Shu–Ha–Ri: The Misunderstood Journey of Mastery

  “What does Shu–Ha–Ri mean to you?”It is a question that shows up often in Agile circles, coaching conversations, and leadership discussions. And yet, more often than not, the answer feels… off. Not incorrect, but flattened. Reduced. Stripped of its depth.In many organizations, Shu–Ha–Ri gets translated into something convenient. A sequence. A ladder. A model. … Read more

Word Play, Masquerades and Omissions with Scaling. Any Alternatives?

  Presentation Materials Upcoming LeSS Training  Additional recommended assets: 05/05 – LESS TALKS: Dave Snowden: Answering Tough Questions (Q&A) 02/27 – LESS TALKS: Q & A on “The Spotify “Model”: Don’t Simply Copy-Paste”, with Evan Campbell SAFe: Market Share Increase. Rapid Growth. What is the recipe? (please, make sure to reference to large collection of references … Read more

My CEC and CTC Journey

(Re-posted on LinkedIn | Scrum Alliance) This writing is way past overdue. I have been putting this off for, at least, a few years. But it is better later than never?. Today, I would like to share my (this is Gene) personal journey of becoming a Certified Enterprise (CEC) and Team (CTC) coach. About the … Read more

10/13– LESS TALKS: System Modelling of HR-Related “Nuances”

  “Bad SQL” for HR Broad & Shallow != Deep & Narrow   Upcoming LeSS Training  Additional recommended assets: 05/05 – LESS TALKS: Dave Snowden: Answering Tough Questions (Q&A) 02/27 – LESS TALKS: Q & A on “The Spotify “Model”: Don’t Simply Copy-Paste”, with Evan Campbell SAFe: Market Share Increase. Rapid Growth. What is the … Read more

10/06– LESS TALKS: Growing teaminess – Canvas for self-managing teams

Materials Say hello to Dhaval Panchal. Teaminess” is not a dictionary word. Perhaps it should be. Teaminess refers to a feeling of being one in effort, behavior, and communication towards achieving shared purposes. Team growth is a dynamic process that folds and unfolds on interaction with its environment. A team is influenced by and in … Read more

Coaching Tool/Technique: System Modelling (w/ Causal Loop Diagram – CLD)

  System Model (high level) System Model (zoom in)   Additional Assets: Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) & System Thinking – Bonuses & Performance Understanding Scrum Roles through System Modelling (CLD) Understanding Root Causes of Command & Control Behavior through System Modelling (CLD) System Thinking in Beer-Manufacturing Industry 🙂 System Thinking In LeSS Note: System Thinking … Read more

OKR: Narrowing The Gap Between “O” and “KR”

OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) – they could be your best friend or your worst enemy. Albert Einstein once wrote on a blackboard: “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. [source]” This usually applies to things that people like to measure. But what does this have to … Read more

Agile Poetry In Motion

Lyrics written by: Gene Gendel  LinkedIn feed -1- It is time to get serious about agility: It is best to be viewed as PMO utility. Scrum and Kanban are agile “methodologies”, Agile Manifesto – is purists’ ideology. -2- Agile KPIs, metrics and RAGs, PMs – proudly wearing “Agile Coach” name tags. BAs – are pretending … Read more

SEPTEMBER 02-04: CERTIFIED LESS BASICS (CLB) COURSES | VIRTUAL

Reviewing Before Class Introduction to LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum) (video) “The Contract Game” (22-44min), by Craig Larman (video) “Team Output Owner (TOO)” – why “Scrum” fails at your organization, by Michael James (video) LeSS Structure Getting Started System Thinking – what is it? What is System Modelling in LeSS class? (video) Debriefing Systems Modeling (video) Lean Thinking – what is it? Proper … Read more

AUGUST 19-21: CERTIFIED LESS BASICS (CLB) COURSES | VIRTUAL

Reviewing Before Class Introduction to LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum) (video) “The Contract Game” (22-44min), by Craig Larman (video) “Team Output Owner (TOO)” – why “Scrum” fails at your organization, by Michael James (video) LeSS Structure Getting Started System Thinking – what is it? What is System Modelling in LeSS class? (video) Debriefing Systems Modeling (video) Lean Thinking – what is it? Proper … Read more