Gene 
In recent years, organizations across industries have ramped up efforts to become “agile”—not just in IT, but across entire enterprises. Yet, many of these initiatives fall flat, not because agility itself is flawed, but because the coaching structures and strategies designed to enable agility are deeply broken. One of the most common patterns is fragmented coaching. … Read more
The SVPG article “Becoming a Product Coach” offers a blend of truly helpful, experience-based insights and well-meaning, yet oversimplified generalizations. On the one hand, it delivers solid advice for individuals considering a transition into product coaching, especially from a career development lens. On the other hand, it rebrands long-standing industry concepts and introduces some misleading … Read more
Hello USA! How is your organization dealing with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative? On its surface, DOGE represents a well-intentioned drive to streamline federal operations, cut excess spending, and modernize information systems across agencies. By centralizing savings efforts and aiming for measurable performance improvements, DOGE has surfaced long-standing inefficiencies that warrant attention. However, … Read more
In the past, professional coaches didn’t have to split hairs when identifying themselves, by their line of work: e.g. being “agile coaches” vs. “product coaches.” While coaching focus areas have always existed—e.g., enterprise, team-level, individual, career, technical, HR, business/product, etc. — seasoned coaches-veterans were expected to be versatile in their capabilities and adaptive in their … Read more
Presentation: Additional References: “Synchronized Sprint Cadence: Thoughtful Decision or Cargo Cult?“ “Maximizing Dependencies with Interdependent Teams“ Additional References: “Synchronized Sprint Cadence: Thoughtful Decision or Cargo Cult?“ “Maximizing Dependencies with Interdependent Teams“
How to Connect with James Gunaca: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesgunaca https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJamesGunaca https://www.jamesgunaca.com AI Companion-Generated Summary Quick recap James Gunaca, a veteran product manager, shared insights into Amazon’s product operating models and emphasized the importance of adapting strategies to context while acknowledging both successes and failures. He discussed common myths about working at Amazon, clarified the company’s approach … Read more
Download Materials AI Companion Summary Please, note that the transcript below is in its original form and has not been modified, with the exception of removing names of the participants. Please, refer to the transcript, in conjunction with the recording and materials above. Global Scrum PI Planning Discussion Gene welcomed participants to a global, large-scale … Read more
Graphic Materials Used: The following challenges were touched upon: In a rush, to become agile, did your organization adopt an “operating model”, by incorrectly copy-pasting something that has been well known in the industry for year but required a much deeper understanding, before implementing? In a rush, to become product-centric … Read more
Below, are a few BIG questions, for C-level executives that control org. design decisions, budgets, and HR: Why did your agile transformation come to a halt? Why did not your product operating model work, as expected? Why does everything look like an agile theater/circus, with a lot of ‘transactional activities’ but no ROI? In order … Read more
