Food For Thought #93: Resilient Agile Teams, Innovation Killers, Reddit for Product Managers

Age of Product’s Food for Thought of May 28th, 2017—shared with 8,891 peers—revisits W. Edwards Deming 14 points of good (agile) management after 35 years. We also learn 40 tactics to empower resilient agile teams, we understand the importance of outcome drivenness for scaling agile successfully, and we analyze patterns of resistance of the corporate innovation process.

On the product side, it is all about identifying the right feedback by focusing on the signal and ignore the noise. We are getting skeptical about the innovation potential of personas, and we demystify Reddit as we learn how to use it for customer research.

Lastly: When was the last time that you thought a new technology is no more than a toy? Drones? You are not alone. Let Benedict Evans elaborate on the many ways and the increasing pace in which people dismiss technology.

The Essential Read

Benedict Evans: Not even wrong – ways to dismiss technology

Benedict Evans notices as we create more and more technology—as 'software eats the world'—, that the urge to dismiss seems only to get stronger.

Resilient Agile Teams & Scrum

(via Heart of the Art): Deming’s 14 points

We revisit W. Edwards Deming’s 14 points from the 1980s that still are the basis for the transformation of any organization in any industry.

John Cutler (via Medium): 40 Ways to Invest in More Resilient Teams

John Cutler shares 40 tactics that allow teams to become self-organized and explains why smothering them in helicopter management and processes is not helpful.

Scott Sehlhorst (via Tyner Blain): Agile at Scale – Outcome Driven (or Broken)

Scott Sehlhorst stresses that being outcome driven, is one element you must retain during scaling agile or you fundamentally break the system of delivery.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (via Forbes): How To Work With Innovation Killers

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic shares four reasons to resist innovation: threat-detection mode, passive resistance, complacency, and obedience to authority.

Steve Denning and Heidi Musser (via Agile Alliance): Business Agility: A Fortune 50's enterprise Agile journey

Steve Denning interviews Heidi Musser. She will share insights from her experience serving as chief Agilist during a Fortune 50's enterprise Agile journey.

Download the “Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide” Ebook for Free

The ’Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide’ is another free ebook from the Hands-On Agile series of practical guides from the trenches. It covers more than 100 scrum anti-patterns that hold your scrum team back. Download the “Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide” for free now:

Resilient Agile Team: Download the Hands-on Agile Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide

Product & Lean

John Collins (via Intercom): Product feedback you should ignore

John Collins reflects on the moment when suddenly everyone has an opinion about your product. You will drown in them. But where do they come from, and which can you safely ignore?

Paul Lopushinsky (via Medium): How to Remove Noise and Focus on What Matters as a Product Manager

Paul Lopushinsky points at the risk that as a product manager if you’re not careful, distractions will lead your decision making astray.

(via Muzli): Why personas stop innovation—what to do next.

Zakary Kinnaird believes that the issue with personas is that they lack the opportunity to innovate.

James Mulvey (via Hootsuite): How to Use Reddit for Fast (and Accurate) Market Research

James Mulvey shares a simple, yet effective process for using Reddit to conduct market research.

Chad McAllister and Martin Eriksson: Product management communities of practice

Chad McAllister interviews Martin Eriksson on why product managers need to be part of a community of practice and, if you are not already, how to join or start one.

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