Why Agile Spikes Can Hurt You – And How To Master Them
What is a spike in agile? Why can it be dangerous? And how can your team use it for to reduce uncertainty? Access this content with a premium subscription This post is only...
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Agile Compass
A growing collection of articles on agility, innovation, leadership, and product management. Practical insights to help you navigate change and build high-performing teams.
How to give feedback that works
How to actually change behavior with feedback: make it sincere, specific, and selective. Learn how in this article. Access this content with a premium subscription This pos...
How To Abuse Story Points And Mess Up Everything
Alright, we need to talk about something that’s been going on far too long in the agile world. You know what I’m talking about: Story Point Abuse. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all f...
Slow Down to Speed Up: Why Observation is the Secret Weapon of Successful Agile Coaching
Observe Before You Advise: The Secret to Smarter Agile Coaching with Chesterton’s Fence. In agile coaching, it’s tempting to dive in headfirst—implementing new frameworks, reor...
Unlock Agile Velocity: Boost Your Team and Avoid Costly Mistakes
Understanding and Mastering Agile Velocity 1. Why Velocity Matters in AgileAgility is all about flexibility, adaptability, and delivering value to customers quickly. But to mak...
The Truth About User Stories: Unlocking Their Power in Agile Development
User stories are often misunderstood and misapplied in agile development. At their core, they’re simple yet powerful tools that focus on the user’s needs and foster meaningful c...
The Boss-Worker Game: Empower Your Agile Teams and Transform Leadership
Discover how the Boss-Worker Game can help agile coaches and leaders empower their teams and transform leadership styles. This hands-on activity vividly demonstrates the power o...
How to motivate people: Autonomy, mastery & purpose
Is money really a motivator? Or is it the opposite? Hey leaders and coaches, let’s have a chat about something super important: motivation. We’ve all been there: Trying to fig...
Real lessons on teamwork from the Marshmallow Challenge
Ever thought that a marshmallow could teach you a thing or two about building effective teams? Tom Wujec, a designer and innovator, presented a fascinating TED Talk in 2010 whe...
Why Not Understanding the Cybertruck is a Management Problem
This article isn’t about Tesla. It’s about leadership, innovation, and why too many managers fail to grasp the essence of how innovation really works. Innovation is challengi...
How To Build Trust And Vulnerability In Teams With The Personal History Exercise
Agile coaches often face the challenge of nurturing trust and openness within teams. The Personal History Exercise, as presented by Patrick Lencioni in “The Five Dysfunctions of...
Why Managing Dependencies Is Dangerous And How To Do Better
When it comes to dependencies, most teams and managers immediately ask, “How do we manage these dependencies?” But are we asking the right question? What’s a Dependency?A depen...
The Benefits of Setting Impossible Goals – Why Great Leaders Aim High
We all laugh when Elon Musk misses yet another audacious goal. But is he just a deluded lunatic billionaire or is there more behind him consistently missing his goals? Flying M...
Why you should know the Ball Point game – and how to facilitate it
Every Agile Coach or Scrum Master should know this game! It’s the standard we use to ease people into the world of iterative development, especially Scrum. You likely played it ...
Are your Daily Scrums wasting your team‘s time?
The Daily Scrum is an often loathed Scrum practice. But it certainly wasn’t invented to waste your team’s time – so what are we missing? Why are some teams not getting value out...