Focus On Go
What is the single biggest change you can make today to shift your clunky, bureaucratic teams into high gear? * Stop Planning for Perfection * Focus on Go
Aug 28, 2017•10 min
Badass Agile
A place for elite leaders and teams.
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Episodes
Accountability – The Unfair Advantage in Leadership
What do legendary leaders have that the rest of us don’t? * Superhuman Accountability – the refusal to blame others, but rather the acceptance that all of our outcomes are within our ability to change * This is what allows people to achieve the impossible….they own their outcomes and know the only thing that influences their destiny is THEM
Aug 21, 2017
Episode 22 – Continuous Improvement IV – How to Get Honest Feedback
How do we level-up feedback skills to build a super-charged dream team? * You will have to go first * You will have to be vulnerable * You will need to leverage and build trust * You need to build a sense of accountability and duty
Aug 14, 2017
On Transformation
What is the badass’ contribution to Agile at Scale, or any large scale organization? * The bigger it gets, the more it seeks certainty and safety. There’s nothing theoretically wrong with that * Scaling will alway be a compromise between predictability and agility * Try to infuse agile mindsets and principles everywhere you go. That alone has the potential for massive improvement. * A badass is not strictly agile. A badass is someone tenacious enough to work tirelessly to find the right balance...
Aug 07, 2017
Checkpoint – Step Up Your Badass Game
How do all these podcast episodes make you more badass? * Integration of all the mindsets and habits are key. We focus on fundamentals * Each episode gives you some practical implementation advice – use it. * Review old episodes – as you grow, they will provide deeper wisdom * As you listen to this checkpoint, decide which areas need work and go back to revisit the appropriate episodes
Aug 03, 2017
Episode 21 – Continuous Improvement III – Awareness Techniques of Elite Leaders
In Personal and Team performance, How do you overcome blind spots so you can see your own gaps – and that of others – clearly and objectively so you can supercharge your continuous improvement? * You need to be in tune with Actions and Reactions, and what causes them – both yours and other people’s * You need to be able to separate stimulus, or triggers, from the automatic responses and thoughts they invoke * You need to learn how to put some room between triggers, your responses, and action * U...
Jul 31, 2017
Episode 20 – Continuous Improvement II – Self Reflection
Why do we fail to address areas of greatest need by never really getting to the big pain points? * We need to measure ourselves against goals we set for achieving our vision * We need to practice looking at our strengths and gaps every day
Jul 24, 2017
Fuse Chamber Cross-Post – “The Secrets of the 2%”
THIS IS A CROSS POST from my podcast for artists and entrepreneurs. I accidentally posted this to Badass Agile and removed it; however it was one of my more popular episodes so I added it here anyway! See you next week.
Jul 20, 2017
Episode 19 – Continuous Improvement I – Retrospectives
Why do we really do retrospectives, and what qualities must they have to be truly powerful and effective * Retrospectives are about a continuous improvement mindset * Making changes should be aggressive, prioritized and experimental. * Everyone is involved. Executive/Leadership too. * Feedback must be meaningful, honest and democratic. Outcome-based is better than behaviour-based.
Jul 17, 2017
Episode 18 – Badass Leadership – Control
How do you become the leader you’ve always wanted to be? What qualities does a badass have that makes other people trust and follow their leadership? * A Badass Leader exhibits control * We discuss Two kinds of struggle – chaos (fight-or-flight, rational fear) and triggering irrational fear (ego-based) * How you react is everything. Negativity, fear are self-propelling and spread virally * Finally we discuss 9 rules for staying in control, and how this affects the kind of leader people perceive ...
Jul 03, 2017•19 sec
Episode 17 – Focus Part V – Freedom from Distractions
In this episode, we explore some techniques that are often overlooked when examining team performance and productivity – being able to focus exclusively and free from distractions. From team co-location to multitasking to room noise, distractions cause people to shift focus from what’s important to whatever is popping up in front of them. In these environments it is difficult for teams to thrive. We look at the importance of freedom from distractions for doing focused work in this final episode ...
Jun 27, 2017
Episode 16 – Focus IV – Decisions
The quality of the decisions we make determine our success. That’s a lot of weight to carry, and as a result we place too much importance on being ‘ready’ to make decisions – so we make them slowly, and the outcomes are seldom better than when we decide quickly. In this episode we are reminded of Badass qualities, how they can help us make better decisions faster, how Agile can support and foster more efficient decisions, and how to get the courage to make more decisions and stand up for the con...
Jun 21, 2017
Episode 15 – Focus III – Discipline and Resilience
Continuing our series on the mindset/habit pairs that create great leaders and great teams, this episode discusses two very important elements of Doing Focused Work – Discipline and Resilience. The ability to work consistently and reliably, as well as the ability to endure hardship (and in fact embrace it) bring serious competitive edge to you, your teams and your organization. We discuss how Discipline and Resilience affect performance in an Agile setting and outside of the team – in your daily...
Jun 13, 2017
Use a Habit Tracker
While recovering from a nasty head cold that has destroyed my voice, I’ll keep you guys busy with a short tip on that helps with new mindset/habit pairs – using a habit tracker. If you truly want to become more badass and develop mastery over your leadership game, you will need to change and correct a number of behaviours. Pick a few you know you want to change and use technology as a lever…habit trackers can help accelerate wherever it is you want to go.
Jun 05, 2017
Become a Social Observer
In this interlude, we consider the edge you can claim by looking for people who are unsure in social situations. The habit of paying attention to your body language and that of others allows you to negotiate and influence much more effectively. This short podcast suggests some tips to get you started.
May 29, 2017
Your Job Is Change
In this episode, we touch on the sometimes delicate issue of people who resist change. More than any other skill, our economy demands adaptability. The landscape is ever-evolving, and we are expected to be more than ‘trained and knowledgeable’. What was relevant yesterday may not be relevant tomorrow. Agile teaches us adaptability – the skill of reacting to a changing current and course correcting with grace and speed. Particularly in new transformations, your team must adopt this mindset and sk...
May 23, 2017
How a Badass Deals With Haters
In this episode, we look at the nature and motives of a ‘hater’, and, recognizing that they are inevitable but wholly irrelevant to your mission, address the best mindset for handling them.
May 15, 2017
Episode 14 – The Badass Keys – Focus II – Breaking Bigger things into Smaller Things
This episode continues the ‘Focus’ series of Badass Agile Mindset/Habit pairs by examining how breaking larger goals into smaller chunks makes them more achievable. Similar to the Sprint concept of scope management, inherent in this technique are a number of mind-hacks that make it easier to stay motivated and focused when faced with overwhelming difficulty or complexity.
May 15, 2017
Episode 13 – The Badass Agile Keys – Focus I – Prioritization
In this episode, we discuss the first of the mindset/habit pairs that comprise Badass Agile – Focus. Focus has many variations and components; in this episode we will look at the importance of prioritization. Although we commonly think of prioritization as being directly related to the product backlog and value delivery, it needs to be applied to everything we do as practitioners.
May 09, 2017
Surround Yourself With Inspiration
If great leaders and badasses are made, not born, how do you become one? This podcast discusses a number of different techniques. but this episode reveals one of the most overlooked and underused – keep yourself inspired every chance you get. We have so many options in the physical and digital realm to learn new things, and to get ‘virtual coaching’ by reading and hearing the words of the masters who have gone before us. To experience it once is to learn; to hear it repeated over and over, at ti...
May 03, 2017
Episode 12 – The Problem Of Bigness
In this Episode, I’ll discuss the source of so much mindset dissonance in spreading Agile (and elite leadership) in large-scale organizations. The need for safety, certainty and sameness – and outright fear – govern so much of how we think and how we build and lead. The solution rests with us – the Badass Agile tribe – and our ability to ship something incredible, one team at a time.
May 01, 2017
Episode 11 – What Makes Agile Work
An exploration of why Agile really ‘works’ – creating better product, hopefully more quickly and efficiently, with happier teams. These principles – Focus, Continuous Improvement, Adaptive Planning, and ‘Team’ are the mindsets and behaviours that actually produce the results – and they are the same principles and mindsets used by athletes, artists, achievers and leaders around the world.
Apr 24, 2017
Episode 10 – Becoming Badass Part III – Knowing
Whatever you think to be real is real, whether its true or not. Your perceptions and interpretations of the world create automatic physical responses in your mind and body that further reinforce how you think and feel. The actual truth of the situation may not be available to you – you go on what you know. So let’s try Knowing differently. This podcast examines the methods and effects of simply believing your own leadership skill and capacity to achieve.
Apr 17, 2017
Episode 9 – Spreading Excellence
In this episode, we discuss how to spread excellence through an organization using Agile means and mindsets. Rather than analyzing and and strategizing endlessly to roll out Agile to an entire organization – which will take way longer than you can afford to start yielding any sort of benefit or advantage – simply choose a high-priority project that feels like a natural fit for agile (can ship early and often, has a willing and supportive business and technical team, etc) and focus on doing that ...
Apr 10, 2017
Reason Is Everything
In this short episode, we look at why “reason for doing” matters when influencing and leading others – both Your reasons, and Theirs. We discuss a tip for building trust with new teams – a technique that is often overlooked but builds instant connection and allows you to keep that connection level high going forward.
Apr 03, 2017
Episode 8 – The Badass Agile Ethos
In this episode, we forge a creed for our tribe; a statement of beliefs and values that define our culture. This is your National Anthem Like all things Agile, this will be refined and improved over time. For now, if you wish to be part of something exceptional, adopt this creed, if it inspires you, or create your own.
Mar 27, 2017
Episode 7 – Becoming Badass Part II – Confidence and Core Values
Welcome back. In this episode we will carry on with the idea of ‘Becoming Badass’. Remember Why we’re here. To create an elite tribe of leaders, using the principles of Agile to strengthen our personal practice; and to bring your improved game back to our teams and our leadership. We started with an orientation of the principles and philosophies, then, we took on the fundamentals of making a commitment to serve, setting a vision for ourselves, our teams and our product, and how to break down all...
Mar 20, 2017
Episode 6 – Breaking It Down To Build It Back Up Again
In this final episode in the orientation section of the podcast, we talk about how we have to tear everything down so we can build it up again – unlearning bad mindsets and habits so we can replace them with new, badass ones.
Mar 13, 2017
Episode 5 – Vision
In this Episode we take the Badass Philosophy Further by discussing the importance and benefits of Visioning. We introduce the first Mindset+Habit Pair to help you create a personal vision as a leader, a vision for your team, your product and your sprints. We discuss: -Where We are in the Badass Learning Arc -Reintroduction to the Badass Agile Philosophy -Vision is Badass, Vision is Agile, Vision is Excellence -An Example of Vision -What is a Great Visionary? -Why Vision? What will having a visi...
Mar 06, 2017
Episode 4 – Becoming a Leader – Making the Decision To Lead
We are here to build an elite tribe of leaders. People who advance the cause of agile by bringing excellence to their practice. By bringing those leadership skills that allow you to make a difference. And people who advance the cause of leadership by rising their people up improve our collective leadership game. This journey starts with a decision to be badass. The Decision To lead.. In a way, you “answer the call”. We need people who are 1) willing to do the hard work of doing what they say the...
Feb 27, 2017
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