Essentialism, Agile, transformation, getHyper

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Book-Essentialism

Essentialism by Greg McKeown @GregoryMcKeown

If you want to de-clutter your everyday life, if you want to be able to focus on things that are important to YOU, if you want to get more done with less effort THIS is the book. Read it, digest it, implement it and YOU will find more joy and happiness in the journey where you are headed. It will give you more clarity as to where you want to go.

Three Quotes from the book

  • The Wisdom of Life Consists in the Elimination of Non-Essentials
  • STOP Majoring in minor activities
  • If you don’t prioritize your life, some one else will

Three tips from the book

  • Less but better = Essentialism
  • Constantly asking: Am I investing in the RIGHT activities? Is this the most important or valuable thing I could be doing right now?
  • If you don’t prioritize your life, some one else will

[bctt tweet=”Practice ‘load the Tape’, ‘Think Week’ and ‘Monk Mode’ – inspired by Essentialism by @GregoryMcKeown http://amzn.to/23kviSW #Transformation #getHyper”]

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PostIt for taking notes

Take notes, while still being part of the conversation

We talked about the WHYs of Post It notes in the earlier post. I have used this simple tool many different ways in my quest to transform organizations to deliver value.

I have used Post It notes as my ‘Swiss Knife’, bending it in many different ways to meet my needs as an Enterprise Transformation Coach. For me, Agile is not about complaining (as to what you don’t have) but making the most of what you have been given. It is all about being resourceful!

Let me introduce you to several ways I have used this simple tool in my quest to transform organizations to deliver value. I guarantee that you will have new insights and new found respect for this tool:

Here is the first and THE most important role Post-It plays in my world.

Taking notes: 

I almost always walk around with Sharpie pen and a pad of PostIt notes. When I am having discussions or conversations, I am taking notes, capturing important points and action items. PostIt allows me to take the notes while still being part of the conversation. This is comforting and ensuring at the same time for my client.

It is calming to see you write on your PostIts. For me, it is a confirmation that you are listening, and there will be a follow through (on action items identified) -AP

I have, in fact, developed my own ‘short hand’ language that allows me to capture the essence of the discussion, quickly without any distraction [more on it in a separate blog post]

Did you think of using it in this fashion? If you have, what has been the response from your colleagues? Share your experience in the comments section below.

 

What’s your speed to market? Want to get to market at the ‘Flash’ speed? Put some upfront time in knowing (who) your customers are and cater to their needs with a minimum viable product (MVP).

[bctt tweet=”Want to get to market at the ‘Flash’ speed? Know your {Customer + MVP} pic.twitter.com/QabZAgF1f3 #Agile #Transformation”]

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PostIt as a Yellow Card

In this series of Blog posts on 5 unique uses of PostIt notes, so far we talked about using Post It for Doodling and Visual note taking. Let’s talk about another unique way to use it.

In the (controlled) chaotic world of Agile, we are always looking for ways to have everyone participate in the ongoing discussions in the room. We are looking to have collaborative sessions where everyone brings in their view points.

When you have more than two people in the room, it is very easy to get off-track. We need a ‘referee’ to keep things moving in the right direction and stay the course. Unlike Soccer where only referee can raise the Yellow flag, we can empower entire team with this Yellow card.

Showing Yellow Card-Nimesh Soni-Agile-Scrum-Transformation

This acts as a visual indicator and anyone in the room can raise it, if they feel that:

  • the conversation is off-track and we are wasting everyone’s time
  • conversation does not help us get to the goal we set out for in the beginning of the session
  • the conversation is going into ‘weeds’
  • S/he needs to break the conversation to give everyone a pause and ensure being on track

The team member has to briefly explain the reasoning for raising the Yellow card and request the team to get back to the appropriate discussions.

Often times, the out come of raising a Yellow card is additional items going on to the Parking Lot. Agile teams generally should have yellow Post It notes handy, and being agile, you make the most of what you are given. So, I came up with this idea of (re) using yellow Post It notes as Yellow card.

In a collaborative session that we want to have, you need every one to actively participate, yet stay on the central topic of the discussion. it is easier said than done! This is a simple concept, yet, very effective tool to aid the team and keep the communication and collaboration on the right track, making the sessions more productive for the team.

It improves productivity, enhances collaboration within team, as well as helps build the chemistry and trust among team members. It also helps those who are ‘soft spoken’, those ‘introverts’ in a sense that it provides them a tool to voice their concerns.

Go ahead, and make your next session very productive. Don’t be afraid to use it!

Yellow Card

[bctt tweet=”Use this Yellow Card to keep your #collaboration sessions on track! pic.twitter.com/LSVuPV7TPo #scrum #transformation”]