agile
Organizations must intentionally determine how opinionated their collaboration tools (business systems) should be, to align with their culture and business model. Opinionated tools align well with top-down organizational cultures, while non-opinionated tools align well with decentralized, self-organizing cultures. Organizations struggle at each extreme: 1. Top-down organizations struggle to scale effectively,
agile
I recently spoke at the 2017 Capability Counts conference, put on by the CMMI Institute. It's a great event that isn't focused just on CMMI maturity models -- instead it's a conference where a few hundred people get together to discuss process improvement, Agile,
agile
I recently spoke at the 2017 Capability Counts conference, put on by the CMMI Institute. It's an interesting event that isn't focused just on CMMI maturity models -- instead it's a conference where a few hundred people get together to discuss process improvement, Agile,
miscellaneous
I finally found the iOS podcast app I've been looking for, for months (certainly not a life-threatening problem to complain about) -- thanks to a great recommendation from Tom Cagley. I figured I should ask him, as he's an accomplished podcast host (focused on how technology
miscellaneous
(Blinkist is a service that summarizes books into short text and audio (15 minute) summaries -- they're great, and I thought I'd offer them some unsolicited product management feedback) Hey Blinkist, I've been loving my subscription, and I wanted to share some of my
productivity
This morning I got to share IT infrastructure, business strategy, and business architecture tips and recommendations with some local current and future entrepreneurs at The Capitol Post in Old Town Alexandria. Capitol Post is a great organization focused on inspiring Veteran entrepreneurs to find professional clarity and scale those visions.
miscellaneous
While it's a gross oversimplification to say that I draw (I use the term "draw" loosely) on a whiteboard for a living, it's amazing to reflect on how much of my time is spent using a whiteboard for all kinds of things (most of
lessons-learned
My grandfather, a NASA engineer who worked on telecommunications systems for many of the Apollo missions was always coming up with things I never saw anyone else doing. Some of that came from having engineering education and skills, but much of it came from a willingness to learn new things
miscellaneous
I'm excited that, for the first time, the eight Jersey Mike's Subs shops in Northern Virginia have selected NOVA Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) to partner with for the month of March, as part of their annual Month of Giving. Every year, Jersey Mike's
lessons-learned
As I've gotten older, I've realized how each person has different tendencies. Some of us are introverted. Some are analytical. In addition to personality axes like introverted vs. extroverted, thinking vs. feeling (see Myers-Briggs); people often have a tendency to either live in one of these
miscellaneous
You don't always have to play by the rules My father often used boldness (be confident), candor (you'll be surprised what people will agree to when you ask plainly), and creativity to find ways to get some amazing deals and create fun adventures for my sister
agile
I've started reading Brian Roberton's book Holacracy, which talks about an organizational management approach focused around self-organization and protected autonomy. It's an interesting attack on the base assumption that we should build companies in the traditional, top-down approach where a CEO directs leaders who