Bad Choices In Every Direction with Galen Low

Testing out listing these with the AI summary.

In this conversation, Dave Prior and Galen Lowe explore the complexities of digital project management, emphasizing the importance of understanding digital projects, the role of project managers in decision-making, and the necessity of integrity in client relationships. They discuss the evolution of project management, the significance of building trust, and the challenges of navigating stakeholder expectations. The conversation highlights the need for project managers to learn from their experiences and adapt to the changing landscape of the profession, ultimately advocating for a supportive and humane work environment.

Check out the video podcast interview with Galen Low.

Check out the audio version of the interview with Galen Low.

Are you the hero or the villain in your team? w/ Carl Smith and Jesse Wroblewski

Most of us tend to view ourselves as the hero of the story, but it's a pretty safe bet that Darth Vader also thought he was the good guy.  So how do you know if you're actually the villain? Carl Smith and Jesse Wroblewski join the podcast to share ideas on how to figure out if you're Batman or The Joker on your team.

You can find the podcast here.

Takeaways

• Being a hero or a villain is subjective and depends on the perspective of others.
• Leaders should be aware of their actions and the impact they have on their team.
• Empathy and self-reflection are important in avoiding villainous behavior.
• True communication and understanding can help build stronger relationships within a team. Difficult conversations and honest feedback are crucial for effective leadership.
• Fear and pressure can lead to toxic leadership, and it's important to find healthy ways to manage negative energy.
• Having a coach and seeking unfiltered feedback can help improve self-awareness.
• Decommoditization is a strategy to differentiate oneself in a competitive market.
• The Bureau community is a supportive and inspiring network for professionals.

Suze Haworth at 2018 Digital PM Summit

Suzanna Haworth gave a talk at the 2018 Digital PM Summit called "Adapting Agile: How to Make a Blended Agile Approach Work For You". Agile and Digital can be an odd fit. In her talk Suze focused on how digital agencies can begin introducing agile practices into their workflow in order to realize some of the benefits that agility can provide.

The talk was very popular. So popular in fact, that I wasn't able to get in.
Fortunately Suze was kind enough to let me interview her about her session once she got back home to London. In this interview she shares some of the key points from her session and explains her take on hybrid approaches to bringing agile and a traditional (waterfall) approach together.

If you work at a digital agency and you're trying to figure out how to make agile fit, there are some great tips in here for you.



(Also, apologies for some of the background noise - they were doing construction in the apartment above mine and it could not be helped.)

If you'd like to get in touch with Suze to ask her some follow up questions, here is her contact info:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanna-haworth-55073616/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suzehaworth
Web: https://suzannahaworth.com

Making Agile Work at HUGE Inc. w/ Lance Hammond and Robert Sfeir

In preparing for my How to Hack Agile for Digital Agencies at the 2017 Digital PM Summit I did a lot of  research and conducted a lot of interview. This conversation, with Lance Hammond and Robert Sfeir from HUGE Atlanta was the last one I did before the Summit. During this discussion Lance and Robert share many of the lessons they’ve learned in bringing Agile to HUGE and they provide clarity on what it takes to make Agile work in a Digital Agency.

SHOW NOTES

• 00:08 Podcast Begins
• 01:42 Some background on Robert and Lance
• 03:17 How long HUGE has been working on introducing Agile
• 04:40 Resistance from Design when switching to an Agile approach
• 06:08 Why Kanban may be a better approach for Design
• 07:39 How the Designers at HUGE approach their work without having all the requirements up front
• 09:30 Establishing Vision up front with the client and prioritizing options with them
• 10:33 The client needs to own the delivery from the very beginning and become part of the process
• 11:50 Making the client your partner in the workflow and decision making process
• 14:17 Why teaching the client how to work in Agile has to be an accepted cost 
• 16:07 Why those with experience in Agile transformation can be so beneficial for Digital Agencies and what you need to watch out for
• 17:52 Changing how the work gets funded 
• 20:22 How to change your Statement of Work to support Agile practices
• 21:47 Tips for convincing your client to want to use Agile to manage the work
• 24:11 Caring and feeding of the client during an Agile project at a Digital Agency
• 27:53 Should you include the client in the retrospective?
• 28:46 Do you need to have cross-functional, stable teams that are each working on only one project?
• 32:04 How long did it take HUGE to get to stable teams
• 34:02 Use Lean metrics to find and remove waste
• 34:20 How critical is it to move to a retainer (fund the team) model
• 35:30 You have to know why you want Agile, which approach you’ll take, and what you want from it
• 37:05 Scrum may have you thrashing for a bit before you switch to Kanban… and there is value in that
• 37:49 Why you need to switch the entire Digital Agency over to an Agile approach (including sales)
• 39:22: What is the hardest part about implementing/working with Agile in a Digital Agency
• 42:32 Defining what you are willing (and not willing) to try changing, when you switch to an Agile approach
• 44:30 How HUGE approaches estimating work
• 48:40 Why it is so important to watch and learn (inspect) before you start trying to change things (adapt)
• 50:45 Why Robert and Lance do not believe Scrum can work in a Digital Agency that wants Agile,  but why you need to try it first to unlock the value of Kanban
• 53:00 Contacting Lance and Robert
• 54:06 Podcast Ends

LINKS FROM THE PODCAST

HUGE
http://www.hugeinc.com/
Agile in Digital Agencies - Dave and Lance from the Atlanta Scrum User Group Meeting
https://www.pscp.tv/leadingagile/1YqxomWqrwMGv
(there is some static that persists until the interview begins at about 1 minute in)

CONTACTING LANCE

• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/lance5684
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-hammond-7288914/

CONTACTING ROBERT

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/robertsfeir
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsfeir/

Edward Kay - Making Agile work in Digital

Edward Kay, the Founder of Tall Projects, has been managing software and digital projects for over 14 years. A few months ago Edward posted an article on The Digital Project Manager called “Agency Agile: 10 Agile Methods for Agencies”. In this interview, Edward and I discuss his article, some of the key things you need to do in order to get agile to work in digital, and why Scrum may be the one thing that just won’t work in an agency model.

SHOW NOTES 

04:04 - Interview Begins
04:48 - Background on Edward and Tall Projects
05:55 - How Edward got started doing agile
06:31 - How Edward’s clients develop a desire to try Agile
09:11 - Are the clients who want to “Go Agile” aware of what that will require and willing to take the steps needed to implement the change?
11:25 - Where in the organization is agile getting started?
12:17 - Why the clients bring Edward in
13:34 - There is no one true way
14:50 - Critical challenges facing Digital Agencies trying to adopt Agile
16:32 - Understanding how to look at work across the portfolio
17:32 - Different ways of measuring work in agencies that are using Agile
20:07 - “Why don’t we just smoke crack at work?”
23:52  - Tracking Happiness
25:10 -  Quantifying value and limiting WIP
28:26 - What is the client actually paying you for?
30:50  - Determining value at the project deliverable level
32:40 - Having a conversation about limiting WIP
35:38 - Getting the client to trust the practices agile team’s employ
36:16  - Multitasking is bad and doesn’t work… but it is still expected
37:45 - What Agile practices just do not work in an Agency model
38:49 - “The on system that is not well suited for Digital Agencies in Scrum”
41:15 - Kanban as an alternative for Digital Agencies
42:10 - What Agile tool/technique is the key to making it work in an Agency model?
43:17 - What is the piece that is missing when trying to make Agile fit in an Agency model?
44:18 - How to get in touch with Edward

CONTACTING EDWARD

Website - https://www.tallprojects.co.uk/
Email: edward@tallprojects.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardkay/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edwardkay or https://twitter.com/tallprojects
Edward’s article on The Digital Project Manager: Agency Agile: 10 Agile Methods For Agencies 

CSM Training and the 2017 Digital PM Summit

For information on the Certified Scrum Master class being held right before the 2017 Digital PM Summit, click here. Special Discounts are available for conference attendees. Contact training@leadingagile.com for more information.

For information on the 2017 Digital PM Summit, click here.

Having Empathy for your Project - with Patrice Colancecco Embry

This summer Patrice Colancecco Embry posted an article on The Digital Project Manager suggesting that project managers needed to show empathy not just towards team members and stakeholders, but towards the project itself.

In this interview Patrice and I dig in a little deeper on the idea of showing empathy for your project, why and how you'd go about doing that. They also get into the how important it is for the PM to show empathy for him/herself and when it is okay to totally hate the project.



If you'd like to check out Patrice's original article, you can find it here: http://www.thedigitalprojectmanager.com/managing-project-empathy/

If you'd like to get in touch with Patrice, you can reach her via:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/patrice108
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriceembry 
Her website http://www.patrice-embry.com

Project Managers, Stress and PTSD

On the Digital PM Slack channel there was some discussion recently about Project Managers' having PTSD. In this podcast, Carson Pierce, Senior PM at DDB Edmonton; Registered Psychologist, Dr. Krista Pierce (who is also Caron's wife); and I got the chance to discuss the topic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the stress PMs' experience at work and the relationship between the two.



Show Notes:

Krista and Carson Introductions 0:15

Introduction to the topic of Mental Health and Project Management 1:58

The Stress Project Managers Experience vs. actual PTSD 3:30

Living with failure but expecting success 5:30

Are we making too much of it 6:19

We are a dysfunctional bunch 8:00

The role experience plays in helping you cope 9:55

Lacking self-awareness 12:40

How to cope with being assertive 13:42

Bringing the bad news and being at ease15:58

Role playing the tough conversations18:26

Personal risk management 19:39

Recommendations for coping with the stress of being a PM 21:00

Setting boundaries for yourself (and sticking with them) 24:15

Carving out the self-care space  and finding balance 25:55

Mindfulness 28:42

Talking with your client (and team) about personal boundaries 29:49

Owning the burden you choose to carry 32:32

Letting go of the things you can do (Inbox 1,708) 33:03

Parting advice for coping with stress 36:45

Getting in touch with Carson and Krista 39:50

The Digital PM Summit 2016 40:28

Contact Info:
Getting in touch with Carson and Krista

Kristi can be reached at http://kristapiercepsychologist.com

Carson can be reached at carsonpierce.com or via email at carson@carsonpierce.com

If you'd like access to the Digital PM Slack Channel, just email Carson

The site for the 2015 Digital PM Summit  can be found here: http://bureauofdigital.com/summits/digital-pm/