The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad

Five Things You Should Know as a Leader Implementing AIThere is no playbook... YetDo NOT be afraid to experimentAI technology advances quicklyAI will NOT solve everythingBe a responsible leader when implementing AIBONUS - Find the right coach / trainer when implementing AI. Do not go at it alone. You will waste too much time learning outdated materials. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

3 Key Lessons From My First Product RoleMy first product role shaped how I lead. I learned about true ownership, deep business impact, and competition that goes beyond features. Working with a visionary CEO in a product-led company taught me lessons that still guide me. PMs, are you embracing these to drive real impact?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A few years ago, I was in a business review meeting with my team, looking at charts and reports that showed how our business was doing. The numbers didn’t look good, and as everyone around the table shared their thoughts, it became clear that no one agreed on what to do next. There were a lot of ideas, worries, and quick fixes — but not much clarity.I realized then that my job wasn’t just about making decisions; it was about seeing the bigger picture, noticing patterns others might miss, and guiding the team through the confusion. That’s when I understood what makes a leader truly strategic.Being a strategic leader isn’t just about having a vision or setting goals. It’s about building a set of skills that help you see changes before they happen, connect the dots, and lead your team through uncertain times.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How Firm a Foundation... How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Three Ways to Handle Unfinished Work - Mike CohnOver the past three weeks, I’ve been sending you tips about spillover on agile teams. We’ve talked in depth about the problem of habitual spillover—when a team routinely rolls unfinished work forward from sprint to sprint.This week, I want to share 3 ways to handle the unfinished work that will occasionally be left over by even a great agile team. 1. If You Want a Guarantee, Buy a ToasterMy first bit of advice for how to handle unfinished work is to remember that even the best agile teams sometimes miss their goals. That’s OK and even desirable to a certain extent.Sprint goals are not guarantees. (As Clint Eastwood’s character Nick Pulovski says in The Rookie, “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!”) Leaders, stakeholders, and even the team themselves might need an occasional reminder about this.A team’s commitment to a sprint goal is a promise to do its best to achieve that goal. If team members are perpetually forced instead to make a guarantee, they will guarantee less in order to be safe.Sometimes a team needs to make a guarantee. There might be times when a client or customer needs a capability by a certain date. The finance group may need to run year-end reports in early January, for example.In general, though, we don’t want to force a team into a guarantee. We ask a team to commit to something reasonable and then we’re understanding if they miss it. Falling short on the occasional commitment is not a failure-–it’s usually a sign of bad luck or a team that’s striving to do too much. 2. Don’t Roll Work Forward AutomaticallyMy second bit of advice is to resist the urge to automatically roll over the unfinished work into the next sprint. Put it in the product backlog instead.The item may be back on the product backlog for a millisecond, but there should be a conscious decision by the product to continue work on it.(Logistically, I don’t care if it’s easier in your tool of choice to move the item to the next sprint rather than to the product backlog first. The key is that there is a decision to continue the work.)If the product owner decides the team should work on the partly finished item immediately in the next sprint, bring in the product backlog item as is. Don’t re-estimate it. Don’t rename it. Don’t take partial velocity credit. Just bring the item into the next sprint and take the full velocity credit when it’s complete.But if the item is deferred for later, go ahead and split the story into what makes sense. Take partial velocity credit for the work you completed last sprint, then write a new story that describes only the missing functionality and estimate that story. 3. Document the CauseMy final bit of advice for dealing with unfinished work is this: Whenever work is unfinished at the end of a sprint, the team should take time in the retrospective to consider whether it was preventable.Sometimes unfinished work is just bad luck or bad timing, such as a team member being ill or a problem being found late in the sprint that could not have been found earlier. Sometimes it’s just the result of aiming too high for one sprint.But you might uncover something that is becoming a bad habit.Whatever the cause, it’s always worth considering whether something can be done to prevent it from affecting future sprints so that your team can succeed with agile.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Is the Party Over For Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches? Over the past decade, agile adoption in organizations has seen an upswing. Large enterprises—banks, insurance companies, automakers, and many others—have all been at the forefront of launching agile transformations to achieve business agility—the elusive elixir. The promise of increased flexibility, faster delivery, and enhanced collaboration across teams is almost impossible to resist in today’s competitive world, where markets change rapidly, bringing risks and opportunities.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Five Most Forgotten Parts From The Scrum GuideScrum. Love it or hate it. There doesn’t appear to be much in between. I like the framework, although I don’t think it is perfect. At the same time, I understand the developers who hate it from the bottom of their hearts. Strangely enough though, they have different problems with Scrum than I have. And zooming in, their problems often are not about Scrum in the first place. They shed light on how Scrum can be misapplied in many ways.Today I will list the 5 most forgotten, misunderstood or misapplied parts of the Scrum Guide. I will also tell how they are misapplied and their actual intention.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Dependencies Destroy Agility and PredictabilityWhy do organizations desire Agile?Two of the most common items I hear organizations and executives identify as reasons for adopting Agile methods and practices are to increase their delivery speed and to become more predicable. When will X be done? There are valid financial reasons for these goals such as: when can we expect to book revenue for product X?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

7 Tips To Read Someone’s Personality in 10 SecondsPeople think it takes ages to really figure out what someone’s about, like you need to sit with them through a few heartbreaks, swap childhood trauma stories, maybe even get caught in a road trip disaster together.Nah.Give it ten seconds, maybe even less if they’re the loud, obvious type, and you’ll get everything you need to know.And this isn’t about “vibes” or whatever people say when they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. This is straight-up psychology. Well, mostly. Some of it is just paying attention and comment sense.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

6 Daily Habits of Highly Effective Scrum MastersStart Each Day With a Quick ReviewLead Effective Daily ScrumsMake Time For One-on-OnesKeep Communication Open With StakeholdersDedicate Time For Continual LearningReflect and Plan For TomorrowHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Scrum Fails When Product Owners Think They Are The BossI’m afraid that everyone interprets it differently, and that’s the source of problems. For me, the word owner is misleading. As a Product Owner, you own nothing, though you may think you do.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why Your Scrum Teams Are Failing - The Hard TruthAgile was presented to me as the ultimate project management approach — promising productivity, transparency, and value delivery in short bursts. However, many teams struggled to effectively implement and scale Scrum, missing the mark on its potential.Waterfall was declared a relic of the past — outdated, painfully inefficient, and completely incapable of keeping up with the demands of modern projects.The question wasn’t which approach was better, but rather why teams were failing to embrace the very solutions meant to propel them forward.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Product Owners vs. Product Managers vs. Project ManagersWhile you are knee-deep looking for your next role, I’ve seen endless variations of “product” roles. Specifically, the terms Product Owner (PO), Product Manager (PM), and Project Manager (PjM) seem to be used interchangeably, or even used to describe the same person. Yet, some teams have all three within each individual squad.So, what’s the difference between these three roles? And why do we need all three in the first place?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The 5-Second Conversation Hack Learn how to become better in conversation with this 5-second hack! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Great Agile Reset1. Framework Fatigue Is RealMarty Cagan nailed it recently: “The product model addresses three major dimensions: how you decide which problems to solve (product strategy), how you solve these problems (product discovery), and how you build, test, and deploy your solutions (product delivery). Real Agile can certainly help with this third dimension.” (Source.)Translation: Organizations are done with copying and pasting frameworks. They realize that true agility means finding your own path to creating value. Standardized training and certification programs? That train has left the station. #ParadigmShift2. AI Is Eating Agile (Sort Of)Have you played with DeepSeek R1 yet? This isn’t just another tech trend. This is a seismic shift in how knowledge work happens. No, ChatGPT or Claude won’t steal your job tomorrow. But what about your colleague who’s mastered prompt engineering, AI-based data analysis, and agents? They might make you obsolete.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How to Break the Spillover Habit - Mike CohnFor the past two weeks, I’ve been writing about the problem of habitual spillover—when a team routinely rolls over unfinished work from sprint to sprint.So far, we’ve talked about why spillover happens, and why it’s a problem, plus I’ve given steps to start a reduction in your team’s spillovers.This week, I want to share two ways to break your team’s rollover habit. Sometimes teams miss their goals. That’s OK. Sometimes teams miss when they aim high and fall a little short. Don’t try to fix those teams—celebrate their effort.Other times teams miss because they just hit a run of bad luck for a handful of sprints. Again, no need to intervene there. (Next week, I’ll share what to do with the unfinished work that results from either of these first two scenarios.)Most often, though, teams miss because they are overly optimistic about what they can achieve. They plan each sprint to be a best-case scenario.If you think that could be your team, in your next sprint planning meetings try asking questions like these: What could go wrong that could cause the team to miss its goal?What has to go right to achieve this goal? These questions can help a team see any risky assumptions they’re making about how easy the planned work will be.  As most of us who made New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of 2025 have re-discovered by now, old habits die hard. Sometimes you have to take drastic action to realize lasting results, and to succeed with agile.Curb Their Enthusiasm   Drastically Under-commitIf these kinds of questions don’t help the team make more realistic guesses about what they can accomplish, you might have to resort to drastically reducing what the team commits to achieving.At the next sprint planning, encourage your team to truly under-commit. I’m not talking about cutting the sprint goal by some small amount, like 10–20%. I’m saying you limit team members to committing to only 50% of what they believe they can accomplish.The team may push back on this. They are used to filling up their sprint and will be optimistic that they can get a lot more done than the items they’ve chosen. Don’t give in.When team members push back, remind them that if they run out of work to do, they can always bring more in. But hold firm that no work will come in until the sprint goal is achieved and all the work planned into the sprint is complete.(You’ll likely need to have a talk with the product owner prior to sprint planning so they too can be prepared to hear that the team is bringing only a few items into the sprint.)The goal in under-committing is to let the team feel what it’s like to add work into a sprint rather than always needing to drop work.After they feel this, they’ll likely want to feel it again.Encourage them to plan a bit more work into the next few sprints until they get close to missing their goals and rolling over again. Incorporate the enthusiasm-curbing questions as needed.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Grow Your Product Management SkillsManaging a product through the product life cycle is hard. It is even more difficult to grow as a product owner in these challenging times. Product ownership is a very complex and multifaceted challenge. And because of the complexity of the topic, there is no single linear approach to mastering product ownership. That’s why we need agile and lean approaches and a wide range of knowledge and skills.You can study product management for years at university. This shows how profound and demanding the entire discipline is. It also shows how long it takes to build the skills required to be successful in this field.To succeed, you need the right skills and the right approaches. Only if you are aware of the complexity and know what you are doing will your product be successful throughout the entire product life cycle.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

5 Things a Manager Should NEVER Do...Skip-Level FeedbackTake on Individual Contributor WorkAdd More Work to the TeamTake Sides in Personal DisagreementsMake All the Important DecisionsHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

From Dreary to Dazzling - 1 Young Man Makes a DifferenceCan one young man truly make a difference in his community? Indeed he can! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Effective Storytelling in Product ManagementIf you’re not careful, product management can get really, really boring. Slide deck after slide deck, the details start to blur together, and the audience starts to disengage.If you’re throwing stats, facts, and bullets at your audience without constructing a narrative, your point isn’t getting across. Your audience will be quick to tune it out and, even if they do listen, they’ll struggle to turn the information into something memorable and useful.Product storytelling is a great way to add context and excitement to any product document or presentation. By sharing our data, insights, and strategies in a story-driven way, product managers can get more done with more impactful communication.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

3 Ways To Improve Team MoraleTeam morale indicates how willing members are to push on in the face of difficulties. Teams with high morale find their work meaningful and feel motivated to work together. High morale is a buffer against inevitable setbacks and burnout, and a great indicator of the atmosphere in a team.So what can you do when team morale is low? In this blog post, we share three short formats that easily fit inside a Sprint Retrospective. Their purpose is to start a dialogue in your team and begin improvement. The formats are based on the Liberating Structures “Conversation Cafe”, “Troika Consulting”, and “Discovery & Action Dialogue”. So pick the one that you think will work best and take it away!How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Just watch the video already... How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Transitioning from a Product Manager to a Product LeadEver since I started my new role as product lead a few weeks back, I felt that there was a huge difference in the work and responsibilities I perform as compared to my PM roles back in Crypto.com and Alibaba.And I am not entirely sure if this is because of the role, or perhaps the nature of the company where the startup environment requires me to always be scrappy. But I am definitely loving every moment of it and I am constantly learning to be a better version of myself in this new role.With that being said, I wanted to share my experience and highlight some of the main changes I have identified to better prepare any first-time product leads out there.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Shake Off The Winter Blues, Spring Is Here!Don't let the depression of winter shut you down! Look forward to Spring and make small changes to prepare. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Start With No... Why Most People Should NOT Be Managers Leading talented humans requires inspiring them, partnering with them in understanding the problem, designing the solution, and motivating them.Now, if you can’t influence people as their peers, that might be frustrating, but you can still usually do your job, and no harm is done. However, if you are the formal manager of the team, and you can’t influence them to do what the company needs, now you are failing in your primary job.Most of the companies I worked for took a “promote from the rear” approach, which meant that people should be promoted for roles they already demonstrated they could do. In this case, if you showcase that you can lead and do 70–80% of the manager role, then you will get that desired promotion.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The 2025 Product Manager - Winning PlaybookFinding Your WhyThe rise of The Product SpecialistStrategy vs. ExecutionCrafting Winning Product DocumentsSay NO To Boring and YES To AutomationRide The Creator EconomyHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The 2-Minute Meeting HackHow It WorksSet the stage: Inform your team about the new format beforehand. No team likes surprises.The 2-minute rule: Each team member gets exactly 2 minutes to speak.The magic formula: In those 2 minutes, they must cover:One success since the last meetingOne challenge they’re facingOne specific ask for help or resourcesThen it’s your chance as the boss to shine.You get 30 seconds to respond with:A note of praise for the successA clarifying question about the challengeA commitment to address the ask (or delegate it)How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Top 3 Weekly Meetings That Will Help You Be the Best Leader! Open Office HourWork Status MeetingWork Productivity MeetingHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Welcome Home Anthony Henson!My son is FINALLY home! Please join me in welcoming him back! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Lead an Agile Team With Context and ControlYou can only get so far by attempting to manage the performance of people through control. It is far better to lead or manage people by defining the context of their work.I was fortunate to learn this lesson early on when I worked in...a fast food restaurant. My manager, Jim, trained me that each burger was to be dressed with: 2 leaves of lettuce2 tomatoes3 slices of onion3 picklesdefining the wildly important goal (WIG) the team is working towardhelping people deeply understand and empathize with usersguiding a team in defining its igniting purpose, an intrinsic motivation that inspires exceptional performanceunderstanding the strengths and weaknesses of competitive productsHe didn’t drill this into my head. He didn’t inspect my burgers. He didn’t pop-quiz me.Instead, he explained the context, the reason why our burgers should be dressed exactly that way.He told me to imagine a customer who orders a burger with extra pickles and a cook who loves pickles and puts five on each burger by default. When asked for extra pickles, that cook puts on seven.That’s too many for the customer who, on a return visit, asks for “light pickles.” That burger is made by a different cook who would normally put on three pickles and so puts just one on when asked for light pickles.My boss gave me a vision of hapless customers alternately ordering extra or light pickles and never getting what they want due to the preferences of the cooks.I remember the context he defined 40+ years later. How long would pimply-faced me have remembered these amounts if my boss had merely presented them as rules?My manager defined the context of my customer—a hungry person seeking consistency. And that was enough.Leading through context can involve of mix of things such as: Leading an agile team—whether as a manager, executive, Scrum Master, product owner, team lead or other leader—is different. It requires new skills.A self-organizing team resists rules and thrives on creativity and freedom. Leading such a team by providing context can also cause it to excel,How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Art of Strategic Decision Making - Product Manager EditionIn the fast-paced and ever-changing world of product management, the role of a senior product manager stands out owing to the exceptional combination of talents, perspectives, and strategic thinking that they bring to the table. Senior product managers take a different approach to their position than their junior colleagues do, as they are frequently faced with a large array of responsibilities. They have mastered the capacity to maintain a balance between thinking about the large picture and thinking about minute details, deliberate product direction while managing cross-functional teams, and link product decisions with the outcomes of business operations.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The First Principles of Product ManagementSome of the best PMs I know make their decisions based on first principles. A first principle is a “basic, foundational proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption.”.An example of one that we use for our developer platform team are that “all platform features should be like Lego blocks”, meaning that developers should be able to use any combination of features when building an app. Features should be interoperable, just like Legos.First principle thinking helps PMs because as companies scale, communicating the rationale behind historical, current, and future decisions can be simplified in a way that their team and stakeholders can rally around. This enables people around the PM to move quickly in the same direction, decouple, and make smart trade offs without their presence.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Agile is NOT Dead... It is Just in a New Era!The New Agile Principles1) Own The Problem & The SolutionAgile addresses complexity, where uncertainty reigns. There simply is no clear-cut solution to your problems. What is worse, the moment you apply a solution without understanding it, you surrender control and become a spectator.The first principle is to understand and fully accept that the only person who can decide what the solution might be is the person who is closest to the problem — you. Embrace this responsibility.2) Be a LearnerEffective problem-solving requires knowledge. The only way to take responsibility for your problems is by having the necessary knowledge at hand. And the only way you can do this is by becoming a scholar. Continuously learning.Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better you can understand your problem and the more solutions you will be able to come up with. The better you will be able to spar with others. The better you can take responsibility for your problems.Innovation rests on the shoulders of those who came before you.3) Be CriticalKnowledge is merely information. To wield knowledge effectively you need wisdom.Wisdom comes from scepticism, from asking questions, being aware of assumptions, deep analysis, seeking diverse perspectives and engaging in thoughtful discussion. Strive to understand the context and the limitations of the knowledge you have. Strive to discover the gaps in your knowledge.Being critical is the only way to discern what the value and applicability is of any knowledge.4) Be CreativeComplexity means continuously facing novel problems that demand original solutions. That can only happen with creativity. Experimentation.Accept that! Realize that that is the job!Again, you may stand on the shoulders of geniuses and most of what you create may be derivative, but in the context of your particular problem, the solution will always be an act of creation, something unique.5) Be HumbleWielding the previous principles effectively will do awesome things for your self-confidence. Solving problems will become a game you love to play.But beware! Arrogance is fatal. The only way to remain effective is by embracing humility and always accepting that whatever you come up with may and probably will fail, and can always be improved.Humility is the foundation of continuous improvement. It leads to the need to experiment and validate, a need to second-guess yourself, a quest to make absolutely sure your solutions truly work.6) Be a TeacherLast of all, be a teacher. This may sound weird, but the truth is that teaching solidifies understanding. Teaching, whether through your teams, through writing, presentations, or mentorship, forces you to articulate your thoughts clearly, and forces you to structure your knowledge and identify gaps in your understanding.This is the true sign of mastery of your profession.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Bring Out Your Stagnation!In the bustling village of Progressia, every Tuesday morning, the town crier—an overworked man in a tattered robe named Nigel—pushed his old wooden cart through the cobbled streets, shouting:"Bring out your stagnation! Bring out your stagnation!"It was a longstanding tradition. Villagers would shuffle out of their homes, dragging out bad ideas, outdated habits, and half-baked projects, dumping them onto the cart so they could be disposed of properly.One day, old farmer Reginald hobbled out, dragging something heavy behind him.“Here’s my career,” he grumbled. “It hasn’t moved in years.”Nigel peered down at the heap of dusty resignation letters, ignored training courses, and a suspiciously untouched LinkedIn profile. He poked it with a stick.“Oh no, that’s not quite dead,” Nigel said. “It just needs a bit of effort!”“Nonsense,” said Reginald. “I’m stuck, out of ideas, and might as well give up.”Suddenly, the heap of career mistakes coughed and sat up. “I’m feeling much better,” it croaked. “I think I’ll take a course on Agile leadership and try networking again.”Reginald frowned. “Look, can we just throw it on the cart? Makes things simpler.”But Nigel shook his head. “You see, mate, the problem isn’t that your career is dead. It’s that you stopped improving. If you’re still breathing, you can still grow.”A murmur of agreement spread through the crowd. People began dragging out their own half-forgotten goals—neglected gym memberships, dusty musical instruments, and an entire sack labeled "New Year’s Resolutions (2009-2024)".Nigel grinned. “See? You don’t need to get rid of your past—you need to upgrade it! Continual improvement, people! That’s how you avoid ending up on the cart.”From that day forward, Progressia changed. Every Tuesday, instead of throwing away their “stagnation,” people took their old ideas and revitalized them—learning new skills, trying new methods, and embracing a growth mindset.And as for Reginald? Well, he got himself a Scrum Master certification and became quite the success. (Though he still grumbled about it.)Moral of the story: Don’t throw yourself on the cart too soon. If you’re still breathing, you can still grow!How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Top 5 Daily Rituals of Highly Effective LeadersStart The Day With ClarityConnect With Your TeamFocus on LearningCelebrate Small WinsPractice ReflectionHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why a Spillover Habit Is So Harmful - Mike CohnWelcome to the second email in the spillover series. We’re talking today about why habitual spillover—the phenomenon of unfinished work piling up and carrying forward sprint after sprint—is so harmful to teams.As a reminder, Last week, I explained why spillover happensThis week, I’ll describe why habitual spillover is a problemNext week, I’ll give you some ideas for how to break your team’s rollover habitFinally, I’ll talk about what to do with unfinished work when spillover happens Why is Habitual Spillover a Problem?As we talked about last week, teams will sometimes miss their sprint goal, especially when that team is ambitious and aiming high. And that’s OK.But teams that develop a consistent pattern of overcommitting and then carrying work forward cause problems for themselves and for the organization as a whole.Teams That Deliver Routinely Are Predictably DependableThe main problem with habitual spillover is Lack of Predictability / Dependability.Every organization benefits from some level of predictability. I worked with a company once that was preparing for its IPO. Despite the tremendous pressure to meet revenue goals prior to going public, the CEO told me he’d happily trade some revenue for greater predictability. Being predictable is that important.Predictability shouldn’t be the primary goal for an agile team, but it should be a goal.It’s the same in sports. Basketball players strive to make every free throw. But a player who sinks the ball in the basket about 80% of the time is considered a high performer. That player can be reliably counted on to make most of their free throws.Baseball players also strive to get a hit every time they’re at bat. And believe it or not, they are considered great, highly predictable hitters, if they manage a hit about 35% of the time—reflected in their .350 batting average.Like those sports players, agile teams are expected to try to deliver everything they think they can, every time. But realistically, if an agile team achieves its goal 60–80% of the time, they are providing a high level of predictability.Teams That Demonstrate Frequent Progress Are Happier & More CreativeA second, related reason your teams want to finish what they’ve started most of the time is a phenomenon called the power of small wins. In a 2011 study, Amabile and Kramer found that tangible, visible progress is a key factor in people’s enjoyment of work, and by extension their level of creativity.It’s almost impossible to get a true sense of progress on “mostly done” work because until it’s fully done, you can’t really gauge the amount of work remaining.This is known as the 90% syndrome. Software projects are 90% done for 90% of their schedule, and that’s hard on everyone.When progress stalls and work rolls over, teams lose their sense of accomplishment from making measurable, demonstrable progress. (Want to know more? Read this blog and discover several reasons why it’s so important for teams to get to done.)Teams that routinely fail to deliver on their goals lose trust with the organization and miss the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing. That’s why next week’s tip will be things you can do to help break your team of the spillover habit so they can succeed with agile,How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Did We Fail Agile? Shame On Us!!For decades, developers were trapped. They couldn’t bare the situation any longer. Following requirements that resulted in features customers didn’t use demotivated everyone, and a revolution was necessary.At the beginning of the 2000s, we finally realized that we could not predict everything upfront. A plan would fool everyone and yield pointless results. It was time to break silos and boost collaboration. Move from features to results, from plans to goals, from fragmented responsibilities to autonomous teams.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How To Prioritize Risk As a Product ManagerThe conventional approach to product development, the build-measure-learn cycle, has been the bedrock for many product teams. This methodology emphasizes building quickly, measuring results, and then learning from those outcomes to iterate and improve. While it encourages speed and adaptability, it also comes with significant downsides, especially when it comes to resource efficiency. Too often, product teams find themselves pouring time and energy into features that ultimately fail, resulting in wasted resources, lost opportunities, and often a shift in product strategy.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Goat Yoga & Walking the Plank: A Lesson in BalanceLee... Have you lost your mind? Yes! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Do you feel like you have to hover over your team?Leading a team is sometimes a work for a herding dog. You need to gather, herd, and protect your team.On top, you need to monitor almost every detail of their work, and frequently intervene in tasks or decisions because otherwise, the needle does not move.Exhausting.When the lack of accountability creeps into your team, someone has to do it. Sadly, people quickly get used to it and let leaders make decisions and count them for mistakes...How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A key agile principle is the value of getting work done by the end of each iteration.Yet one of the biggest complaints I get from agile leaders is that teams never finish what they say they will during a sprint. Instead, teams consistently let the unfinished work spill over (AKA roll over or carry over) from sprint to sprint.Spillover is such a prevalent problem for agile teams that I want to devote several tips to talking about it.  First, I’ll explain what spillover is and how to know if it’s a problem Next, I’ll describe why habitual spillover is so bad Third, I’ll give you some ideas for how to break your team’s rollover habit Finally, I’ll talk about what to do with unfinished work when spillover happens. After all, while spillover shouldn’t be a habit, every team will occasionally have unfinished work at the end of the sprint  Team members were too optimistic and brought too much into the iteration The team was interrupted more often during the sprint than expected Some of the work took longer than expected Externally: A boss or important stakeholder can exert pressure by telling a team what must be done or by establishing unrealistic expectations. Internally: Some teams allow their optimism and high expectations of themselves to create pressure to do more than is reasonable.What Is Spillover? Why Does It Happen?Spillover is when a team arrives at the end of one sprint with some unfinished work that needs to be finished in a later sprint. It happens when a team overcommits to what they can achieve during the iteration timebox. This is usually because: Spillover is not a bad thing in and of itself. It’s unrealistic to expect a team to finish everything it starts, every sprint. In fact, it’s normal and desirable for a team to occasionally aim a little high for what they can accomplish in a sprint, and come up short. When Does Spillover Become a Problem?Habitual spillover, though, is different. Habitual spillover is when a team almost always commits to more than they can finish in the sprint. These teams rarely finish what they think they will.As a result, the end of the sprint becomes an arbitrary date, and work is just carried over into the next sprint as if it’s no big deal.It is a big deal. (I’ll talk more about why it is a big deal in next week’s tip).The most common reason teams develop a habit of taking on more work than they can finish is pressure. That pressure can originate:  One Thing to Do This SprintOne thing you can do right away to help stop habitual spillover is to make the problem visible.At the next sprint end, make a note of how many items the team committed to versus how many were 100% done. Even better: look back and do this for a handful of prior sprints.Bring this information to the retrospective and ask the team why they think unfinished work has become a pattern for them. Then ask them for one thing they could try next sprint to prevent it from happening.Don’t forget to hold them accountable to trying that idea (whatever it is) during sprint planning and as the sprint progresses.While you’re doing that, I’ll be getting my next tip ready for you. Next week I’ll be writing about why spillover is such a bad habit to fall into and how breaking that habit can help you succeed with agile.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why ‘Better’ Products FailYou built the better product. Faster, smarter, and loaded with features your competition doesn’t have. And yet — no one’s switching. Here’s why adoption isn’t rational.People don’t choose the best option. They choose the least risky, the most familiar — the one everyone else is already using.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Power To Change Organizational Culture As An Introverted ManagerA culture is nothing more than shared values, beliefs, and behaviors defining what is “normal” at work. If other managers prefer async communication, for example, then this is probably the norm in your company. On the other hand, if your CEO is more explosive, yelling might be normal.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Shine Bright Like a DiamondYour Star shines the very brightest when you are in a dark place... How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

3 Ways To Help Your Team Succeed In 2025 - Mike Cohn Join us as we discuss these three amazing techniques and how they can impact your teams. How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Top 10 Skills to Become a REAL Product Manager Create Your Own Product Join a Helpful Community Complete Affordable Courses To Gain Real Knowledge Follow The best Creators Read or Listen to Books On Top Products Rehearse Job Interviews Make It Your Hobby Knowledge > Certifications Get an Adjacent PM Job Practice Soft Skills How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

One Why Beats a Thousand Whats - Agile Sales & Marketing Market research is like archeology. It helps understand the past but tells us little about the future. It gives us many ‘whats’ but few ‘whys’. Of course, market research isn’t useless. But it can only go so far. Consumer research includes surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic studies, joint shopping trips, and other methods. The results are usually used only by marketers, and that’s a mistake. Oftentimes they use them rather mechanically — for pricing decisions or advertising campaigns. How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Translating User Stories Into Value Stories Can Drive Action I’ve been seeing an increasing number of designers who don’t realize that design communication is a two-way street. There’s been an increasing focus on soft skills, like design communication, to navigate this turbulent job market. However, this doesn’t just mean teaching your team about the UX point of view. It also means knowing enough about the business's priorities to translate user findings and design recommendations into terms they understand. When I say that, people often think this means learning about KPIs, metrics, and related subjects. While learning those terms is helpful, that’s not the only way to translate designs for the business. How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

What Are The Best Ways To Learn Something New? Do you work as an apprentice? Do you observe others? Do you watch a video? Do you listen to a Podcast? Do you visit a library and research? How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Fundamental Product Management is Most Important In the AI Age Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) continues to expand its horizons across a myriad of industries, enabling product managers (PMs) of all domains with the chance to become AI-focused and more tech-savvy. How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/