“Trust is not blind faith. Trust is built on transparency and shared understanding.”  Stephen M.R. Covey “Optimization of parts does not optimize the whole.”  Eliyahu M. Goldratt SAFe was not created because Agile stopped working. It emerged because organizations, particularly large ones, began asking Agile to address problems it was never designed to solve on its own. That distinction matters, especially for leaders who watched early Agile initiatives struggle once they enco

“Requirements are guesses. Designs are guesses. Estimates are guesses. What matters is how fast you can find out.”  Mary Poppendieck “The problem isn’t that we don’t know how to build software. The problem is that we don’t know how to build software together .”  Gene Kim Waterfall works very well when you know exactly what you are building. If you are constructing a house, pouring a foundation, or installing a system with fixed specifications, defining the work in detail up f

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do.” Steve Jobs “Most organizations do not have a technology problem. They have a coordination problem.” Gene Kim I did not begin my career thinking about Agile or SAFe. My early work was focused on large, high-pressure IT projects delivered through waterfall. And if you have lived in that world, you know exactly how the requirements looked. Thousands of “the system shall…” statements created through hundr

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”  Peter Drucker “Nothing fails like success when you rely on the formula that worked yesterday.”  Tom Peters I’ve delivered software at scale, led Agile Release Trains, and worked with teams that understood their roles and delivery cycles. I thought I had a solid grasp of SAFe. Then I earned my SAFe® Practice Consultant (SPC) certification. That’s when I began to see how mu

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”— Stephen Hawking “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”— John F. Kennedy Haven't we all seen this? Executives get promoted because they are subject matter experts within their domain. Then one day they’re told to lead something completely different: an IT overhaul, an Agile rollout, a data modernization effort. Suddenly, they’re in charge of people who are working on somet

AI without experience is a bad call! My first job was as a cashier at Piggly Wiggly, a southern grocery store. The registers were manual,...

Promotions should be based on performance! “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” – Warren...

Risks can turn into issues! “ Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” —Warren Buffett “Plans are worthless, but planning is...

Story points need to stay arbitrary! “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” —...

It's not just the plan, it's the execution! “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell “Most...

Definitions matter! “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”  W. Edwards Deming “You...

Issues can become risks! If you're a program manager! “There will always be external and internal factors that influence [your] plan....

You should seek input for every significant initiative! "The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been...

What continuum? “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they’re not.” Albert Einstein “Just because it moves in...

Why do executives seem so out of touch? “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”  — Ralph Nader “The...

What other legacy processes should we rethink? "Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash."   General George S....

Burnout is real! “Being busy is not the same as being productive.” – Tim Ferriss “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for...

The SMART acronym has changed! "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." – Tony Robbins "You are never...

PMI has multiple approaches to risk management “Opportunities multiply as they are seized but so do risks when ignored.” – Sun Tzu “If...

AI doesn't solve everything! “Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google. The ultimate search engine that would...