This episode of SoundNotes is an interview with LeadingAgile CEO, Mike Cottmeyer who takes on 3 separate topics during the interview: 1. Locus of Blame (01:38) 2. Elevate Agile (27:38) 3. Speaking with Authority (41:39) Locus of Blame Things happen. They don’t always happen the way we want them to. You get a flat tire on the way to a job interview, your supplier is late resulting in a massive delay in your delivery of a project, there’s a pandemic and that messes up pretty much everything you ha...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 392
This podcast is the second in a series of conversations focused on Fixed vs. Growth Mindset. Leveraging the work in Carol Dwek’s book, Mindset, Mary Kaufman and Dave Prior are exploring the differences between having a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Each episode of this series will focus on how our mindset impacts the way we perceive and respond to different types of stimulus / events. This episode is focused on obstacles and the differences between how a fixed mindset and a growth mindset ...
Sep 16, 2021•41 min•Ep. 391
This week in SoundNotes our focus is Design Thinking. If you are a Product Owner and Design Thinking is not part of your toolbox you need to listen to this podcast. This is the first in what will be a series of interviews centered around Design Thinking, how it works and why it is a critical element of the work of anyone serving in a Product Owner or Product Management role.
Aug 26, 2021•40 min•Ep. 390
As vaccination rates rise and the number of people infected with Covid-19 drops our world is slowly moving on to some new form of normal. Many of us have returned, or soon will be returning, to the office. After a year working from home, that shift back to the thing that was once part of our every day work lives, is going to present unique challenges for each of us. Some have been champing at the bit, waiting to get back to a busy social IRL work atmosphere. Others discovered that working from h...
Jul 29, 2021•30 min•Ep. 388
Earlier this year LeadingAgile was contacted by GC Uttam who expressed an interest in taking Certified Scrum Master training. Uttam wanted to learn how he could use Agile practices within his organization to provide better support for the Nepalese orphans and widows they serve. LeadingAgile believes strongly in giving back. And whenever we can we provide open seats in our classes to those whose work is to serve others. We offered Uttam a seat and agreed to check back a few months after class to ...
Jul 15, 2021•16 min•Ep. 387
This is the first in a series of podcasts we’ll be doing on Growth Mindset. In this episode Mary Kaufman and Dave Prior discuss what a growth mindset is, why it is vital it is to the work we do at LeadingAgile, and how embracing challenges fits into a growth mindset approach. During the conversation, Mary and Dave provide examples of common challenges we all face both at work, in our day-to-day lives, and in introducing large-scale organizational change. As they walk through the examples, Mary a...
Jun 24, 2021•37 min•Ep. 386
This week in SoundNotes Lance Kind joins Dave to talk about Scaled Agile Tech Coaching. In this episode, Lance and Dave explore how technical coaching can be used to supplement the process coaching that is typically offered during an agile transformation. He also shares his approach to introduce technical coaching in a way that can scale across the enterprise. Lance is an experienced Senior level software developer as well as an Agile coach. He’s also an author and produces podcasts in both Engl...
Jun 03, 2021•44 min•Ep. 385
One of the things you need for Agile practices to deliver on their promise is a fully dedicated team of people working together to deliver value in a predictable manner. What we want is a high-performing, learning team that can consistently make and meet commitments. But what if that isn’t an option? What if you work in an organization that still believes in the power of multi-tasking, or you work in an agency whose whole business model is built around the idea that everyone is 100% utilized acr...
May 20, 2021•19 min•Ep. 384
Many organizations of all sizes have been publicly experimenting with Dojos—immersive learning environments adopted from ancient martial arts practices—that focus on upskilling teams and producing products. In this week's podcast, our guest Joel Norman shares his thoughts and experiences related to Dojos, including what makes them successful, common challenges uncovered when running Dojos, and why they may not be the ticket to Transformation many organizations hope they'll be.
Apr 26, 2021•30 min•Ep. 383
You can have different levels of Agility in an organization—and those are all necessary and great. But it takes more to achieve Business Agility, which is entirely different from team-level Agility, or enterprise-level, and so forth. In this podcast, Dave Prior and LeadingAgile CEO Mike Cottmeyer think through and explore the nuances of Business Agility and what it takes to achieve it.
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 382
Simply sending your people off to training, or bringing someone in to train isn’t going to automatically get you the value you want out of it. In this quick podcast, Dave Prior and LeadingAgile’s Jeff Howey dig into five things you can do to ensure you get the most value out of Agile training in your organization.
Feb 25, 2021•13 min•Ep. 381
This week’s SoundNotes features a question submitted by a student during a recent Certified Scrum Master class. The question was posted in the topic parking lot and we did not have time to address it during class, so I followed up with the student after class and we discussed it via phone. I also offered to do a podcast on it and Jeff Howey joins me this week to dig into the topic. Because I spoke to the student after class, I was able to add some more detail for Jeff which you will hear during ...
Feb 11, 2021•19 min•Ep. 380
What is DevOps? How does it tie into the LeadingAgile model? How do we deal with the complications it presents when we apply it at scale? In this week’s podcast, LeadingAgile Chief Transformation Officer Matt Van Vleet joins Dave to answer all of these questions along with a general primer on DevOps in Agile Transformation.
Feb 04, 2021•37 min•Ep. 379
In this episode of SoundNotes, our guest Jeff Howey will help uncover the opportunities this challenging scenario can present—and offer ideas on how to change its foundational causes to prevent it from happening in the first place.
Jan 14, 2021•23 min•Ep. 378
In this episode of SoundNotes, Matt Craig joins Dave for a discussion that centers around comparing the way biological systems and businesses function and respond to change. In a biological system, enzymes bring elements together that catalyze reactions and keep iterating until they find an effective response.
Dec 17, 2020•51 min•Ep. 377
Dave Prior sits down for a conversation with LeadingAgile CEO Mike Cottmeyer and they explore Mike's Agile approach to personal development and dig into the details of how and why his approach to growth and development has evolved over time. If you’d like to contact Dave you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: dave.prior@leadingagile.com If you have a question you...
Dec 03, 2020•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 373
In this week's episode of SoundNotes, Ross Beurmann is back to talk about how to create a funding mechanism that's as adaptable as the governance model. Or, to put it more simply, how to allocate funds and pay for things when we're continually tuning the way we work, and what we're working on. As your organization moves further down the path toward Agility, you may experience some dissonance when more traditional methods of funding work meet with the need to inspect and adapt. And we're not just...
Dec 03, 2020•36 min•Ep. 376
You have to deeply understand how what you’re doing at all levels of the organization is going to drive quality. In this week’s podcast, LeadingAgile CEO Mike Cottmeyer joins us to dig into why increased quality should matter to you, and some actionable steps to take to enable more of it across your organization. If you’d like to contact Dave you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter....
Dec 03, 2020•49 min•Ep. 375
When large organizations set out to take on Agile Transformation, it's never for Agile's sake. They're usually after one or more of these 6 things, Predictability, Quality, Cost Savings, Early ROI, Product Fit, or Innovation. In this week's episode of LeadingAgile’s SoundNotes, Dave Prior talks with Mike Cottmeyer to discuss the steps you can take to get more predictable and make and meet your commitments. If you’d like to contact Dave you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile...
Dec 03, 2020•50 min•Ep. 374
This week in LeadingAgile’s SoundNotes, Justin Polk is here to discuss the role that capitalization plays in helping an organization adopt an Agile approach to work. When the conversation turns to Agile Transformation, it often focuses on what changes you need to introduce, where, and when. But sometimes we get so caught up in those conversations that we neglect to include one very important aspect… the money and how it is tracked. In this episode of the podcast, you’ll learn what CapEx (Capital...
Sep 30, 2020•46 min•Ep. 372
At the beginning of the pandemic, LeadingAgile published a white paper called Maintaining Momentum in a Remote Agile World . This episode of SoundNotes is a follow up to that whitepaper. In this interview, Jeff Howey and Dave Prior reflect on what they've learned about successful remote interaction since the whitepaper was released, how those lessons can impact a system of Transformation and remote collaboration at scale. During the interview, Jeff also explains PSTIR, which stands for Prepare, ...
Sep 16, 2020•50 min•Ep. 371
This week in SoundNotes, Yaton Bowens joins Dave to talk about the role that trust plays in Agile Transformation. Building on Mike Cottmeyers’ Trust vs. Trustworthiness webinar, Yaton and Dave dig into some of the trust gaps that management and the Development Teams have to cross for an Agile Transformation to take root in an organization. Without a track record to demonstrate trustworthiness, how can management trust that the team will deliver? And how can the team trust that management will al...
Aug 18, 2020•39 min•Ep. 370
This week is all about Earned Value and Justin Polk is back, spending time with Dave discussing how Earned Value tools can be applied in an Agile Transformation. They explore what types of work you might want to consider using it for, how it can help, and what types of people might find the path to Agile just a little more possible when you show them how Earned Value metrics can be applied on an Agile Team. Links If you are new to Earned Value, here are a few links to help you get started: Agile...
Jul 09, 2020•41 min•Ep. 368
Once you reach the point where you're ready to pursue a job in Agile, the next hurdle you'll often face is, “How?” Convincing someone to give you a job as a ScrumMaster or a Product Owner can be tough if you have no experience. And even if you do have experience, that doesn’t necessarily make it easier. The Pandemic has put a lot of people back into the applicant pool, and the competition is fierce. In this week’s SoundNotes, LeadingAgile’s Director of Talent Acquisition Priya Sethuraman spends ...
Jun 25, 2020•19 min•Ep. 367
Many organizations begin their journey toward becoming Agile by selecting a few initial teams or projects that are set up to test out how Agile will impact the organization and its ability to deliver work. LeadingAgile Senior Consultant Justin Polk joins Dave this week to discuss how to select and run an Agile pilot. In this episode, you’ll learn about some of the risks and challenges that come with pilots, why LeadingAgile takes a more holistic approach to piloting by selecting an entire vertic...
Jun 18, 2020•45 min•Ep. 366
This week in LeadingAgile’s SoundNotes, we’re focusing on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Andrew Young joins Dave to talk about this history of OKRs, why they have become such an important part of how we track and measure performance, why they matter to Executives, and why teaching Executives about OKRs requires a very specific approach. Want more on OKRs? Agile Unplugged - Episode 02 with Mike Cottmeyer and Dennis Stevens An Introduction to OKRs: Objectives and Key Results Tracking and Repor...
Jun 03, 2020•59 min•Ep. 365
Getting a few teams up and running using Scrum, Kanban, or some other form of Agile is great. But that doesn’t necessarily mean your organization has become Agile. This week in SoundNotes, Dragos Dumitriu joins Dave for a conversation about the difference between spinning up a few teams and truly achieving business Agility. During the conversation Dragos shares details on some of the common patterns, he sees when organizations begin moving towards an Agile approach, things to watch out for, and ...
May 27, 2020•35 min•Ep. 364
Training is a vital piece of today’s business climate. It’s typically at the forefront of conversations around development or growth, but what is the correlation or connection between training and actual business transformation? The assumption has been that if my employees only had the knowledge, they would produce different outcomes. While training is an undoubtedly valuable piece of creating large, organizational change, the outcomes that our organizations produce are highly intertwined with a...
May 14, 2020•19 min•Ep. 363
In this episode of SoundNotes, LeadingAgile Managing Consultant, Greg DePasquale explains what Outcome-Based Planning is, how it works, why it's so critical for enabling successful delivery, and how it works at different levels of the organization. In outcome-based planning, we focus on “a results-driven plan rather than plan-driven results." There is a focus on the Why as opposed to the How. We center around the business outcome we are looking to achieve, rather than making sure we are doing “a...
May 07, 2020•22 min•Ep. 362
When we are trying to figure out what products to build, we have to develop a deep understanding of the problem we are solving. To do that, we have to understand who we are solving problems for, what is important to them, and what offering would be most appealing to them or most likely to cause a change in behavior. Looking at the problem from different perspectives can enable it to be solved more easily, with each vantage point offering different insights that can complement each other. When we...
Apr 30, 2020•42 min•Ep. 361
