Food for Agile Thought #147: Business Agility by Scaling Agile, Beyond Budgeting, How to Say No

Food for Agile Thought’s issue #147 — shared with 17,882 peers — addresses business agility and what is required to make it happen. We learn that merely scaling ‘agile’ is not the path as business agility also needs changes of a different nature. Overcoming the traditional budgeting process, for example.

Speaking of which, Steve Denning contributes ten axioms that make traditional managers anxious; ridiculing ‘agile’ is no longer an option to deal with it.

Lastly, we borrow six tips to handle demanding stakeholders without burning bridges, and we learn which low-hanging fruits to pick to make an excellent first impression as a newly hired product manager.

Have a great week!

?? The Essential Read

Inês Almeida (via Medium): Scaling Agile is not the Path to Business Agility

Inês Almeida looks back at the innovations ‘agile’ brought. However, she also notes that the innovation engine has moved on.

Source: Medium: Scaling Agile is not the Path to Business Agility

Author: Inês Almeida

Business Agility & Scrum

Steve Denning (via Forbes): Ten Agile Axioms That Make Managers Anxious

Steve Denning notes that the era when managers could confidently ridicule agile management practices is fading fast.

Source: Forbes: Ten Agile Axioms That Make Managers Anxious

Author: Steve Denning

(via Corporate Rebels): Self-Management At Vagas: Zero Functional Hierarchy, No Targets, And Powerful Consensus

The Corporate Rebels portrait Vagas — Brazil’s market leader in e-recruitment — as an outstanding example of a progressive organization.

Source: Corporate Rebels: Self-Management At Vagas: Zero Functional Hierarchy, No Targets, And Powerful Consensus

Franz R??sli (via Beyond Budgeting Institute): Beyond Budgeting is needed to achieve business agility

Franz R??sli claims that enterprises cannot achieve business agility without changing the budgeting process and the underlying mindset.

Source: Beyond Budgeting Institute: Beyond Budgeting is needed to achieve business agility

Author: Franz R??sli

?? How to Create Whiteboards

Learn how to create whiteboards: Whiteboards are magic as they support foundational agile principles such as interaction, collaboration, face-to-face communication, or transparency. They facilitate adapting to change, continuous improvement, and the self-organization of team. You can create meaningful software with a few index cards, pins, pencils, and a drywall — you do not need Jira or any other agile process tools.

Read more: How to Create Whiteboards

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Product & Lean

Mike Cohn: Saying No to Stakeholders: 6 Tips for Product Owners

Mike Cohn shares six guidelines how you can say no politely but firmly.

Source: Saying No to Stakeholders: 6 Tips for Product Owners

Author: Mike Cohn

Liz Love (via ProdPad): Make an impact as a New Product Manager in just 30 Days

Liz Love suggests to take on the product backlog — the #1 low-hanging fruit for new product managers.

Source: ProdPad: Make an impact as a New Product Manager in just 30 Days

Author: Liz Love

Jeffrey Phillips: Two answers you need to improve innovation success

Jeffrey Phillips points at a crucial mistake that executives and innovators make: Ignoring the probably missing alignment of discovery and strategy.

Source: Two answers you need to improve innovation success

Author: Jeffrey Phillips

?? Survey: What Are You Doing the Whole Day as a Scrum Master of One Team?

In other words: What are your regular chores as a scrum master supporting a single team?

Rumor has it that a great scrum master supports one team at a time. If that is true, how do you spend your time with the team members helping them to become self-organizing? Let’s gather some data and answer the question! (This survey is anonymous.)

Participate in the survey now: What Are You Doing the Whole Day?

?? Subscribe to Age of Product’s Brand-New Youtube Channel

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• ?? Hands-on Agile Webinar #6 on product owner anti-patterns.
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• Hands-on Agile Webinar #3 on agile failure patterns.

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Food for Agile Thought #147: Business Agility by Scaling Agile, Beyond Budgeting, How to Say No was first published on Age-of-Product.com.