24 People, No Managers: Buffer’s “Decision Maker” Experiment.
Category / product development
Go Small, Get Big– Interesting read on Small Teams, Big Innovations
I remember thinking at my first job that 10 people is all it takes to do great product. I was told you do not know enough yet, to grow big we need to scale teams and get more people so that we can deliver more value to customer.
Fast forward 12 years, I am reiterating 10 People is all it takes. I am firm believer in power of a small agile team for product development.
Big Teams, Big Initiatives, Big Failures…
Interesting read:
Quiet but unsubtle innovation insurgencies are emerging in global enterprise. Instead of investing more in innovation process or cultural transformation, I’m observing more large organizations giving greater resources and responsibilities to ever-smaller teams. Innovation initiatives that were once handled by dozens a decade ago are now run by only handfuls. The median size of the core innovation group has dropped from a football/soccer eleven to a basketball five. Less apparently enables more.
Smart Innovators Value Smaller Teams Over Better Processes
Michael Schrage
Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:36:55 GMT
Good Read – Five Common Strategy Mistakes
Interesting….
Five Common Strategy Mistakes
Mistake #1. Confusing marketing with strategy.
Mistake #2. Confusing competitive advantage with "what you’re good at."
Mistake #3: Pursuing size above all else, because if you’re the biggest, you’ll be more profitable.
Mistake #4. Thinking that "growth" or "reaching $1 billion in revenue" is a strategy.
Mistake #5. Focusing on high-growth markets, because that’s where the money is.
Five Common Strategy Mistakes
Joan Magretta
Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:15:41 GMT
When SMART is not smart enough
SMART – We have heard this many times in management presentations and/or have been advised that our goals should adhere to this standard.
So what is SMART goal –
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Relevant
T – Time-bound
Also, the goals should answer these questions (W’s) –
*Who: Who is involved?
*What: What do I want to accomplish?
*Where: Identify a location.
*When: Establish a time frame.
*Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
Looks good. Now look a the Supper Committee that was formed in US to cut the deficit and analysis from HBR blog post what happened.
Takeaways –
- Common goal + separate agendas = failure
- Beware of Silos
- Manage SMART goals by checking for agenda conflict and changing incentives.
The Super Committee’s Two Failures
Morten T. Hansen
Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:54:20 GMT
Fire All the Managers–Good Podcast
Democratization of the management. Good example of a company doing it.
An interview with Gary Hamel, director of the Management Innovation eXchange and author of the HBR article First, Let’s Fire All the Managers.
Fire All the Managers
HBR IdeaCast
Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:51:37 GMT
3 Keys to Agile Results–Interesting Blog Post
Keeping focus in a Agile Teams is of great significances for success of the project. These three points can definitely help. I particularly love “Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection”….
Agile Results is the name of the system I talk about in Getting Results the Agile Way. It’s a simple time management system for meaningful results. The focus is on meaningful results, not doing more things. There are three keys to the Agile Results system:
The Rule of 3
The Rule of 3 helps you avoid getting overwhelmed. It’s also a guideline that helps you prioritize and scope. Rather than bite off more than you can chew, you bite off three meaningful things. You can use The Rule of 3 at different levels by picking three wins for the day, three wins for the week, three wins for the month, and three wins for the year. This helps you see the forest for the trees since your three wins for the year are at a higher level than your three wins for the month, and your three wins for the week are at a higher level than your three wins for the day. You can easily zoom in and out to help balance your perspective on what’s important, for the short term and the longer term.Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection
Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection is a weekly results pattern. This is a simple “time-based” pattern. Each week is a fresh start. On Mondays, you think about three wins you would like for the week. Each day you identify three wins you would like for the day. On Fridays, you reflect on lessons learned; you ask yourself, “What three things are going well, and what three things need improvement?” This weekly results pattern helps you build momentum.Hot Spots
Hot Spots are a way to heat map your life. They help you map out your results by identifying “what’s hot?.” Hot Spots become both your levers and your lens to help you identify and focus on what’s important in your life. They can represent areas of pain or opportunity. You can use Hot Spots as your main dashboard. You can organize your Hot Spots by work, personal, and the “big picture” of your life. At a glance, you should be able to quickly see the balls you are juggling and what’s on your plate. To find your Hot Spots, simply make a list of the key things that need your time and energy. Then for each of these key things, create—a simple list, a “tickler list” that answers the question, “What do you want to accomplish?” Once you know the wins you want to achieve in your Hot Spots, you have the ultimate map for your meaningful results.You can use Agile Results for work or home or anywhere you need to improve your results in life. Agile Results is compatible with, and can enhance the results of, any productivity system or time management you already use. That’s because the foundation of the Agile Results platform is a core set of principles, patterns, and practices for getting results.
The simplest way to get started with Agile Results is to read Getting Started with Agile Results, and take the 30 Day Boot Camp for Getting Results.
3 Keys to Agile Results
JD Meier
Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:23:31 GMT
NO BE CHICKEN…Interesting Post from Fred Wilson…
This is a good post about why products need to have personality and other interesting observations which apply can be applied to product development.
Post from Fred Wilson. Go to this post: Minimum Viable Personality
NO BE CHICKEN
CHICKEN LIVE IN CAGE. NO CAN HAVE PERSONALITY INSIDE CAGE.
LAST STEP IS SMASH CAGE, LIGHT BARN ON FIRE.
DO THAT, YOU WIN.
Jasvinder Singh 