SOSO – Introducing simplicity as a requirement to organizational Agility adoption
The first highway, or limited access road, was built on Long Island, New York and completed in 1911. The intention was to reduce the travel time between to given points. As time passed, mass-production systems allowed more and more people to buy cars at affordable prices and as a …
To be or not to be Agile
Arguments, perspectives, and questions promoting the benefits of Agile awareness… “Agile awareness,” I never thought I’d include two buzz words in the same article let alone the same sentence! It sounds cliché yet it’s exactly the right fit. I’d like to start by stating who this article is intended for. …
Common sense
What is common sense? Properly defined, common sense is a common thought or belief used within a group that holds similar or common beliefs and values. It’s actually a good way of identifying groups that gather and unite to express a common front. However, many people use the term “common …
The Agile startup and the venture capital—Part 4 of 4: In the end…
A tale of startups, VCs, their colliding intentions and a disillusioned Agile coach Part 4 of 4—In the end… Ben and I gathered in the office the next morning. We decided it was time for a business retrospective. We hadn’t had one of these in quite a while and now …
Addressing your organization’s developmental debt―an integral Agile approach
We usually tend to take care of debts, be they financial, technical, or even loyalty debts. But there’s another kind of debt that has emerged in the past few years: developmental debt. Developmental debt is described as the debt of human development as opposed to technological advancement in organizations around …
The Agile startup and the venture capital—Part 3: Reality hits hard
A tale of startups, VCs, their colliding intentions and a disillusioned Agile coach Part 3 of 4—Reality hits hard Fast forward a few months. 4 months and 12 days to be precise. Not that I was standing by the phone counting days, I just happened to notice the email I …
The Agile startup and the venture capital—Part 2: The ‘wait’
A tale of startups, VCs, their colliding intentions and a disillusioned Agile coach Part 2 of 4—The ‘wait’ It was nearly two weeks later that I received the following email from Matt: Dear Marc-Andre, Thank you for meeting with us and presenting your company’s interests. We would like to invite …
The Agile startup and the venture capital—Part 1: The “pitch”
A tale of startups, VCs, their colliding intentions and a disillusioned Agile coach Part 1 of 4—The “pitch” In the past year, I’ve been working mostly from co-working spaces, coffee shops, the odd university campus here and there and, when I get really lucky (i.e., I have enough money), I …
Your edge—there’s more to it than simply achieving!
Do you struggle with rejection and failure? Do you feel like giving up after having unsuccessfully attempted something? You may be closer to finding your true edge than you think. My business partner and I have started practising the daily “Edgy” challenge. We didn’t come up with the term. We …
Responding to Agile Ignorance—An Executive-Level Perspective
This is not a plea for adopting Agile, nor is it an opinionated tale of how misused and misconstrued Agile has become. And I’m not saying executive management deliberately ignores Agile initiatives in their organizations. However, I do believe that a problem stems from the fact that Agile firms have …