This week we discussed sections 4.1 through 4.3. 4.1 — Work the policy, not the exceptions You reconcile consistency and change by working the policy, not the exceptions. Consistency is important, but if people don’t ask for change, then how…
Professional Development – 2020 – Week 16
Business Preparing Your Business for a Post-Pandemic World (via Harvard Business Review) What position can you attain during and after the pandemic? What is your plan for bouncing back? How will your culture and identity change? What new projects do…
An Elegant Puzzle – Part 6
This week we discussed sections 3.12 through the end of the chapter. 3.12 — Scaling consistency: designing centralized decision-making groups Positive freedom — the freedom to pick things. Negative freedom — freedom from things happening to you. Jameson asked how…
Summary: The Spotify “Model” – Don’t Simply Copy-Paste
Since my career change to a Director of Agile Coaches in early December 2019, I’ve subscribed to Agile podcasts to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the Agile community. One of my favorites has been…
Professional Development – 2020 – Week 15
Business A More Sustainable Supply Chain (via Harvard Business Review) Supply chains are complex in multi-national corporations (MNCs), and often the lowest tiers have poor social, environmental, or worker safety records. The article offers some best practices companies can adopt…
An Elegant Puzzle – Part 5
This week we discussed sections 3.6 through 3.11. 3.6 — Migrations: The Sole Scalable Fix to Tech Debt Houston asked how often you get guarded time to pay down tech debt, as it depends on management buy-in. Jamie has used…
Professional Development – 2020 – Week 14
Business Pricing Policies That Protect Your Brand (via Harvard Business Review) Successful brands typically implement unilateral policies that set the minimum resale price (MRP) or minimum allowable price (MAP). By designing, implementing, and enforcing these policies, brands can keep grey-markets…
An Elegant Puzzle – Part 4
This week we discussed sections 3.3 through 3.5. 3.3 — Visions and Strategies Being out of alignment as a manager of other managers (i.e., understanding what the team is actually doing) is an opportunity to miss out on potential productivity….
Professional Development – 2020 – Week 13
Business Will Governments Restrict Foreign Access to Pandemic Supplies? (via Harvard Business Review) In times of crisis — the article cites the Great Depression as an analogy — governments become self-interested, which can worsen the problem. Career How to Make…
An Elegant Puzzle – Part 3
This week we discussed sections 3.1 and 3.2 3.1 — Introduction to Systems Thinking Jamie has had experience with this when studying geology and rock weathering; you have to think at a different scale. For reference, here is Wikipedia’s page…