Easy 3-Page Scope Roadmap

Here’s one simple way of showing a scope or product roadmap to your partners and clients. I’ve found partners can absorb it quickly, get excited about it, and understand the hard work that’ll need to happen first before it can be fully realized. Thanks to Lu Lacourte and the team at Cibo to introducing me to this useful […]

Check, Checkpoint

I was on a short project recently that had to move quickly, so early on, we decided to whiteboard out our activities for the day at 9am, then checkpoint on our progress for ten minutes at noon, then again 5 pm. Guess what happened? When noon and 5 rolled around each day, one group or […]

The Mobile Army

Nietzsche (1844-1900) said ‘truth is a mobile army of metaphors’. He said a lot of other things, of course, not worth mentioning here. But it’s that one quote that came most often to mind during my visit to the Agile Alliance 2013 in Nashville recently. From session to session, lunch conversation to bar stool banter, the […]

The New Pseudo Science

The Viennese philosopher Karl Popper (1902-1994) is remembered for calling Marx and Freud to the carpet for what he called ‘pseudo science’, criticizing their theories for avoiding ‘falsification’ or testing that would render them incorrect. Popper felt ‘real science’, on the other hand, was always open to falsification. For example, Einstein was open to being […]

Pascal’s Wager

Whether or not to profess allegiance to Agile is a bit like Pascal’s Wager (Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662). Since objective proof is as hard to come by for Agile as it is for God, you’re ultimately better off saying you believe than stating otherwise. The analysis looks a bit like this: You can see the benefit […]

Noticing Growth

If everything in the universe were expanding (let’s say over night, even atoms grow to the size of golf balls), how will you know you are bigger tomorrow than you are are today? It’ll be hard to measure because your ruler will also be bigger. The same is true for agencies. They get bigger than […]

The Cassandra Thrill

Pick it and Kick It

If you can be enthusiastic about something, over time, you can be successful at the thing you’re enthusiastic about. Of course, you have to extend your enthusiasm longer for brain surgery than you do for basket weaving to be competent, but you need it for both to be any good. Success is a a heck […]

Tossed and Stirred

Making more money normally results from providing more privilege, whether that privilege comes in a room, a meal, access, or clothes. More privilege costs more. Like the $500 greens fees to an exclusive golf course. And, of course, ‘privilege’, is a feeling the buyer has. Not inherent to the qualities of the purchase or service. […]

Baloney Buffer

Have you ever wondered how much of the information in all books is really true? I have no idea how many millions of books there are in the world, but I’m willing to bet the information in them is probably only about 20% true. If that. By true, I mean factual. Proven. Right all the […]