TL; DR: Overpriced Cheerleaders — Food for Agile Thought #444
Welcome to the 444th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,579 peers. This week, Sam Haynes critiques the dwindling effectiveness of Agile Coaches, shifting from vital change agents to mere overpriced cheerleaders. Maarten Dalmijn criticizes Scrum for providing a blame-shifting ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card, impeding real improvement, while Christiaan Verwijs advocates for scientific research to restore Agile’s credibility and effectiveness. Also, Michael Küsters emphasizes strategic alignment by rephrasing the query “How do we make money?” to uncover different business insights, and Jason Evanish discusses how lone wolves struggle with leadership due to their independence before Fortune Buchholtz introduces Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile teams.
Then, John Cutler warns against the ‘Instagram-ification’ of product management, which he argues sets unrealistic expectations and drives professionals towards unsustainable practices. David Pereira’s interview with Itamar Gilad emphasizes the importance of discarding 90% of ideas, advocating for evidence-based innovation and adaptability to user needs. Ant Murphy offers a stakeholder management approach that uses proposed solutions to uncover real problems, thus enhancing problem understanding without confrontation. Moreover, Manuel da Costa discusses findings from McKinsey’s Product Operating Model Index, highlighting a significant gap in product management practices between top and bottom-performing companies.
Lastly, Shane Hastie interviewed Esther Derby and David Horowitz about the second edition of the Agile Retrospectives book, focusing on data-driven methods and increased engagement for successful retrospectives, and Christina discusses how effective prioritization is often compromised by multitasking myths and distractions. The Ikigai Retrospective exercise uses a Venn diagram to help teams find their collective purpose by aligning their passions and skills with market value and impact. Finally, Aakash Gupta advises strategically using tailored work products in the PM job market to showcase unique insights and fit with company culture, enhancing job prospects.
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Last week, the most popular discussion on LinkedIn was: Could the Product Owner and Scrum Master Be the Same Individual?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Overpriced Cheerleaders
(via Medium): The Agile Coach Scam Exposed
Sam Haynes critiques the transformation of Agile Coaches from essential catalysts for Agile adoption to overpriced cheerleaders, questioning their current value in genuinely driving organizational change.
🍋 Lemon of the Week
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via The Liberators): Why Science Is Essential To Professionalize Our Community
Christiaan Verwijs urges the Agile community to embrace scientific research over personal opinion to elevate the professionalism and effectiveness of Agile practices, combating the decline in Agile’s credibility and application.
: Scrum's Built-in 'Get Out of Jail Free Card' Against Criticism
Maarten Dalmijn argues that Scrum’s design, often seen as infallible, inherently deflects blame onto users, creating a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card that discourages genuine critique and improvement.
(via Get Lighthouse): Why a Lone Wolf Personality Fails Leaders (+ how to fix it)
Jason Evanish argues that the lone wolf’s independence and self-reliance hinder effective leadership; however, they can evolve into true leaders with appropriate support and transformation.
: How do we make money?
Michael Küsters explores how emphasizing different words in “How do we make money?” highlights diverse business aspects, guiding strategic alignment and revealing operational insights for improved revenue generation.
🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class w/ PSFS Certificate — June 25, 2024
The Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS) training by Berlin Product People is a guaranteed one-day official Scrum.org class for advanced Scrum practitioners and agile coaches, including the industry-acknowledged PSFS certification. This PSFS training class is in English. This PSFS training class is in English.
Enjoy the benefits of a live virtual immersive class with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 CEST.
Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class w/ PSFS Certificate — June 25, 2024.
Customer Voice: “Great experience – “You reap what you saw.” What I really liked about it was the constant usage of facilitation techniques & Liberating Structures to engage all participants & harness the collective knowledge while reaching the goal of the exercises during the workshop. Therefore, my experience was great because I could really leave with some insights from the whole group that I could apply in my daily work starting from the next day. “You reap what you saw” and in this case, it was the collective intelligence of everyone in the training class.” (Source.)
👉 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 would like to be notified about these opportunities, please register here.
🎯 Product
and : 🎙 John Cutler's Hot Take – The Instagram-ification of Product Management is Driving us Crazy
John Cutler critiques the ‘Instagram-ification’ of product management, arguing it sets unrealistic standards and is detrimental to the field, driving professionals towards unsustainable practices.
and : 📺 Trashing 90% of Your Ideas Is Fundamental to Success
David Pereira interviewed Itamar Gilad, who stresses discarding 90% of ideas to focus on the impactful ones, utilizing evidence-based innovation, and continuously adapting to user needs for product success.
: Dealing with Stakeholders coming with Solutions, not Problems
Ant Murphy shares a stakeholder management strategy focused on embracing proposed solutions to uncover underlying problems, thereby enhancing problem understanding without confrontation.
(via Effective Experiments): The Product-Process Gap / Leadership Expectation vs Reality
Manuel da Costa highlights that McKinsey’s Product Operating Model Index identifies a significant gap in product management and collaboration between high and low-performing companies. Addressing this gap can notably boost shareholder returns, margins, customer engagement, and brand recognition.
📺 Toyota Kata Coaching with Fortune Buchholtz at the 61st Hands-on Agile Meetup
Business and academic leaders advocate coaching as crucial for growth. In Agile, diverse methods like GROW and OSKAR thrive, yet Toyota Kata Coaching emerges as a standout for its simplicity and effectiveness.
In this Hands-on Agile Meetup of May 7, 2024, Fortune Buchholtz explores its potential as a superior Agile coaching tool. Whether confirming its benefits or broadening your coaching repertoire, the recording offers valuable insights.
Watch the video now: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz — 61. Hands-on Agile.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
, and (via InfoQ): 🎙 Tips and Techniques for Improving Retrospectives
Shane Hastie spoke with Esther Derby and David Horowitz about the Agile Retrospectives book’s new edition, emphasizing data-driven approaches and engagement for effective team retrospectives.
(via McKinsey & Company): 📖 The bottom-line benefit of the product operating model
The authors present a compelling correlation between product operating model maturity and superior business performance, emphasizing how mature product and platform management models significantly elevate profitability, innovation, and customer engagement.
: Why We Struggle to Prioritize
Christina Wodtke highlights that effective prioritization is often hindered by myths of multitasking, the paradox of choice, and constant distractions, proposing focused, clear objectives and mindful practices as solutions.
: Ikigai
The Ikigai activity, rooted in the Japanese concept of “a reason for being,” is a Retrospective exercise that uses a Venn diagram to align a team’s passions, skills, market value, and broad impact, effectively uncovering their collective purpose.
🎶 Encore
: How to build work products to get jobs
Aakash Gupta emphasizes the strategic use of tailored work products to stand out in the PM job market, highlighting their role in demonstrating unique insights and aligning with company culture to secure interviews and job offers.
📅 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 25, 2024 | GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €749 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 July 7, 2024 | GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #63: The Anti-Patterns Canvas — A Tool Session (1) with Stefan Wolpers (English) | Live Virtual Meetup | FREE |
| 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 July 9-10, 2024 | GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 🇬🇧 August 20-21, 2024 | Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 🇩🇪 August 27-28, 2024 | Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,189 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 🇩🇪 September 3-6, 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 5,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning, for example, about avoiding Overpriced Cheerleaders:
- Hands-on Agile 61: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz.
- Hands-on Agile 59: Tackling Fake Agility with Johanna Rothman.
- Hands-on Agile 57: Humble Planning with Maarten Dalmijn.
- Hands-on Agile 54: Overcoming Common Product Backlog Management Traps with David Pereira.
- Hands-on Agile 53: An Agile Coaches Guide to Storytelling with Bob Galen.
- Hands-on Agile EXTRA: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business with Joe Justice.
✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn About Avoiding Overpriced Cheerleaders — Join the 19,000-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 learn about avoiding Overpriced Cheerleaders by pointing them to the free Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide:
