Posts from Awesome Folks #104

A weekly round up of blog posts I've been reading

Emily Webber
April 26, 2024

Hello folks,

It’s been a week of closing things down and getting ready for some new things. This week, I finished off a series of workshops with my brilliant colleague Rebecca Kemp and reached a nice milestone with my wonderful collaborator, Jamie Arnold. I really enjoy joining forces with other consultants; it makes what we produce better, it’s a lot more fun, and I also get to learn from some amazing people.

Linked to that, this week, I have been reading up on how important it is to have friends at work and that commensality, or eating together, is an important part of that. This is all part of the ongoing efforts to get my talk ready for Agile Manchester in a few weeks; I will share more on my blog once the conference is over.

Enjoy this photo of cats from the week, this week’s posts and happy Friday.

A triptych of cats, a tabby with big yellow eyes, a close up of a cat with a white snout and a white cat with black markings meowing

Three cats, Evie with her big eyes, Dave with his big nose, and a neighbourhood cat we like to call Mr Smudgintons with his big meow.

Emily

People and Culture

Why You Should Let Your Favorite Employee Move to Another Team

By JR Keller and Kathryn Dlugos

Managers who stymie their high performers’ internal advancement do so at their own expense, research shows.

sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-you-should-let-your-favorite-employee-move-to-another-team

The company that eats together stays together

By Harry Wallop

Why lunching with your colleagues rather than ‘al desko’ can foster a greater sense of community

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-company-that-eats-together-stays-together-9xtggqnb6

Effective Leaders Articulate Values — and Live by Them | Morela Hernandez and Catherine Summers

By Morela Hernandez and Catherine Summers

Leaders who explore, evaluate, and refine their values set themselves up to make better decisions.

sloanreview.mit.edu/article/effective-leaders-articulate-values-and-live-by-them

Organisations and Systems

Animated Video: Balancing Freedom and Alignment in Self-Managing…

By Pim de Morree

Within self-managing organizations, there's always the tension between the excitement of freedom and the necessity of alignment. Without managers to…

www.corporate-rebels.com/blog/video-animation-balancing-freedom-and-alignment-in-a-self-managing-organization

TBM 284: Why Aren't We Talking About Continuous Improvement?

By John Cutler

Someone asked me recently for an example of where I had shifted my perspective. I blurted out Continuous Improvement without really thinking. This post explores that shift—or more like crisis.

cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-284-why-arent-we-talking-about

Outcomes and Objectives

How I break down hypotheses to make them easier to test

By Jeff Gothelf

I teach teams to write hypotheses but they always end up too big. Here's how I break them down into testable components.

jeffgothelf.com/blog/how-i-break-down-hypotheses-to-make-them-easier-to-test

Rerun: Roadmaps are dead. Long live roadmaps! – Janna Bastow on The Product Experience

When you have questions about roadmaps, it pays to talk to someone who has spent way too much of her life thinking about them. Janna Bastow – co-founder of both Mind the Product and ProdPad joins us to give advice to anyone ready to break up with their roadmap.

www.mindtheproduct.com/rerun-roadmaps-are-dead-long-live-roadmaps-janna-bastow-on-the-product-experience

Team Approaches

How to Move from Story Points and Magical Thinking to Cycle Time for Decisions

By Johanna Rothman

Story points require magical thinking. Cycle time does not. That's why I recommend all teams (including management teams) measure cycle time, not velocity.

www.jrothman.com/mpd/2024/04/how-to-move-from-story-points-and-magical-thinking-to-cycle-time-for-decisions

Other Things

I am very much enjoying the RSPB’s TikTok account, it’s giving 2000s internet.

@rspb
Replying to @Tommy BOTW TIME 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️#botw #birdoftheweek #birdmemes #birdtiktok #birdsoftiktok #duck #mallardduck #ducktok #drake #bbldrake