Food for Agile Thought #400: Doing Great Work, Introverted PMs, Sphere of Influence, Experimentation Fallacy

Welcome to the 400th edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 47,822 peers. My name is Stefan Wolpers.

This week, we explore the common elements of doing great work across various fields, and we reflect on a discussion around the rigidity of Agile rules, encapsulating the paradox of Agile’s call for adaptation and experimentation versus the perceived necessity of rules. Moreover, we consider a coaching tool, prompting introspection on control, influence, and concerns. Also, we analyze transformations’ need for a radical shift from rigid, top-down management to flexible, people-centric operations rooted in simplified structures and autonomous teams.

Then, we warn against nine common stakeholder management pitfalls and highlight the common pitfall of product teams getting too engrossed in perfecting their process at the cost of practical action. Also, an introverted product manager shares her journey from self-doubt to finding her unique way of navigating the role’s demands, and Jiaona Zhang, SVP of Product at Webflow, discusses building a “minimum lovable product.”

Finally, we emphasize Wardley Mapping’s role in strategy and its evolution, making intangible elements visible for effective product development and organizational transformation. Additionally, we advocate for Trunk-Based Development (TBD) and discuss the importance of CEOs dedicating significant time to innovation activities, implementing novel metrics, and developing inclusive, high-performing teams. Lastly, this week’s lemon offers Scrum “best practices,” from “practice stand-ups, literally” to “plan new sprint when product backlog has enough items.” Yub, you read correctly.

🏅 The most popular discussion on LinkedIn this week was: What do you think is the best fit for Project Managers in Agile?

PS: 🗞 Did you miss past issues? No worries, here we go: 398, 399.

PPS: 📖 Get notified when the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide will become available.

👉 There is one community ticket for “Food for Agile Thought” subscribers for the Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills — October 4, 2023, class with a 50% discount available. If you are interested in attending, please get in touch.

🏆 Tip of the Week

Paul Graham explores the common elements of doing great work across various fields, aiming to create a universal guide for highly ambitious individuals. Find out what it truly means to ‘work hard’ in any field: "How to Do Great Work."

🍋 The Lemon of the Week

AltexSoft: This article hopes to offer “best practices” for enhancing Scrum’s implementation, from “Practice stand-ups, literally” to “Plan new sprint when product backlog has enough items:” "25 Scrum Process Best Practices that Set Your Agile Workflow for Efficiency."

➿ Agile & Scrum

• Bob Galen reflects on a LinkedIn post by Damon Poole, sparking a discussion around the rigidity of Agile rules. The debate encapsulates the paradox of Agile’s call for adaptation and experimentation versus the perceived necessity of rules, particularly for Agile beginners—a paradox? "Why so much resistance to guardrails?"
  
  

• Kate Leto champions the Sphere of Influence as a valuable coaching tool. Its simplicity and ability to prompt introspection on control, influence, and concerns swiftly and profoundly impact individuals and teams: "What can you really influence? Find out by taking a look at your Sphere of Influence."

• Trisha Gee advocates for Trunk-Based Development (TBD), a single-branch development practice, as a preferable method over branching, despite Git’s popularity. Learn more about the advantages of TBD in fostering Continuous Delivery: "Why I prefer trunk-based development."

🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class — October 4, 2023

The Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS) training by Berlin Product People is a guaranteed one-day official Scrum.org class for advanced Scrum practitioners and agile coaches, including the industry-acknowledged PSFS certification. This PSFS training class is in English.

Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of two compact sessions with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 o’clock CEST.

👉 New in 2023: Refresher Classes: Attend a free refresher class as a former student upon arrangement and availability.

Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class — October 4, 2023.

👉 There is one community ticket for “Food for Agile Thought” subscribers for the Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills — October 4, 2023, class with a 50% discount available. If you are interested in attending, please get in touch.

🎯 Product

• Coda.io: Teresa de Figueiredo, an introverted product manager, shares her journey from self-doubt to finding her unique way of navigating the role’s demands. Discover her toolbox of strategies for managing relationships, conflicts, meetings, and personal energy levels: "How to thrive as an introverted PM."
  
  

• 📺 YouTube: Ant Murphy warns against nine common stakeholder management pitfalls, including insufficient understanding of risks/concerns, misaligned communication styles, and neglecting important stakeholders. Learn more about how to avoid these missteps: "Common Stakeholder Management Traps to Avoid."

• 🎙 Lenny Rachitsky: Jiaona Zhang, SVP of Product at Webflow, discusses building a “minimum lovable product,” using storytelling for effective roadmaps, setting ambitious OKRs, and strategies for success in a new role: "Building Minimum Lovable Products, Stories from WeWork and Airbnb, and Thriving as a PM."

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

• Dave Hora emphasizes Wardley Mapping’s role in strategy and its evolution, making intangible elements visible for effective product development and organizational transformation. Discover more about Wardley Mapping’s increasing significance: "Strategy and Wardley Mapping - Part 1."
  
  

• Roman Pichler emphasizes a product vision’s pivotal role in product success, providing direction and fostering alignment. However, he points out two competing views on formulating a product vision to be explored and clarified: "Double Vision: Choosing the Right Approach to Capture the Product Vision."

• Kromatic: Anders Toxboe highlights the common pitfall of product teams getting too engrossed in perfecting their process at the cost of practical action. Learn more about the necessity of balancing theory with execution: "Why Speed Beats Perfection in Product Experimentation."

🎶 Encore

• Strategyzer: Tendayi Viki balances the allure of entrepreneurship with its challenges and contrasts it with innovation in large corporations, which, despite initial hurdles, offer scaling advantages. Discover more about this dual perspective on innovation: "It’s more fun to be a pirate in the Navy."
  
  

• 📺 YouTube: Alex Osterwalder discusses the importance of CEOs dedicating significant time to innovation activities, implementing novel metrics, and developing inclusive, high-performing teams. Discover more about the role of AI in innovation and avoiding ‘innovation theatre:’ "Stimulating Innovation from the C-Suite."

📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 August 17 — Meetup: Hands-on Agile #52: Jim Highsmith & the Agile Manifesto
• 🖥 🇬🇧 August 29-30 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 September 5-6 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)
• 🖥 🇬🇧 October 4 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English)

See all upcoming classes here.

📺 Youtube Channel

• Joe Justice: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business — Hands-on Agile EXTRA.

Your Opinion Matters

Would you like to suggest a post for next week's edition or provide general feedback? You can reply to this email, or contact stefan@age-of-product.com.

If you like the newsletter, please forward it to a friend or colleague—it would mean a lot to me! 🙏

If you want to receive even more news, just follow @AgeOfProduct or @StefanW on Twitter for your daily dose.

Last, but not least: If you are a first time reader of this newsletter, click here to subscribe and join 47,822 peers.

Best,