During the interview, Jessica shows how Lean Agile Intelligence can be used to figure out what you need to track and how it can show you that the problem you actually have may not be the problem you thought you had.
I asked Mark to join me to discuss how he is using AI, why he is taking the time to get schooled up on this emerging technology, and where he thinks it is leading as we head into the future.
You can find the podcast here: https://tinyurl.com/nhhnbte8
It was also just great to catch up with Andy. He, Mark Price Perry and I used to do workshops for PMI on Redefining Your PMO. You can find links to more on that, Andy's original post, and our interview here: https://tinyurl.com/mr2u9jxv
You can find the interview here: https://tinyurl.com/4ttkd7nz
In this episode, Rachel and Travis join me to explain why they took this step to completely transform their company and how they went about doing it.
You can find the video version of the interview here.
You can find the audio version of the interview here.
Also, as you can see from the picture above, they have some totally badass merch. If there is a project manager in your life, remember, the holidays are right around the corner.
On November 1st, Tim Nolan, Mark Kilby, and I will be kicking off a six-week Personal Kanban course for Modus Institute. We are all really looking forward to helping others get started with Personal Kanban and amp up their game when it comes to getting a better handle on all the things they are trying to do. It is a very powerful system, and it has taught me volumes about how to optimize my ability to show up for people and be productive. (You can learn more about the course here: https://tinyurl.com/PKClassNov1
One of the most powerful things about this approach is that it is not a static system. It is always waiting to teach you something new - if/when you are ready to hear it.
It’s Not You, It’s Me
You should have seen by the look in my eyes, baby
There was something missin'
You should have known by the tone of my voice, maybe
But you didn't listen
I’m not done with Personal Kanban - just that particular board layout.
I stopped using a physical board a few months ago because I wasn’t always around it when I needed to make updates. It was also too small to hold all the stuff I needed to do. So I set everything up in Miro and used that as a Product Backlog, writing by hand the things I wanted to do each day in a little notebook I carry with me everywhere. What is in the notebook is a checklist (Jim is frowning) but I think of it more as the personal parallel of a Sprint Backlog. Items are color-coded by priority. For me, there is something about the effort required to handwrite stuff each day, plus shading them with a prioritization color that I find rewarding. It's like I am paying respect to the work item by writing it out by hand (#handspunproductivity). Also, I’m a project manager and I like checking things off a list.
But lately, that hasn’t worked either. I have so much stuff in Miro and so much in the notebook, and all of a sudden I’m also capturing reminders in my phone. The whole system just kinda broke down and was failing to serve me.
On the flight back from Atlanta on Friday, I wrote down all the things I needed to do in my notebook. It took three pages. TMGDWIP!
This happens… to everyone… grab a towel and some salty snacks and DO NOT PANIC! It’s all ok.
I had a system. It worked great for a time, but it was clearly time to “high school break up” with my board.
You played dead
But you never bled
Instead, you laid still in the grass
All coiled up and hissin'
Imagine your Kanban board (or however you are visualizing your work) was someone you’d been trying to date. And you’ve hit the wall. The level of annoyance and irritation has overcome the fear of emotional discomfort that comes with the idea of separating from someone or something you’ve grown comfortable with. (Just because you are in pain does not mean you are uncomfortable.) It’s time for the “It’s not you, it’s me” conversation… because 100%, it is totally you. Your situation has changed and that board fits you like the pants you wore when you were 10 lbs. lighter.
If you could sit down with your work - however you visualize it - and have an open, honest conversation about how that model is helping, how it is no longer helping, and (because it’s totally you…) what parts you are clinging to and can’t let go of it (just like that person you dated in high school). Gev from Modus has a sign on her board asking, “Dear Kanban, How are you lying to me today?” Mine has, “Dear Kanban, what are you shouting at me that I am completely refusing to hear?” Somewhere in the middle is the information you need to start over.
Getting (re)started
Before you just launch into a new visualization of your work, take some time to be intentional about the next step.
This is question #1. Is it too much WIP? Keeping track of everything? Do you just want to visualize everything so you can see what is on the table? Maybe a combination of all of that? Maybe you aren’t even sure what the question is yet and you need a model that will help you figure out how this system can teach you to be more efficient. Before you set up a new Kanban, understand what it needs to be able to do for you and design it to run an experiment to see if it can help solve that problem. It is not just about getting cards moved across a board. The system has to serve you and your understanding of how and why you work so that you can make truly intentional choices about what the next right step is.
For me, I’m at the point where I already know that any visualization is 100% going to show me I have too much going on. I’m also currently not ready to let go of any of it. So, my current quest is how to establish a prioritization technique I can hold in front of me and use it to drive my choices whenever it is time to take something new on. Visualizing it is important because you need to get it out of your head. The stress and cognitive load that come from trying to carry everything in your head is a real thing. It takes a toll. Externalize it so that you can understand what is in front of you and understand your options.
Your boards will crash because they solved a problem that is different from the one you now face. That is part of growth and even though it can be a drag, it is totally normal. And keep in mind that no matter how long you do this stuff, the vigilance required for hyper-productivity takes a tool and each of us sometimes needs to just chill and watch Fboy Island for a bit. (It’s not gonna watch itself.)
On November 1st, Tim Nolan, Mark Kilby, and I will be kicking off a six-week Personal Kanban course for Modus Institute. If you are new to it, we can help get you started. If you are already using Personal Kanban, we can help you tune your system into a high-performing, WIP-limiting engine that will help you take greater agency with all the things that you do. Follow this link to learn more: https://tinyurl.com/PKClassNov1
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The conversation came about as a result of a post that Jesse made on LinkedIn. He’s doing research on the topic and I asked him to join me to talk through some of the ideas. If you have stories to share, he’d love to hear from you. You can find his original LinkedIn post here: https://bit.ly/3EjRUf9
Towards the end of the podcast we also discuss a question that came up in one of my CSM/CSPO Lean Coffees: If you are hired as a Scrum Master into a mostly waterfall organization that still has traditional project managers, and the engineers are trying to treat you like a secretary, how do you establish your role and the value you can provide?
The interview is available in video here: https://youtu.be/zOa4IZT_V2c
The interview is available in audio here: https://on.soundcloud.com/VwTsU
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Video: https://bit.ly/3PMRCV6
In this episode, Derek Huether and Sam Tsubota from Atlassian demonstrate how to pull that info straight from Atlassian Analytics.
And, he is the guest on this episode of the podcast!!!!
You can find the podcast here.
Mike and I also discuss his work coaching senior leadership, how Patrick Lencioni's First Team concept has become such a vital part of his approach, and the work Mike has been doing with ImplementingScrum.ai.
Anu also offers a discount on her upcoming classes for anyone who is interested.
You can find the video version of the interview here: https://bit.ly/3JJOynW
You can find the audio version of the interview here: https://on.soundcloud.com/KXkdk
(I recommend the video version so you can see us play the game.)
During the conversation we talk about:
You can check out the podcast here.
You can find the video version here: https://bit.ly/3JhN5Xg
You can find the audio version here: https://on.soundcloud.com/vCBCm
After reading it I had a lot of questions so I reached out to Ricardo and asked if he would be willing to do an interview. He was kind enough to share some time to answer my questions and dig a little deeper into how prioject management is changing as a result of Artificial Intelligence, and how AI is going to completely redefine the role of the PM in the very near future.
I am closing in on 30 years of work in Project Management and for most of that time, I, like many of you, have been talking smack about Frederick Taylor. My opinions were based on the things I learned from others along the way and were (obviously) deeply informed by moving from traditional PM over to Agile. As far as I was concerned, this guy was the birth of work misery. But, I had never actually taken the time to read The Principles of Scientific Management... so I did. I was amazed at how completely off the mark I was. Yes, there are some obvious glaring issues with how he separates the workers from the thinkers, but there is also a ton of really good stuff in there and a lot that comes pretty close to an agile mindset.
After reading it, I was at a lunch and happened to mention my newfound Taylor Fanboy-ness and Christine Li showed up like Yoda, deep with the PM history geek. She took me to school and that is where this conversation starts.
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| FLY EAGLES FLY! |
A few weeks ago Ryan Ripley posted a tweet about Story Points...
And as soon as I saw it I reached out to him to ask if we could do a podcast discussing his post. I come to this topic as someone for fought against Story Points for about four years when I started working on Agile teams. Now, I can't imagine not using them. I teach Story Points in my CSM classes because I think that when used effectively they can be incredibly valuable to a Scrum Team. I also agree with Ryan's views on this topic
This podcast is the two of us debating the value of Story Points, when and how they can be used for good, and when, as Ryan often says, Story Points are trash.
