Food for Agile Thought #345: Dissonance Causes, Transformation Defined, The Age of Scrum Is Over, Efficiency is the Enemy

Welcome to the 345th edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 35,369 peers. My name is Stefan Wolpers.

This week, we analyze dissonance causes — resulting in tension, loss, fear, or curiosity — from information to expectations to constraints. Chris Lennon believes that ‘Scrum has given us a lot, but it’s time for some conscious uncoupling.’ And we also share an approach to dealing with the management’s unreal desire to have reliability, predictability, and numbers in software development.

Then, we dissect the idea of ‘managing’ stakeholders instead of aligning all parties in the product game by including everyone and giving everyone a voice, and we have a look at how to create better user stories. Also, we reflect on ‘mastering the delicate relationship between the builders and sellers,’ and we define what a transformation to a product-led organization is about, from ‘changing how you build and deploy’ to ‘changing how you decide which problems to solve.’

Moreover, we analyze the challenges of pursuing an agile-traditional hybrid approach as an organization at the same time to achieve business agility. We also point to an HBR study, claiming that ‘employee productivity was 71% higher when meetings were reduced by 40%.’ Finally, we share the analysis of an Estonian company’s approach to becoming agile at scale.

PS: 🗞 Did you miss past issues? No worries, here we go: 343, 344.

📅 Join 150-plus peers on July 14, 2022: Outcome-Based Product Planning with Jeff Gothelf.

🏆 Tip of the Week

John Cutler analyzes the causes of dissonance—resulting in tension, loss, fear, or curiosity—from information to expectations to constraints: "Your Head Hurts. But Why?"

➿ Agile & Scrum

• Medium: Chris Lennon believes that ‘Scrum has given us a lot, but it’s time for some conscious uncoupling:’ "The Age of Scrum Is Over."
  
  

• Silicon Valley Product Group: Jon Moore and Marty Cagan share their thoughts on what a transformation to a product-led organization is about, from ‘changing how you build and deploy’ to ‘changing how you decide which problems to solve:’ "Transformation Defined."

• InfoQ: Kurt Bittner delves into the challenges of pursuing an agile-traditional hybrid approach as an organization at the same time to achieve business agility. "Why the Dual Operating Model Impedes Enterprise Agility."

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Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of four sessions with like-minded agile peers in the morning hours from 09:00 – 13:00 o’clock CEST.

Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: June 20-23, 2022.

👉 A community ticket for “Food for Agile Thought” subscribers is available for this class with a 50% discount. If you are interested, please get in touch.

🎯 Product

• Medium: Lisa Zane dissects the idea of ‘managing’ stakeholders instead of aligning all parties in the product game by including everyone and giving everyone a voice: "Reimagining the Term ‘Stakeholder Management.’"

• Medium: Oleg Chursin recently took Mike Cohn’s online class on creating user stories. Here are his notes: "Notes on ‘Better User Stories.’"

• Department of Product: Richard Holmes reflects on ‘mastering the delicate relationship between the builders and sellers:’ "How Product Managers and Sales teams can work effectively together."

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

• Farnam Street: Shane Parrish advocates letting ‘slack’ into your life, detailing its benefits: "Efficiency is the Enemy."

• Tealfeed: Fredrik Carleson shares his approach to dealing with the management’s unreal desire to have reliability, predictability, and numbers in software development: "How to tell your manager you can’t estimate."
  
  

• Corporate Rebels: Pim de Morree points to an HBR study, claiming that ‘employee productivity was 71% higher when meetings were reduced by 40%:’ "Research Concludes: We Waste Our Time At Work."

✂️ Cutting Room Floor

• InfoQ: Jurgen Appelo shares an analysis of an Estonian company’s approach to becoming agile at scale: "Pipedrive Unfixed - Case Study of a Unicorn Company."

📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Jun 7-10 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Jun 20-23 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Jun 28 - Jul 1 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 July 14 — Live Virtual Meetup: Hands-on Agile #43: Outcome-Based Product Planning w/ Jeff Gothelf (English)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 Aug 29-30 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)
• 🖥 🇬🇧 Sep 6-9 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
• 🖥 🇬🇧 Sep 12-13 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; English)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 Sep 26-27 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Agile Leadership Essentials Training (PAL-E; German)

See all upcoming classes here.

📺 Youtube Channel

• David Burkus: Hands-on Agile #40: The Best Team Ever.

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Best,