Celebrity photographer Mathieu Bitton is forever employable. Read his story.
How are businesses pivoting in the pandemic? Here are 3 inspirational examples
I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. A month ago I was sitting in a restaurant in London with a group of friends enjoying dinner, catching up on what we’ve been up to and taking turns holding one friend’s new baby. It was a ton of fun and we were … Continue reading How are businesses pivoting in the pandemic? Here are 3 inspirational examples
Why does every project have to be Agile these days?
Truly agile teams enjoy the ability, desire and safety to respond to change over following a plan.
Agile vs Lean vs Design Thinking
There’s an unforgettable scene in my favorite movie, Goodfellas, where Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro and Ray Liotta pay a late night visit to Pesci’s mom. Despite their best efforts to leave quickly she invites them to eat something. During the late-night meal, they discuss a painting in her kitchen. The painting is of a man … Continue reading Agile vs Lean vs Design Thinking
Maintaining the winds of change
I’m often asked how to get executives on board with cultural and process change. It seems that product teams buy into the ideas of lean and agile relatively quickly but convincing management is an order of magnitude more difficult. We’ve discussed several reasons for this in previous newsletters. But let’s just assume that you’ve … Continue reading Maintaining the winds of change
Leaving Neo
Yesterday was my last day at Neo Innovation. In the last 3+ years my colleagues and I worked to build a consulting company that did more than just deliver powerpoint decks and spec documents. We created a company that built new digital businesses. Along the way we learned how to provide lean startup, agile delivery and … Continue reading Leaving Neo
Agile is not a substitution for vision
In his blog post from 2011, Mike Cottmeyer, an agile consultant and coach, listed off the 13 most common reasons his clients began their agile transformation. The list contains reasons like, “faster time to market”, “early ROI” and “risk reduction and predictability.” My sense is that this spectrum of drivers falls along a timeline … Continue reading Agile is not a substitution for vision
7 Steps to Giving the Best Presentation of Your Life
I give a lot of talks. I’d like to think I’m pretty good at it at this point. But it hasn’t always been this way. Sure, years of playing in bands gave me a level of stage comfort that many must overcome but I was the keyboard player – a sideman. When you’re giving … Continue reading 7 Steps to Giving the Best Presentation of Your Life
Agile doesn’t have a brain
My friend Bill Scott once said at a conference, "Agile doesn't have a brain." What he meant by that is due to Agile's software engineering roots many organizations that have adopted Scrum, XP and similar methodologies have done so through their engineering departments. This has led to the creation of amazing software development departments that … Continue reading Agile doesn’t have a brain
Do you really have executive buy-in?
Seven years ago I moved back to the East Coast and took a job at an agency. Before accepting my offer I asked my potentially new boss how much support she believed the agency had for interaction design (they were strong on visual design and content). She replied with a note from the President of … Continue reading Do you really have executive buy-in?