Where Should Your Loyalties Lie?Ask yourself this: If you saw another project in trouble and really thought you could help, would you offer your services? Brendan Quinn takes a look at loyalty—loyalty to yourself, your team, other teams, and your company—and how it can affect everyone.
Get Out There and Learn About Stakeholders' ProblemsOne of the more often repeated phrases from the lean startup and customer development lexicon is the admonition to "get out of the building" in order to meet and learn about customers. What project teams should take away from this idea is the need to interact with stakeholders to address problems.
Why Some Teams Don’t WorkThere are teams that work well, and other teams that are so ineffective, merely being dysfunctional would be a step in the right direction. Naomi Karten explains the reasons why some teams don't work. The solution isn’t to dispense with teams but to figure out what makes them function effectively.
The Importance of Courage in Agile TeamsAn important attribute of agile teams is the courage to do the right things. You need courage in making the right architectural decisions, tackling the right stories, and standing up for values and principles you believe in.
Tips to Improve Your Negotiating SkillsMost people think they don’t know how to negotiate, but the reality is that you are already a negotiator. Nearly every day, you carry out negotiations with people in your personal and professional life. A few tips might help you get better at it and feel more confident doing it.
Your Team Is Agile! What about Your Business Model?Getting your software development team to be agile is a big step, but for a complete organizational transformation, the work doesn't end there. You may be surprised to find out where else agile can be implemented to streamline processes and eliminate what's holding your business back.
How to Handle Difficult PeopleThe notion of difficult people can make one feel uncomfortable because often it’s not the person that’s difficult, but rather the situation the person is in. Naomi Karten shares some tips to handle these difficult people and testy situations.
How Team Norms Can Boost Team EffectivenessTeam norms—sometimes known as ground rules—revolve around how members of a team will interact, communicate, and conduct themselves as team members. Norm setting gives team members an opportunity to express what's important to them, thus boosting team effectiveness.
