of Why Scrum Fails?
As the editing process of the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide is nearing its end, it is time to take the next step. The brand new Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide offers 180-plus anti-patterns organized by roles, events, artifacts, and commitments. However, the Guide does not create a meta-level or abstract Scrum anti-patterns taxonomy. Consequently, the Guide does not provide an overall strategy to counter or evade Scrum anti-patterns at a personal, cultural, structural, or organizational level. The question is whether it is possible to create such a taxonomy.
Read on and learn more about the first steps of completing the big picture of Scrum anti-patterns.
Learn more: Scrum Anti-Patterns Taxonomy — The Big Picture of Why Scrum Fails?
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
: Document Driven Meetings at Amazon
Justin Garrison highlights Amazon's unique approach to meetings, centered around documents, typically in a press release format. This method fosters focused discussions and clarity while also accommodating asynchronous input.
and : 🎙 How to Measure and Improve Developer Productivity
Lenny Rachitsky and Dr. Nicole Forsgren discuss developer productivity and DevOps, DORA and SPACE frameworks, benchmarks for success, common mistakes, and tools for improving metrics. Learn more about developer productivity measurement.
: User Models for Product Work
Dave Hora emphasizes that strategic agility is essential as software production gets commoditized. The goal at each organizational level is to make timely decisions driven by increased contextual awareness and insight.
🎶 Encore
: The Art of Subtle Influence: How to lead when you don’t have control
Casey Rosengren discusses effective leadership strategies without direct control, drawing parallels with addiction psychology. The focus is on fostering colleagues’ desire for self-improvement, making leadership more about subtle influence than command but non-coercive techniques.
(via McKinsey & Company): The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year
In this comprehensive research report, McKinsey reveals the rapid growth and effects of generative AI tools in organizations. Despite the emerging risks, the authors anticipate increased investments due to advances in AI.
📅 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:
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 5,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning, for example, about social status:
- Hands-on Agile EXTRA: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business with Joe Justice.
- Hands-on Agile 50: The Product Community of Practice with Petra Wille.
- Hands-on Agile 46: The Agile Fluency Model ® with Diana Larsen.
- Hands-on Agile 43: Outcome-Based Product Planning with Jeff Gothelf.
- Hands-on Agile 42: Lean Roadmapping and OKRs with Janna Bastow.
- Hands-on Agile 38: The Product Owner with Roman Pichler.
✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn more about Social Status — Join the 12,000-plus Strong ‘Hands-on Agile’ Slack Community
I invite you to join the “Hands-on Agile” Slack Community and enjoy the benefits of a fast-growing, vibrant community of agile practitioners from around the world.
If you like to join all you have to do now is provide your credentials via this Google form, and I will sign you up. By the way, it’s free.
Help your team to explore social status by pointing them to the free Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide: