• Category Archives Teamwork

  • Need A Creative Spark? Pursuing Excellence Is Better Than Perfection

    Posted on by Tim

    While browsing my LinkedIn feed I saw a post by Daniel Pink. I can relate to what Daniel is saying. Pursuing perfection is not the same as pursuing excellence. I’m a recovering perfectionist.

    The associated article unlocks a concept that I didn’t have words to describe.

    Striving For Perfection, Rather Than Excellence, Can Kill Creativity – Research Digest (bps.org.uk)

    For me, this quote says it all:

    The results revealed that the more participants strove for excellence, the greater originality and openness to experience they showed. In contrast, the more perfectionist participants were, the fewer original ideas they had and the less open to experience they were. This suggests that an element of flexibility not present in perfectionism can improve our creative thinking.

    Emily Reynolds

    In product and service development, teams need to be creative. I encounter the “perfect” conversation weekly. There is a magnet on my dry erase board to remind me, Done > Perfect.

    Pursuing Excellence Over Perfection

    Engineering is an exacting profession. As engineers, people strive for perfection due to many factors. If lives are at stake, then it could be argued that perfection is needed. And yet, nothing is ever perfect.

    We live in a complex adaptive system the pulls toward chaos. We strive to order chaos and fail. So, if we can’t control the weather to create perfection conditions, why try to perfect every product and service going to the customer?

    This is where excellence steps in. In my opinion, excellence is knowing perfection cannot be achieved. And yet, excellence brings creators close to perfection by help them keep open minds.

    Taking this one step further, excellence help frame answers to questions. Instead of saying “it’s impossible”, excellence says, “what if it were possible and how might that look?”

    If focusing on excellence is a key to creating quality, shouldn’t that be the focus? It’s something to think about.


    Agile Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Servant Leadership: The Essence Of Being A Navy Chief

    Posted on by Tim

    One of the hardest concepts for me to describe is the “how” being a U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer transformed me. We have a saying, “Once a Chief, Always a Chief.”

    While browsing my LinkedIn feed, I saw a link blog post with a curious title.

    USNI blog post title

    U.S. Naval Institute Blog (usni.org) – blog post link

    The history of the Navy Chief (short for Chief Petty Officer) is rich. I don’t have enough time to cover all the bases, but it’s unrivaled by any other position in the U.S. armed forces.

    The author, Tony Palmer, noted content from the letter that former MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) Mike Stevens wrote in 2014 which explains how I was transformed.

    In his December 2014 “Letter to the Mess” MCPON Mike Stevens defined the chief petty officer rate by stating, “A Chief Petty Officer is a quiet, humble, servant leader. We have the responsibility to establish and maintain the conditions that provide all of our people the opportunity to be successful and accomplish whatever mission we have been given. And we do this while treating one another with dignity and respect.” Stevens went on to quote the British writer and lay theologian, C. S. Lewis. “Being humble is thinking less of yourself and thinking more about others.” His final sentence reflects the essence of his vision for a humble leader, “Being mindful that the more senior you become, the more people you serve.”

    Tony Palmer (emphasis above is mine)

    For me, Mike nailed the “how”. I saw servant leadership modeled by Chiefs.

    As a result, I became the person I saw modeled. In the Agile product and service development space, we talk about servant leadership. I lived it before joining the Agile community.


    Scrum Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Coasting Versus Conquering: Getting The Most Out Of Yourself

    Posted on by Tim

    Gaining and maintaining personal momentum is really hard. I suppose it is harder today than say 10 years ago. Each day should be a personal challenge to get the most out of yourself.

    This is not about “toxic positivity” or whatever popular phrase is trending on the internet.

    This is about subtle shifts in doing and thinking that add up over time.

    Many of the world’s most recognized and respected brands have humble beginnings. Apple and Toyota are two examples.

    Apple started in a garage.

    Toyota started with weaving looms and moved into automobile manufacturing after World War 2.

    Books in my office

    Each of us is responsible for improving daily. You’re either growing or dying, the choice is yours.

    You might be thinking, “Where do you suggest I start?” My answer is, “What is causing you the most pain?”

    Pain is relative. I deal with a whole military career of pain each day. The list of challenges I work through is long and not worth writing about.

    Personal Challenge

    You need to ask yourself a question. Am I coasting or conquering?

    Is technology a hurdle for you? May I suggest you find someone you trust to help you learning about technology?

    If you’re an introvert, like me, then public speaking could be a huge hurdle. Toastmasters can help overcome that fear.

    Perhaps you struggle with learning in general. I wrote an article on “micro learning” that can help you get started.

    Once you lock in on the one or two things you want to improve on, choose people to be accountable to for taking action. Accountability is a catalyst for personal growth (and a follow-on post).


    Agile Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Scrum Value #1 – Courage To Tackle Tough Challenges

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 1 in a 5-part series. This post covers Courage. Problem solving is never easy. It is a part of life that is unavoidable. As a result, it takes courage to tackle challenges.

    The first value;

    Scrum Team members have courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems

    Scrum.org

    Courage takes different forms in varied contexts. When I was in the military, it was doing work I was afraid to do. I chose to sail onboard submarines. As well, I chose to deploy to Afghanistan.

    In business, our context is different. Courage is overcoming the fear of speaking up when an observation could be unpopular. It is telling the team to stop work to fix a defect that leads to unsafe conditions.

    The examples above cover doing the right thing.

    Working on tough problems is less clear.

    I’ve heard teammates tell me, “It impossible to solve.”

    My response, “You’re probably right. If it weren’t impossible, what might the solution be?”

    That response take courage as I’m committing myself to exploring options and asking for ideas. It is painful to get past resistance and reaction.

    How To Find Courage To Tackle Challenges

    In my observation, finding courage is a series of small steps. I resolve myself to stink at what I’m seeking to find. I commit to doing small acts that require courage then build from one action to the next action.

    For example, Toastmasters meeting have a section called “Table Topics”. For two minutes a speaker talks about a random topic base on a card picked by another club member. It is a way for new members or visitors to act courageously and face public speaking fear.

    As well, Toastmaster clubs promote psychological safety for new public speakers. The clubs are gears to overcome fear through positive feedback. It is an amazing way to, step-by-step, exercise courage.

    Consider example above the next time the team is faced with a challenge. Use it as a starting point for developing courage to tackle challenges.

    Value 1, Value 2, Value 3, Value 4, Value 5


    Scrum Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Coasting Along Or Improving To The Stars?

    Posted on by Tim

    Two moments in November really struck me. They caused me to think, am I improving or coasting?

    For me, working at Improving Enterprises indicates I should be improving at a sustainable pace. Sustainable pace is subjective and relative to the person. It might look like a rocket ship for you and a slight hill for me.

    Firstly, one of our vice presidents, Tim Rayburn ended our monthly Dallas townhall with an exercise. It was designed to help us think differently about recruiting. Near the end, he said something to the effect of,

    “Improvers talk to people who are probably Improvers, they just don’t know it yet.”

    Tim Rayburn

    Bold statement and a solid indicator for company culture.

    Secondly, another executive, Ken Howard facilitated an evening training session on human interaction. He was covering motivation at one point when he mentioned,

    “We discovered that many of our colleagues are geared toward creativity and learning.”

    Ken Howard

    This is a strong indicator for problems getting solved. But not messes getting cleaned up in the breakroom!

    Company culture is impacting business operations. As a result, how culture is built influences how business value is created.

    I write posts using the tag “humans being.” Occasionally, I make a mess of interactions with people.

    How do I fix my mess? I have to work on my “soft skills”. At times, I ask to be forgiven. I stop speaking mid-sentence.

    Stuck waffles
    An improvement opportunity in waffle making

    Stop coasting and start improving

    From start to finish, life is about continuous improvement. Life is painful in that way. But, I would not trade it for the alternative!

    So, this gets back to my starting question. Are you (and me) improving or coasting?

    Trust me, there isn’t anything wrong with coasting. From time to time, coasting is a good thing!

    Consider this question when your goal setting for next year. Improving or coasting, the choice is yours. Finally, I choose improving, you should too.


    Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Don’t Be So Quick To Kick The Door, Agile Ranger

    Posted on by Tim

    I was talking with my colleague, Lucus, the other day.  I drew a connection between the Ranger units I supported in Afghanistan and the Agile community. There is a connection between Rangers and Agilists and I’ve watched it.

    “What in the Sam’s hill are you writing about?!”

    “You cannot be serious in pulling a thread between the Rangers and Agile product development!”

    I get it, and it’s fair to be skeptical.  Here’s the thing, what do most Agile consultants do that is similar to the Rangers?

    We parachute into a transformation as the experts in Agile framework(s), policy, process, and procedure (3-P’s).  We come in and kick some executive doors open, disrupt some teams, and then go on our merry way after a year or so and call it ‘mission complete’.

    Well, not all of us.  Some of us go beyond the 3-P’s and learn to sense the environment we’ve been asked to assist move toward increased agility. 

    Challenge coin bottle opener
    Command coin received from the 1/75 battalion commander

    About the Rangers

    The Rangers have expertise in understanding tactical context and they adjust their approach to mission as more information becomes available.  They “shoot, move, and communicate” and deviate from the plan as it is needed to achieve the objective.

    Rangers have a master’s understanding of the 3-P’s or “the box” and extend their awareness beyond “the box”.  They adapt and adjust on the fly because the enemy will adapt and adjust to their operations once under threat.

    Back to Agilists with expertise  

    Finally, here is a connection between Rangers and Agilists.

    We might call them practitioners, journeyman, or jack’s of all trades, who cares about labels as it’s not the point.  Since Agilists with expertise are less concerned about air dropping in and rolling to their next engagement, these common-sense Agilists are looking at their entire toolbox to assess which tools work best in a specific context.

    Moving a business into a new way of working is a journey.  Find people who have the right attitude and tools to help an organization navigate to point to point along the way.

    Hire them because they get that understanding context is critical before kicking in doors.  Look for the ones that don’t claim to be experts, but talk about continuous learning.

    Be bold hire the ones who are ready to break some stuff!  Just like the Army Rangers!


    Agile Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Challenge Accepted, Level-up To Mentor

    Posted on by Tim

    I needed to be challenged.  For me, one way to be stretched is to mentor a colleague or friend who is on their own journey, just a bit behind me.

    My dad shared with me this saying from my grandfather, 

    “The best investment any of us can ever make is in a fellow human being.”

    I don’t know about you, that statement feels both comforting and like a punch in the gut, all at the same time.  I think about what I could have done if I had paid closer attention to people around me.

    Pinning ceremony and re-enlistment
    Receiving my Enlisted Submarine Warfare Specialist designator and my first re-enlistment

    Consider this, former colleagues who might have developed faster professionally.  Contemplate this, acquaintances and friends who might have benefitted from me sharing my experience if I had made myself available for a conversation.

    Now, I’m doing life differently.  Currently, I’m pouring into others as people approach me for advice.  I had two people connect with me in recent weeks, one from my company and the other from my client.  In addition to my day job, I am showing up and being present for my family!

    As I write this post, I recognize how unique mentoring is in the context of human behavior.  In future posts on mentoring, I plan to unpack what the concept is and what the concept is not.

    Take a challenge

    Today, I want to challenge you to examine your relationships.  Who might benefit from a few hours of your time? Mentor a colleague or friend who would genuinely benefit from your expertise and experience.

    If they are open to receiving it, time spent with you listening to their concerns, providing feedback, pays rewards. Time invested for in that person, for their own personal and/or professional growth, benefits you both.

    Will you take up this challenge? Will you invest in another person this week?


    Agile Scrum Teamwork Training 📎and tagged

  • Learning Made Easy For Hard Heads Like Mine

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. A Scrum training learning enhancement tool I endorse.

    Actual game results

    Learning is my thing. It just is. I enjoy concept application as much as the experience of expanding the boundaries of my understanding.

    What about you?

    My interest leads me to continually improve my skills as a Scrum Master. As a result, playing games are complimentary to my willingness to learn. 

    I was introduced to a tool that may enable Scrum teams to learn by practice.

    Scrum training – online scrum card game

    Tim, the creator of Scrum Card Game – Scrum Simulation. Simple and realistic. He walked me, James, Sweta, and Valerie through the most recent updates to the simulation. 

    We learned the “why” behind its creation and had Tim as our coach while going through the Sprints.

    I’m not going to spoil the enjoyment you might receive from trying this experience out, so there are no details provided in the remainder of this post!

    I will give you a peak behind the curtain with this video. 

    Tim shared that the online version of the experience came from community feedback. He noted that the online game is based on iterative development of the original, physical product that he used in training classes.

    As the tool evolved, it was met with more positive feedback, going from a PDF file to a physical card deck to the online version of the same, but better!


    Scrum Teamwork Training 📎and tagged

  • Team “Human” And How Co-workers Can Make You Laugh, Smile, And Be Happy

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. Team human, we’re all on it.

    How were you this week with your team at #humans_being?

    To follow up on my post on Monday, I wanted to share my experience this week showing up with my colleagues. I didn’t experience tech issues this time around, which was wonderful!

    Our learning session on teamwork was thoughtful and thought-provoking.  We tested a couple of approaches in the process of creating the learning experience.  IMO, I’m happy with the outcome, but I could improve my timing and sharing.

    For me, using electronic tools is easy.  Mural, PowerPoint, and Teams are not overly challenging to get proficient at using.  They are and have been part of my way of working for a while and are an enabling constraint for me to deliver content and information that is intended to enable learning.

    Not everyone is so fortunate.  Not every electronic tool is built for #accessiblity or #ease_of_use.  I am mindful that while I might make training #look_easy, it is not easy to #create and #facilitate engaging training.  The electronic tools might hinder learning and prevent the experience of #humans_being.

    Here in the United States and Canada, we are heading into a holiday weekend.  I want to challenge you, my followers, and my connections to consider how the fall or spring seasons might be for you and your teams.

    Old Town Dubrovnik, Croatia

    Team human

    Be mindful that we are still moving through stressful times that serve to create PTS.  Be thoughtful about meeting people where they are at in their career journey, both at work and socially.  Take time to be empathetic and compassionate with yourself and with the people around you.

    Enjoy your weekend and please share your stories.  I have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth, so I should be listening and watching twice as much as talking!

    Huge thanks to Janelle, Lisa, Nicole, and the rest of my Improving colleagues for being a part of the learning journey and showing up!


    Teamwork Technology Training 📎and tagged

  • Conference Speaking Really Wasn’t Part Of My Professional Plan, But Hey!

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. Conference speaking, for me? No, not really.

    What did you do to show up? 

    I showed up this week (8/19/2021), in a personal way and professionally.

    My professional moment was during the 2021 Summer UACon.  I have Derek Lane to thank for that opportunity.

    My neighbor and I met for coffee last week.  It was a deliberate appointment as he and his family were completing the pack-out of their home to move to Arizona.

    We talked about several topics which have been consistent themes in our conversations over the 4+ years we’ve known each other.  We created space and we showed up, for each other.

    It was a simple way to be “#humans_being”.

    Mozart Café, Salzburg, Austria

    Conference speaking

    Admittedly, it’s kind of cool speaking at a conference. There is something special about sharing insights.

    Above all, it’s about inspiring people, being human, and showing up. In addition, each story shared is unique providing insight that might not be known.

    Before speaking, I have to prepare. It takes time to get a session “just right”. In addition, I rehearse before delivering or recording my session. Further, I have to be in the moment for the time in the session.

    In the end, it’s not about me. It’s about the message being delivered and received by someone who can use it.


    Personal Teamwork Technology Training 📎and tagged