The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, do you know a low performer? I wanna challenge the notion of "low performer" as a label for a person. Because it's not only utterly false, but it also prevents us from solving the real performance problems. If we want more articles about high performance, read these: Want High-Performing Teams? Focus on Motivation That Lasts 💪 How to motivate people: Autonomy, mastery & purpose Boost productivity: Manage your energy, not your time! ⚡️ How...
8 days ago • 4 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Sy Liebergot at NASA (source: NASA) Hello Reader, do you know the story of Apollo 13? Well, you might not know about the role distributed leadership played in saving the astronaut's lives… You might also wanna check out last week's article on Story Points, Velocity, and the Outdated View of Human Nature Now to Apollo 13: How Apollo 13 Proved the Power of Distributed Leadership April 13, 1970 Apollo 13 is gliding silently toward the moon when, suddenly, the...
15 days ago • 4 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, why is velocity still so abused and misunderstood? That‘s what today‘s article is about: Story Points, Velocity, and the Outdated View of Human Nature “How many story points do you complete per sprint?” “What’s your team’s velocity?” “Why isn’t it improving?” If you’ve heard these questions before, you know they’re usually well-intentioned – but built on a dangerous misunderstanding: the idea that velocity is a performance metric. It’s not. As...
19 days ago • 3 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, Why do games in coaching work so well? I‘ve seen huge impact and gotten amazing feedback when using more games in my trainings, workshops and coaching sessions. So do many of my alumni and colleagues. Do you already make use of games? Let‘s look at what makes games (aka simulations aka exercises) so effective. Thanks for supporting my work by being a paying subscriber of The Agile Compass! 🙏 One Game. One Lesson. A Lifetime of Impact. Why Games...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, most of us have heard this: "Our work doesn't fit a fixed sprint!". Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches get this objection regularly from engineering teams. This week's article is about how to reply. And if you want to learn how to slice requirements so they fit any sprint length, check out my new workshop: $99.00 How to Slice Requirements for Agile Teams After this workshop you can: Make any requirement fit even a 1 week sprint Apply 10 splitting...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, this is a premium article only for paying subscribers. It goes into depth on the topic of intrinsic motivation: what it is, why it's important, and how to achieve it. Enjoy! Thanks for supporting my work by being a paying subscriber of The Agile Compass! 🙏 Fostering Intrinsic Motivation in Agile Teams: A Path to Authentic Engagement and Success In our agile profession, where adaptability and speed are often hailed as the keystones of success,...
about 2 months ago • 19 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, social media is full of demands for longer work hours. Sergey Brin demanding 60 hour work weeks, other billionaires pushing for even more, and politicians across the globe chiming in demanding to work more. Do they have a point? Let's check several studies today – and see what really boost productivity.But before we dive in, here are a few recent Agile Compass articles you don't want to miss: Why Laughter Is a Better Indicator than Velocity...
2 months ago • 4 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, let's talk metrics today! So many managers ask me for metrics – what about you? Thanks for supporting my work by being a paying subscriber of The Agile Compass! 🙏 Why Laughter Is a Better Indicator than Velocity And Why False Metrics Mislead Us Mutt & Jeff by Bud Fisher, June 3, 1942 Imagine losing your wallet at night and searching under the streetlight—not because you know it's there, but simply because it’s bright. Many companies behave in a...
3 months ago • 7 min read
The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, Does your product manager do what the customers tell them to do? They need to stop! For years I've heard corporations talk about listening to their customers. And while that's not wrong per se, I've seen too many totally misunderstanding this simple concept. That's what we'll look into today. Before we start, here are a few recent articles you might have missed: Forget These 5 Dangerous Best Practices in Agile! Why Limiting Work-in-Progress...
3 months ago • 3 min read