No Nonsense Leadership - podcast cover

No Nonsense Leadership

Murray Robinson & Shane Gibsonnononsenseagile.podbean.com
This is No-Nonsense Leadership, where we explore better ways to develop software products and services. Join world-class experts for honest insights and practical advice to help you lead digital teams, products, and organisations clearly and confidently. Subscribe now to learn the best ideas in the field.

Episodes

#NN 0121 - Vibe Coding with Brian Feister

Brian Feister discusses 'vibe coding' using AI, emphasizing the importance of careful code review and questioning AI outputs. He shares insights on AI's impact on developer skills, the risks of uncritical AI adoption, and realistic productivity gains. The conversation also covers the challenges of scaling AI-generated code and the evolving role of developers.

Apr 29, 202534 minEp. 122

#0120 - AI Assisted development with Nick Consentino

In this episode, we talk to Nick Consentino about AI assisted coding. We examine how AI tools such as Co-pilot and ChatGPT enhance developer productivity and enable rapid prototyping. Nick discusses the benefits and pitfalls of using Ai, emphasizing the need for strong domain knowledge to avoid generating large amounts of unmanageable code. We discuss why AI tools shouldn't be viewed as replacements for developers, but rather as valuable collaborators that complement human expertise. Nick emphas...

Apr 11, 202533 minEp. 121

#0119 - Navigating Organisation Politics with Charles Lambdin

In this episode, we talk to Charles Lambdin about creating meaningful change in organizations. We examine the hidden conflicts that prevent organizations from adopting modern ways of working and uncover how incentives, power and stories influence company dynamics. Charles highlights the importance of understanding organization, politics, and building a coalition to drive real change. Read more from Charles at https://charleslambdin.com/ and https://thelaterallens.substack.com/ Contact Charles fo...

Mar 28, 202541 minEp. 120

#0118 - Test Driven Development with Bryan Finster

In this episode, we talk to Bryan Finster about Test Driven Development. We discuss what TDD is and why it's essential for high speed, high quality software engineering. Bryan criticizes independent QA teams and we explore how integrated cross-functional teams provide the rapid feedback you need to develop high quality code. And we discuss how to use value stream mapping to show your leaders the need to make a change. Tune in to learn all about TDD and BDD from an expert. Listen to the podcast o...

Mar 17, 202554 minEp. 119

#0117 - Break out of the software factory

In this episode, we explore how to escape the outdated factory model of software development. We discuss traditional bureaucratic software development, why it fails, and how Agile was meant to fix it by removing departmental silos and liberating talent, only for managers to turn it back into siloed development in sprints. We discuss a successful Agile transformation at a digital agency and use that example to show that good leadership, structural transformation, and a commitment to learning can ...

Feb 19, 202558 minEp. 118

#0116 - Humanocracy with Michele Zanini

In this episode, we talk to Mikkel Zanini about humanocracy. Mikkel emphasizes the limitations of traditional bureaucratic organizations and explains the concept of humanocracy, which focuses on maximizing human potential rather than efficiency and control. We explore the principles of ownership, meritocracy, internal markets, experimentation, community, openness and balance that underpin humanocracy. And we discuss examples of successful applications at Haier and Roche that show how these princ...

Feb 07, 20251 hr 7 minEp. 117

#0115 - Executive influence with Rich Mironov

In this episode, we talk to Rich Mironov about increasing your influence with executives. We discuss organisational politics and explain how power, stories and alliances are crucial in shaping company dynamics. Rich describes the disconnect between business and technical teams and the importance of expressing arguments in the language of money. He also provides strategies for product leaders to succeed, stressing the need for demonstrating and selling achievements. Join us to learn how to naviga...

Dec 20, 202450 minEp. 116

#0114 - Surviving organisational politics with John Cutler

In this episode, John Cutler talks about surviving the current tech environment. We discuss how layoffs and blame destroy trust, create fear and conflict and stop people from providing the feedback that leaders need to make good decisions. We discuss whether our workplaces are a meritocracy or highly charged political environments. And we explore survival strategies such as going with the flow, picking your battles, building alliances and creating narratives. Join us to learn how to navigate cor...

Dec 09, 202448 minEp. 115

#0113 - Donna replaces Shane as co-host

In this episode, we announce Shane Gibson's departure and introduce Donna Spencer as our new co-host. Donna describes her experience as a product designer and user experience researcher. Shane reflects on what he's learned about agile, product development, and leadership from over a hundred interviews with international experts. Murray discusses the podcast's commitment to delivering deep, pragmatic, and valuable insights on agile product development and leadership while avoiding shallow, rambli...

Nov 29, 202411 minEp. 114

#0112 - Agile Project Management with Johanna Rothman

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Joanna Rothman about agile project management. We critique fake corporate agile and discuss the drawbacks of offshoring your development work. We talk about the importance of continuous feedback, continuous delivery and cross-functional teams and we discuss project charters, budgets, scaling, and the need to focus on outcomes rather than deliverables. Listen to the podcast on your favourite podcast app: | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google P...

Nov 21, 202451 minEp. 113

#0111 - The crisis in agile with Jurgen Appelo

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Jurgen Appelo about the crisis in the agile community. We explore how the agile job market has changed with diminishing roles for agile coaches and scrum masters. And we discuss what people can do now that the agile consulting and training gold rush is over. We talk about the poor quality of agile practices in organizations claiming to have done agile. And the need to improve further, to get the benefits available. And we talk about the evo...

Sep 26, 202435 minEp. 112

#0110 - The Haier model with William Malek

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with William Malek about the Haier operating model. Haier, a Chinese appliance giant, transitioned from a failing state-owned enterprise to a highly profitable publicly owned organisation with over 5,700 micro enterprises and $50 billion in revenue. We explain how Haier uses an internal marketplace to allow microenterprises to trade goods and services with each other, based on a value added mechanism and smart contracts. An approach based on the...

Sep 12, 202443 minEp. 111

#0109 - High performance organisations with Steve Spear

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Steve Spear, author of a High Velocity Edge, Wiring the Winning Organization and Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System. We discuss how good leaders create a system that makes it easy for people to do quality work when and where it's needed by continually asking, what's the problem and how can I help? Steve explains how to use a developmental leadership approach with collaborative problem solving, workflow visualization and iterat...

Aug 30, 202442 minEp. 110

#0108 - Wiring the Winning Organisation with Gene Kim

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Gene Kim, leader of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Conference and author of the Phoenix and Unicorn Projects. Gene describes how DevOps research shows that excellent socio-technical leadership is critical to team success and failure. He explains how technical leaders can dramatically increase team effectiveness by improving the organisational architecture and wiring to support independence of action, rapid feedback and simplification ...

Aug 16, 202445 minEp. 109

#0107 - The Buurtzorg Model with Arnold Stroobach

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Arnold Stroobach about the Buurtzorg organization, which decentralized its management and administration to small cross-functional self-managed teams that deliver in-home medical care. Buurtzorg is the Netherlands largest provider of home care with 16,000 clinical staff in more than 1500 local self-managing teams supported by only 50 admin people and 45 coaches at the company's headquarters. Buurtzorg's model allows the organization to deli...

Aug 01, 202446 minEp. 108

#0106 - Transforming to the Product Model with Chris Jones

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Chris Jones from the Silicon Valley Product Group about the product operating model, emphasising the importance of cross-functional agile product teams. He shares insights on transitioning to a product model. The value of rapid experimentation, product leadership and common pitfalls. And he discusses successful examples of product transformations at Adobe Cloud and Train Line in Europe. Listen to the podcast on your favourite podcast app: |...

Jul 19, 202442 minEp. 106

#0105 - Mob Programming and Software Teaming with Woody Zuill

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Woody Zuill about mob programming. Woody explains the concept of mob programming where a cross-functional software development team focuses on completing one feature at a time. Woody describes how mobbing has increased the effectiveness of development teams he's worked with by 10 times while rapidly increasing team learning, capability and skills. Tune in to learn about the practical implementation of mobbing techniques to improve your prod...

Jun 27, 202450 minEp. 105

#0104 - The Dojo with Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart about Dojo's. Dojo's are a six week immersive learning experience where teams learn and practice new ways of working on real work with skilled coaches. We discuss the structure and implementation of Dojos, chartering, coaching dynamics, and frequent feedback loops. We emphasize the challenges and anti-patterns that can emerge, such as treating Dojos as bootcamps or lacking stakeholder support. Finally, Joel and Di...

Jun 14, 202449 minEp. 104

#0103 - Product Management with John Cutler.

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss product management with John Cutler, famous for his newsletter The Beautiful Mess. We dive into the purpose of product management as a driver of profitable growth. And we discuss how to use the north star framework to align your organisation around common goals. We examine how to use product roadmaps to communicate and prioritize plans and discuss how critical it is to be an open, honest, and effective leader. And finally we look at whether a...

May 30, 20241 hr 7 minEp. 103

#0102 - UX Research with Nick Fine

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss UX research with Dr. Nick Fine. Nick explains what to expect from a UX researcher, how to do user research well, and the challenges that researchers have to overcome to obtain valid results. Whether you're a product manager, designer, or developer this episode is packed with actionable insights, real world examples and expert tips to enhance your understanding of UX research and its role in creating high value, digital products and services. ...

May 17, 202451 minEp. 102

#0101 - The Vanguard Method with Ibrar Hussain

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss the Vanguard method with Ibbi Hussain, one of the founding architects of this revolutionary approach to organisation change. Ibi describes how the Vanguard method uses systems thinking, service design, and occupational psychology to make profound improvements to call center performance. Join us as we navigate through the philosophy of change, the importance of leadership. And practical insights into implementing sustainable improvement within...

May 02, 20241 hr 2 minEp. 101

#0100 - A retrospective

Welcome to our 100th episode. In this episode, we talk about what we've learnt from our guests about agile, product development and leadership. We discuss what the podcast is about and why we started it. We unpack our critical take on fake agile and discuss agile leadership and product development. Join us as we take a deep dive into the insights, experiences and conversations that have shaped our podcast ovr the last 99 episodes. And here's to another hundred episodes of cutting through the non...

Apr 18, 202451 minEp. 100

#0099 - Business Agility with Evan Leybourn

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Evan Leybourn from the Business Agility Institute about business agility. We discuss how to define and measure business agility, examples of agile organisations, and the struggle with traditional bureaucratic models. We delve into the different types of leadership, the nature of internal cultural and political changes, and the challenges faced by organisations in adopting and implementing agility. Listen to the podcast on your favourite pod...

Apr 04, 202430 minEp. 99

#0098 - Innovation and disaster with Ron Westrum

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Ron Westrum about how organisational culture drives innovation and disaster. We discuss generative, bureaucratic and pathological cultures, using real-world examples from NASA, Boeing and others. This episode highlights the importance of leadership integrity, openness, honesty, the free flow of information, and a mission-focused approach to achieving organisational goals. Listen for insights on identifying and promoting a generative culture...

Mar 21, 202457 minEp. 98

#0097 - Unmanaged with Jack Skeels

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Jack Skeels about agile for digital and marketing agencies. Jack advocates for reducing the managerial overhead in organisations to promote productivity and improve communication. We discuss common hurdles in agile implementations. The value of a manager as a sports coach. The importance of scoping the work. Over managing and how real change must start from the top. This episode is full of practical advice and critical insights into organis...

Mar 07, 202454 minEp. 97

#0096 - OKR's with Adrian Howard

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss objectives and key results with Adrian Howard. Adrian explains how OKR's can be used as a strategic instrument for aligning goals within your organisation. We walk through common pitfalls and misconceptions emphasizing the importance of using OKR's focused on outcomes rather than outputs. We discuss the potential for using OKR's with vendors. The idea of paired metrics. And how OKR's can serve as indicators of underlying problems within your ...

Feb 23, 202446 minEp. 96

#0095 - The Heart of Agile - Mike Leber

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as discuss business agility and the heart of agile with Mike Leber. We talk about how the heart of agile liberates you from rigid process frameworks by focusing on collaboration, delivery reflection and improvement. We talk about how the agile industrial complex has turned agile into a heavyweight waterfall process. And how innovation is happening outside the traditional agile bubble. And lastly, we talk about agile leadership. If you're interested in gettin...

Feb 08, 202441 minEp. 95

#0094 - The state of product management - Jason Knight

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Jason Knight on the state of product management. Jason shares his insights and experiences on the responsibilities of a product manager, the evolving nature of the role. Differentiating buyer and user features the importance of testing and validating ideas. Supporting cross-functional teams and fostering a mindset of continuous improvement. Jason shares insights from his experiences and discussions with thought leaders and provides advice f...

Jan 25, 202448 minEp. 94

#0093 - Dysfunction Mapping - Michael Lloyd

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they chat with Michael Lloyd about dysfunction mapping. Whether you are new to the agile world or a seasoned professional, you'll find valuable insights as we delve into understanding team dynamics, honing the coaching process. And the essential principle of iterative hypothesis testing. Join us as we learned the power of mapping dysfunctions to unveil powerful solutions in agile environments. Listen to the podcast on your favourite podcast app: | Spotify...

Jan 18, 202451 minEp. 93

#0092 - Developing digital products in China - Bianca Grizhar

Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they as they chat with Bianca Grizhar about developing digital products in China. We discuss the cultural differences between Germany and China, and how Scrum improved team collaboration. We talk about the benefits of working directly with people offshore in cross functional, cross organisational teams. Whether you're a product manager or a developer, this episode is packed with practical advice that will help you work more successfully with your offshore...

Dec 22, 202331 minEp. 92
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