Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Nimesh’s Coaching Box

A simple tool to deliver your message effectively that creates impact, and do it with eeeease!

Want to deliver your session with ease? That is effective and impactful?

Of course, you want to be clear about the message you want to deliver; but being clear about it is just a start. Delivering your message effectively that is impactful – that’s the key. And, making it easy to digest for your audience is essential.

One of my good friend and colleagues introduced me to this concept while we were together at Paypal, coaching and mentoring the organization and teams on Agile adoption. [Thank You Monica!] Nowadays, you will see me walking around with this coaching box, almost all the time.

: Nimesh’s Coaching Box

Why this Coaching Box?
You are the change agent, but you don’t just want to talk about the change. You want to deliver your message effectively that creates an impact, and doing it with ease is the key to success. I have found that having this coaching box handy helps tremendously in achieving that. With this coaching box on my side, I can deliver my message, my presentation, my session with an ease that is effective and impactful. As a coach, as a change agent, it is your Toolbox!

What’s in it?
This coaching box essentially has the tools of the trade in it, readily available by my side at a moment’s notice. No more fumbling around for a whiteboard marker that really works!

Let’s look at what I have in the coaching box:

Post It notes. We can’t live without them, can we? [Check out my series of posts on how I use Post It notes]
Sharpie Pens
Whiteboard markers, that really work!

At a minimum, you should have these three items in your Coaching box. You can throw in some electronic tools in it along with these three items.

Remote Clicker, with spare batteries
Mac connector cable (to connect to Projector)
Old iPhone (that is not connected to any network)
Evernote or OneNote on your mobile device, making sure that you have the reference material and worksheets handy. Most importantly, make sure that you have the worksheets and checklists handy.
Other apps such as Office Lens to take pictures of your whiteboard drawings, Scannable to scan physical papers, etc. [Read my post on various apps that can help you]
Spare reading glasses
Lip balm
Two Cereal bar (my emergency energy source)
Two tea bags – like to drink hot tea (no sugar,no milk) before and during the sessions I facilitate. Helps me keep hydrated while keeping my throat clear helping in projecting my voice higher.

I add in a few cereal bars that can double as my lunch as well as a snack. Often times while you are delivering your sessions, you don’t have the time and luxury to have the proper lunch!

But, I need reasons to carry this coaching box…

I will give you three reasons why you want this box by your side.

Instead of grabbing ten things, you are grabbing just one thing. This has bailed me out many times as I have been asked to present or coach at a moments notice by the executives. You know your executives in the organization 🙂
It sends a very clear, strong, positive message that this guy (or gal) is always ready!
You have all the supplies handy and within arms reach, supplies that you are familiar with and know they work, supplies that help you deliver your message effectively that creates impact.

With this box handy, I am ready to deliver any session at a moment’s notice. Let’s go, and make change happen!

Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Just Enough Documentation with an App?

Can Office Lens help you with Just In Time documentation?

As an Agilist, as a change agent, you are almost always playing the role of a “Facilitator” as you interact with your business stakeholders as well as members of your teams. I like these sessions to be interactive and collaborative. I encourage you all to use Post Its and White boarding as you go through these sessions.

Office Lens for Just Enough Documentation

And, some of you have already heard me say this multiple times: Just Enough and Good Enough! As we do the white boarding sessions, taking a picture of it and attaching it to your Feature/Story might be good enough documentation, at that point in time.

To take the picture of white boarding session, I highly recommend an app called Office Lens by Microsoft. All you have to do is to point your mobile to the wall where the whiteboard is. The app automatically identifies the whiteboard and takes pretty good, clear picture of the content. You don’t have to worry about getting it in frame properly, nor do you have to worry about the lighting and reflections. Check out the details of the app here.

As mentioned in his CIO article, The app is good at detecting edges and cropping automatically, and both features save you a few steps.

I have used Scannable from Evernote as well, and I am a big fan of that app too! However, Office Lens beats it when it comes to taking pictures of the White board. Here is a picture from one of my white boarding session, taken with Office Lens.

Documentation in Agile - Whiteboarding and Just Enough Documentation - Nimesh Soni

White boarding session – picture taken using Office Lens

[tweetthis]Whiteboard and Just Enough Documentation in #Agile http://bit.ly/whiteboarding4Doc[/tweetthis]

Question: What other apps you have used? Share your findings in comments below. You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2016

10 Apps for 10x Productivity

Increase Productivity on the Go with these Apps

10 Apps for 10x Productivity

Like it or not, Accept it, we are a mobile society driven by mobiles in our hands and our pockets. Is your mobile device a ‘sink hole’ for your time and productivity? Can we actually use them to increase 10x productivity, on the go!?

Are you ‘wasting’ lot of time on your mobile with Facebook likes and updates, with What’s app and Instagram? Turn the tables! Convert your mobile devices into a productivity magnet, using some of the best productivity apps that I regularly use and highly recommend.

Mobile devices are major part of the strategy for industry leaders like Google, Microsoft and Facebook. We do more and more work on the go using our mobile devices. As you walk to your car, as you walk in the mall, and so on. How many of you have bumped into a person who is so engrossed in his/her phone that doesn’t even care to look at where s/he is headed.

No Texting while Walking!

Use of phone while driving is already illegal in most of the states, if not all of the states. But, now, there are some states which are considering banning the phone use while walking. In New Jersey for example, in a town called Fort Lee police have written hundreds of citations for texting while walking. So make no mistake we are a mobile society. Driven by the mobile, getting more and more work done on the go using mobile devices.

I’m guilty of this as well 🙂 I use mobile to get more and more work done from my daily routine. I have used several apps and constantly experiment with new ones.

10 for 10x Productivity

Let’s talk about the 10 apps that can get you to 10x productivity: apps that help you get more done with minimal effort involved, and of course on the go!

1.Evernote and OneNote

Start with moving your world to Electronic world, and what better way to do that is getting this electronic note taking apps.

I use Evernote for managing my professional life while the OneNote keeps my personal life organized. And in the digital world once in there my notes are available from any device, anywhere. It also helps you reduce the use of paper, in return you are helping to save some trees!

Your back will also thank you as these two note taking apps will help you reduce the size of your backpack! I introduced OneNote to my son also to help him reduce the weight he carries in his backpack. In fact, he extended the functionality and use of it even further. He uses OneNote on his Microsoft Surface, and he can capture hand written notes with the electronic pen!

Very easy to search, and highly collaborative, these note taking apps will take your productivity to next level, almost immediately!

2.Scannable

As you can see, I do a lot of doodling on post-it. I like to draw and doodling allows me to bring two of my passions together: the art and the agile.

I use Post It extensively while explaining concepts or brainstorming on new product offering. I use doodling and sketch when I’m having one on one conversations or explaining new concepts on paper. I can take a picture of these Post It notes, with doodles or my handwritten notes. To do this, put your drawing on a contrasting background, load up your Scannable app, aim and snap!

This app gives you crisp and clear image by automatically eliminating glare and flattening the image. Check some of my doodles here which have been brought to the electronic world using Scannable app.

3.Office Lens

From Microsoft, this app does similar job as Scannable but I use it for specific purpose other than those scanning of documents.

Being an Agilist I’m highly collaborative and often I am at whiteboard explaining various concepts to a team or group of people. I’m using drawings while using different color sharpie pens! Office Lens does a great job of taking white board pictures.

Again, all you do is aim and snap. This app is smart to figure out what is the actual whiteboard area, and automatically pans to get the area appropriately while eliminating glare. The end result is crisp and clear image!

Collaboration + White boarding + Office Lens = Just in Time, Just Enough documentation

[bctt tweet=”Collaboration + White boarding + Office Lens = Just in Time, Just Enough documentation” username=”beyondCSM”]

3 down, and more to come!

I explained the Top 3 of my 10x productivity apps. I will explain the remaining apps in the next installment of this blog post. Until then, experiments with these apps and #getHyper!

[bctt tweet=”Increase Productivity on the Go with these Apps http://www.nimeshsoni.com/10-apps-10x-productivity/” username=”beyondCSM”]

To get more productivity hacks Like us in our Facebook pages: getHyper and mentorMe

Posted on Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Dependency Wheel with Scrum team

See how easily you can minimize the impact of dependencies to ensure Success on your project

Can dependencies derail your project? What is the impact of these dependencies on your initiative?

In today’s hyper connected world, it will be difficult to have a project that did not have any dependencies, internal or external, upstream or downstream on other projects or initiatives, vendors, tools, or functionality.

Impacts of Dependencies

If you are not careful about the dependencies, if you do not put any effort in identifying them, they will sneak up on you and derail your initiative:

The later you identify, the more costly it will be to address them, the more time it will add to your delivery time, the more negative impact it will have on the quality of work you can deliver.
You will be dealing with hot heads! The stakeholders will not be happy to hear you that ‘it will take more time!’
Your estimates will be way off, if you ignored the dependencies

So, why not be intentional about them as you start on an initiative and through the execution of it; why not spend some time upfront talking about potential dependencies.

[bctt tweet=”Dependencies will sneak up on you and derail your initiative! Identify them upfront with Dependency Wheel! pic.twitter.com/1FrLPgODOF”]

Dependency Wheel

I use this simple tool with the teams I coach. It is a simple, intuitive, easy to use, yet very effective tool.

Start this session with your team by drawing a circle at the center of whiteboard or flip chart sheet. Put your program/team name in the center. All the spikes on this wheel are the dependencies that are known at the time. As you identify new dependency, just draw another spike.

The more rims you have on the dependency wheel, the more air it has to cut through, the more friction it has to push through. Similarly, your program/project will have to cut through more of the red carpet and push through more friction from other projects if you have more rims on your dependency wheel.

The more rims you have on this dependency wheel, the more difficult and complex the project will be. It also helps you in setting the expectations with you stakeholders, it also helps team when they are providing their estimation.

Here is a sample, from a team I coached in the past at a client.

Why identify Dependencies?

As you can see, it is of paramount importance to spend some time on thinking about them and identify them upfront. Granted that you will not know all the dependencies. But, mere fact that you are putting some time to think about them upfront is a huge win. It gives you a gauge as to how much additional force you will need to push through the friction.

Above all, it helps you in setting the expectations of all the parties. It helps you ground the expectations of stakeholders. It also helps ground the team and provide more realistic estimates.

As I mentioned, it adds tremendous value and increases your chances of success on a program or initiative. You can start reaching out to those partier (on whom you are dependent, or who are dependent on you). The cross functional team, works on the initial version of this wheel as they go through the planning activity (Release planning, Sprint planning.) And, then it can be a good artifact to take to your Scrum of Scrum.

[bctt tweet=”Put this wheel on your backlog, or else your program will derail (for sure, at some point in future)”]

Posted on Monday, May 23, 2016

Book Summary: Linked to Influence

7 Powerful Rules for Becoming a Top Influencer on Linked In

Linked to Influence

You will find at least a few tips that you can implement right away to maximize your presence on Linked In. And, if you are not on LI, you better get started! Act now!

If you want to build and strengthen relationship with your client. If you want to share your knowledge and experience with the world. And in the process build your influence over the community you are serving.

You will find at least a few tips that you can implement right away to maximize your presence on Linked In. And, if you are not on LI. Better get started now! You should not ignore this book if you want to build and strengthen relationship with your client. And in the process build your influence over the community you are serving, if you want to share your knowledge and experience with the world.

In this book, @stephsammons provides 7 powerful rules that can serve as guide posts as you work towards building your influence. You will find at least a few tips that you can implement right away to maximize your presence on Linked In. And, if you are not on LI, you better get started! Act now.

You should not ignore this book. If you want to build and strengthen relationship with your client. If you want to share your knowledge and experience with the world, and in the process build your influence over the community you are serving.

In this book, @stephsammons provides 7 powerful rules that can serve as guide posts as you work towards building your influence.

Three Quotes from the book

Linked In is a global, virtual, perpetual networking event!
Influencers do not try to help everyone. They know exactly whom they can help.
Remember this! Business is personal. People do business with people.

Three tips from the book

Don’t look at your LinkedIn profile as an online resume. Your LinkedIn profile is a client-attraction center. You should value it as such!
Use these three Ps to personalize your profile. Personality, Passion, Perspectives. It will greatly help.
LinkedIn is leaving you a trail of breadcrumbs to help you discover relevant people to connect with. Pay attention to these clues!
[bctt tweet=”You are not finished building your LinkedIn profile until you reach “All-Star” status.”]

Start building your influence now!