Agile Habits

Google “Aristotle quotes”. Here’s the first one I see:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

(Oooh. Starting with philosophy. Dorky. I like it.)

In his book “Atomic Habits“, James Clear builds off of this notion. Habits are those actions we take without trying – they’re automatic. The reason they’re automatic is we have found value in making them automatic – we either do them very frequently, or we have practiced them a lot. The benefit of automating them is so that we save brain energy to think through things that are novel, or things that matter, instead of things we do with a high enough frequency, like brush teeth before bed, or wash hands after coming back home, or wiping our sword on the grass before putting it away after the weekly field battle for the Hill of Arowyn with the neighbouring tribe.

(Oooh. An attempt at a Welsh word. Gaelic. I like it.)

Continue reading Agile Habits

Minimum Viable Podcast

Any schmuck can make a podcast. In an Agile way. Let me prove it.

First, you need ‘the why’.

My LinkedIn profile doesn’t hide how I’ve had five full-time Agile Coach / Scrum Master gigs in as many years, so while that’s been rocky, it’s also exposed me to five different environments in a short time, resulting in five separate circles of friends & fans. Now, I’d like to stay in touch with them. Logically, this means starting a podcast so I can have them on to record our deep and/or silly discussions. Logically.

Have I ever been on a podcast? Nope. (Wait… actually yes.) Will this be self-marketing? As a by product, but not primarily. Will this be an audio platform for the music I want to make that I keep kicking myself for not doing? How convenient. Will this be fun? You betcha.

Alright, I’m motivated. I have ‘the why’ because this tears me out of bed in the morning.

Next, you need ‘the how’.

Continue reading Minimum Viable Podcast

Introducing a Frontlog: Experiments in Process

Here’s an SAT-style analogy for ya, partially because I like wordplay, partially because I value effort over outcome, partially because I like Simon Sinek, and partially because I dislike New Year’s Resolutions.

Backlog : Product Experiments (the what) ::
Frontlog : Process Experiments (the how) ::
Forelog : Vision Experiments (the why)

This isn’t the best analogy, since ‘the how’ per Sinek’s Golden Circle is more akin to ‘principles’, but this’ll work well enough. Continue reading Introducing a Frontlog: Experiments in Process

Social Supply and Demand

Stop seeking external validation by buying disposable crap made overseas, with its sub-optimal working conditions and carbon footprint from manufacture & transportation & distribution.

How?

Start acting out your truer self and continually making your world a tiny bit better, meaningfully deepening connections with the communities of which you’re already a part.

HOW?

Please steal this idea. It could save the world. I’m serious. And I call it: Social Supply and Demand. Continue reading Social Supply and Demand