Some Not-So-Crazy Ways to Do More with Less
Tim Lister, Atlantic Systems Guild

When the world goes sideways, most people freeze, waiting for some clear signal of what to do. That’s a really bad idea! Tim Lister suggests that within today’s craziness are great opportunities to make big changes in everything—how you are organized, what you work on, how you set priorities, the whole shebang. Now is the best time to change the less than wonderful part of your organization’s culture. For instance, everyone has heard of Faster, Cheaper, Better. How about Slower, Cheaper, Better? Go on a project diet and limit the number of projects that can run concurrently; no new project can start until one actually finishes. And how about assigning an experienced developer to review the specification as it is being written? Many organizations have a sign-off when the specification is done. By then, it is way too late. Also, its time for every team to have it's own personal assistant. The assistant takes care of the work that anybody could do and works two to three hours a day. The assistant goes to high school the rest of the time. Crazy ideas? Perhaps, but these are crazy times. Make them work for you. Now is the time for changes that just might stick.

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The Dirty Little Secret of Business 
Andy Kaufman, Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development, Inc.

Regardless of your role in the software lifecycle, there are challenges and roadblocks that stand in your way. How can you deal with difficult people who are obstacles to your ability to deliver? How can you influence someone to act on your priorities even when you don’t have the organizational authority? How can you find time to network when you’re overwhelmed with day-to-day work? Andy Kaufman shares “The Dirty Little Secret of Business.” You won’t learn this secret in school, yet it is critical to your success. The secret is simple—it’s all about relationships. Andy describes the key relationships you must develop to advance your projects and career. Discover how understanding different personality types will improve your ability to build rapport, influence people, and control situations. Learn what networking is—and isn’t—and how to increase the effectiveness of your networks with less effort. Particularly in today’s challenging economy when you are being asked to deliver more—and perhaps are even worried about your job—it’s critical that you invest in the power of relationships.

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A Manager’s Role in Agile Development: The Light Bulb Moment
Michele Sliger, Sliger Consulting

Many managers have a large part of their personal identities wrapped up in their jobs and company responsibilities. We define who we are by what we do for a living. In agile development, the manager’s job is very different from what most have learned and practiced. Managers struggle with what precisely their responsibilities are—and what to do each day. Some try a simple replacement strategy—shift from Gantt charts to burndown charts, from weekly status meetings to daily stand-ups, and from project post-mortems to iteration retrospectives. Because agile teams are supposed to be self-organizing, many of the “classic” management tasks are no longer important or even appropriate. Michele Sliger shares stories about how agile adoption has affected people like you and how it has changed individuals—their perceptions of agile, their leadership styles, and even their personal lives. Learn about the transformations of managers who clearly recall their “light bulb moment,” the moment when they realized what their new identities would be in the agile development world.

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