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Showing posts from August 4, 2019

Brilliant Jerks vs. Great Teams?

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In the news recently, JIRA maker Atlassian announced they will no longer be tolerant, nor reward 'brilliant jerks' - those who may be hyper-talented while disregarding or even harming good team dynamics, you can read more about that here: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/atlassian-ditches-brilliant-jerks-in-performance-review-overhaul/news-story/82a5e2abba1939f51d68ae81db8f05bd Further, research at Carnegie Mellon shows that a group of team players will always out perform a group if high achieving individuals: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190807-the-science-of-creating-a-dream-team This also parallels the ideal that "heroism" in Agile is an Anti-pattern.  What do you think?

Simplicity, Systems and the Hero Mentality...

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https://www.lean.org/LeanPost/Posting.cfm?LeanPostId=1068 A few excerpts: When you think about the systems you need in place for your organization to move forward, consider Gall’s Law: “A complex system that works most likely evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed that way from scratch can never be made to work. You must start over with a simple working system.” ******** Several years ago I met someone who suggested to me that leaders who create joyful environments are invariably systems thinkers. This is juxtaposed with those who try to create hero-based cultures that are laden with personality-based antics rather than simple, measurable systems. ********* This happens all the time in the software industry. We are littered with the A-player myth mentality. If quality sucks, the team let us down. It couldn’t possibly be that we didn’t accurately predict how much work there was before we set the impossible schedule. If the team misses a

If you think it is expensive to hire a professional...

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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-like-working-professionals-jason-hornberger-mba Excerpt: The best way to describe any job, which is worth paying money to other people to do, is taking something that is complicated and making it seem easy.  If I would have had the skill to build my own house, I probably would not have paid someone else to do it. If I could cook incredible food and do it in a short time time frame without having to clean it up, I probably would not go out to restaurants. There are lots of examples, but the essence of any service, is taking a task that is complicated or hard or time consuming, and making it look easy. That is why it is worth paying someone else to do it.