Francie Van Wirkus

[francievanwirkus]

[francievanwirkus]

What you know about _what you offer and promote_ to your customers as valuable needs constant attention. Bank cards like American Express with “earned” companion (flies free) tickets for Delta airlines, for example.

Initial User Story: I want to use my American Express eticket on Delta Airlines so that I can visit my family member and get the value of the annual fee on my bank card.

Search:The companion ticket is unavailable, so I am unable to use it. I changed my User Story:

Second User Story: I want to use my American Express eticket on Delta Airlines so that I can visit Florida, (a second choice to visiting my family member) and get the value of the annual fee on my bank card.

Search: The companion ticket is unavailable. Now I wonder if I can use my valuable benefit ticket...anywhere. I changed my User Story:

Third User Story: I want to use my American Express eticket on Delta Airlines so that I can visit anywhere in the U.S. and get the value of the annual fee on my bank card.

Exasperated and curious search: Atlanta, Fargo, Tampa...no companion ticket available.

It was, and is right now, a perfect day for product management teams at American Express and Delta to discuss customer value.

[francievanwirkus]

“How many Scaled Agile Framework trains have you set up?”

A common recruiting question aimed at determining experience that often misses the mark.

Repetition is only part of experience.

If you must get a number for experience, ok, and then follow on that with questions that will provide a deeper look into the candidate’s experience.

Was the change successful?

Is SAFe still being used there (sustained)?

Do you have any examples of coaching management to become leaders?

And, many other questions to follow that provide a deeper view into experience.

[francievanwirkus]

All In — Agile Bettys

In a large change or transformation, those who are (or say they are) all-in, appear to know exactly what’s going on. They probably didn’t think it through enough. Asking questions and challenging the proposed future state is actually part of the transformation work, and should be encouraged. It’s

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Metrics for Resilience — Agile Bettys

Like them or hate them, metrics can help you continuously improve. Here are two great team reflection questions about the metrics you currently use: Do any of our current measures hold us back or restrict us for the future? Is there a new measure that we could use that would help us be open to ne

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Resilient Teams Need Strong Connections — Agile Bettys

Your team keeps growing because it can sense and adapt to change. These two reflection questions can help your team continue to build its resilience: Which relationships are no longer sufficient for our work? What kinds of business relationships would help us become more resilient and open to cha

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Rise to the Challenge — Agile Bettys

We’re racing toward the end of Q1 in 2021. Now is a perfect time to begin reflecting on your personal growth and vision. Now is perfect to begin, even if you stopped reflecting back in January. Now is also perfect to begin, even if you never reflected before in your life. if you don’t challenge yo

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Lead Your Change — Agile Bettys

How you lead a change or transformation trumps any other part of that change. Your organization is different from the others, your change is unique, and still leadership is the most important part. Leading change takes time; endless conversations to connect people to the vision and value of the wo

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The R Word — Agile Bettys

It’s still happening, calling people “resources.” You likely have a strong rationale for still calling humans resources, or having an occasional slip of the R Word. A mindset is stronger, because it goes to the root. Changing your mindset is difficult, and has tremendous impact on the people you wor

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"We Don't Have the Time" — Agile Bettys

Any time you hear that statement, regardless of your position in the organization, listen closely with curiosity. Even if you’ve heard it 20 times before this moment. That statement might be the most clear piece of information you will hear all day. It’s up to you what you do with it. As a team me

[francievanwirkus]

Thinking with Dependencies — Agile Bettys

Dependencies are in our work and in our heads. The art of asking challenging questions can help break or at least weaken the dependencies in our thinking, so that we can find new solutions. These ideas may look absurd and unreachable, because they aren’t coated in the usual dependencies. Give them

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Make the Time — Agile Bettys

It takes time, but you can grow your team’s knowledge, so that it’s not trapped inside a few, perceived, brilliant people. Living out the vision, mission and values of an organization needs time over platitudes, intentional, relentless work over leaving it to someone else.

[francievanwirkus]

"We Always Run Long" — Agile Bettys

Your meeting doesn’t always have to run long. You can choose to create new, more solid boundaries for your meetings, and practice them over time. You can choose to grow intentional interactions that value respect and self care. What’s the practice part? It’s different for everyone. Some have tr

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The Simple Question — Agile Bettys

Left Foot Lake, WI.

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Design Your Future Exercise

The deeper your reflection, the more meaningful the discussion. Make the time to reflect on these questions before doing the exercise, and you will find more powerful outcomes. Reflection is key. Always has been.

1. Share two things you learned this year. 

2. Share two favorite moments from this year. 

3. Share one-two things you want to learn in the new year. 

4. Design and share one or two future favorite moments of the new year.  

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Useful authority is not a jab, here. When this situation is part of your daily (hourly?) work, it’s sign that change is needed.

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You may have a formidable list of things you didnt expect to do (or not do) in 2020. Beyond the reactions, the collective sighs, its time to reflect. So you can build your resilience for the future.