Book Review: Pivot – Real Cut Through Stories by Experts at the Frontline of Agility and Transformation

This was an alright read. Some of the contributions I thought were a bit on the theoretical side which wasn't what I was expecting judging by the title but there were some good real life examples mixed in. Some of the points that stood out for me were (1) the importance of differentiating between Agile the process and agility as a mindset, (2) understanding that being agile and willing to change a product's direction is a good thing but changing direction doesn't come for free and (3) having a hero culture in an organisation is bad without exception.

Below is a small selection of excerpts from the book:

"Having even just a few people in hero positions can be a sign of bad leadership."

"Leaders should foster environments where the team as a whole is valued and appreciated. It is not to say that we shouldn't acknowledge individual efforts. After a job well done and recognising the team, if you feel someone deserves more, tell them in person."

"I recommend replacing the demand for heroism and sacrifice to setting a goal of sustainable goals. As a result, the team becomes confident in their abilities without the hero of the team."

"The traditional image of heroism does not fit all-stars agile team."

"A leader should be equipped to spot both a culture of hero worship and individuals who engage in self-sacrificial behaviour at the cost of long-term sustainability."

"No more heroes."

"Knowing your organisations purpose and creating a unified vision spanning organisational silo together with cross-team collaboration is essential to delivering value and maintaining market relevance. Nokia's high performing Agile teams, did not stop it from losing huge market share to Apple and Google in the upper end of the smart phone market.  Being Agile is not enough."

"There is no world where feedback doesn't take time to implement. If this is a project with an agreed delivery date, when the client gives you feedback, you need to manage expectations and move the goalposts. Change doesn't come for free. Adapting to change is a two-way thing."

Governmental uses of technology

eDemocracy - e.g. the websites run by mySociety.org (TheyWorkForYou, FixMyStreet etc).

Opening up government data - e.g. data.gov.uk.

Digital data storage/preservation.

(Note: Post still in progress.)

Remote-control warfare: Droning on

Blogging for the record an interesting piece entitled "Remote-control warfare: Droning on" about "How to build ethical understanding into pilotless war planes" which featured in the April 3rd 2010 issue of The Economist (Science and Technology section). A quote:

... Ronald Arkin of the Georgian Institute of Technology's School of Interactive Computing has a suggestion that might ease some of these concerns. He proposes involving the drone itself - or, rather, the software that is used to operate it - in the decision to attack. In effect, he plans to give the machine a conscience...

Good article. Worth a re-read.

IBM - the smarter city

Awesome resource for those into information, technology and governance. So exciting no? Or maybe it's just me :(

Split into six sections as follows: Transportation, Public Safety, Energy & Utilities, Education, Healthcare and Development. Would be an exercise to think how my PhD research could tie into some of these.

"Welcome to the smarter city. A collection of smart ideas happening in cities all over the world today..."

"The time to make our city smarter is now. But how do you keep traffic flowing, cure healthcare systems, protect citizens while protecting their privacy? How do you demonstrate one decision affecting millions of people? And involve them in making their city a better place to live?"

http://www-03.ibm.com/innovation/us/thesmartercity/#/home/

convinceme.net

Great idea and setup for fun competitive online arguing and debating, based on taking sides, voting and points accumulation. Check it out here.

The accidental innovator

Don't you just love that light bulb moment? You know what I mean: There you are, sitting at your desk for days on end trying to crack a problem or generate some great idea, without success, and then, when you are completely detached and least expect it, from a source unimaginable... Eureka! I am sure we have all experienced it at some point or another. Evan Williams, the founder of Blogger and Twitter, certainly has. I read a nice article earlier today about how he stumbled upon his successes and the following three insights: "First, that genuinely new ideas are, well, accidentally stumbled upon rather than sought out; second, that new ideas are by definition hard to explain to others, because words can express only what is already known; and third, that good ideas seem obvious in retrospect."

Check out the article, entitled 'The accidental innovator', which featured in the December 22nd 2007 issue of 'The Economist'. It is a nice read.