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The Agile Compass

How to create high-performing teams, innovative products and lead thriving businesses? The Agile Compass shares hands-on knowledge from 20+ years of experience in industries worldwide. Matthias is a Silicon Valley veteran and has been awarded the Agile Thought Leader award in 2022. His unique approach focuses on the human side of creating thriving businesses.

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The Hidden Flaw in Your Agile Transformation: It’s Not What You Think!

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, today I want to talk about "inner structure" – something that many agile transformations miss. The Hidden Flaw in Your Agile Transformation: It’s Not What You Think! As agile minds we often flatten hierarchies and strip away bureaucracy. Simplifying organizational structures and processes—the outer structures—is often seen as the key to becoming more agile. While reducing these outer structures is important, there’s a critical element that often...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, today I want to talk about the often misunderstood definition of done (DoD). But before we start, here are a few older articles you might have missed: Why Your Sprint Retrospectives Fail and How to Make Them Inspire Real Change Efficiency or Effectiveness – What Will Give You the Competitive Edge? How Positive Intent Transforms Agile Team Dynamics for Better Productivity How to Overcome Resistance to Change in Agile Transformations If you...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, thanks for allowing me to interrupt your Sunday 😃. Today we will talk about interruptions – or rather about how to mitigate them. It might surprise you that one awesome solution to fight interruptions can be found in an unlikely place … If you're new to the Agile Compass – or just have been too busy lately – here are a few interesting articles you might have missed: Why T-Shaped Professionals Are the Key to Agile Success Is Scrum anti-agile...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, before we dive into today's topic of T-shaped skills, here are recent articles you might have missed: Is Scrum anti-agile? The danger of the detached Product Owner How to give feedback that works I'm also currently putting together a collection of agile games. If you're interested, you can leave your email and be informed once it's ready. Empowering Agile Teams: The Power of T-Shaped Professionals If you’re still relying on the “my role, my...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, today I want to talk about Scrum. But before we dive in, here are some articles you might have missed in the past weeks: How to motivate people The Boss Worker Game (I'm actually creating a collection of agile games; if you're interested, sign up here) Why your Sprint Retrospectives fail Is Scrum Anti-Agile Because It Can’t Be Changed? No! In fact, the opposite is true—Scrum is a very agile framework, but there are a lot of common...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, is your Product Owner detached from the team? Writing lots of user stories? Fulfilling a DoR? We'll talk about why that's not helpful in today's article.Before we start: Here are a few past articles about Product Owners you might have missed: How long is your backlog? 90% done user stories Sprint Plannings without a Sprint Goal User stories are not about writing Finalizing the plan How to demo the backend Don't ignore the preconditions of Scrum...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Nice guys finish last – or do they? Discover how kindness and empathetic leadership led to the rapid construction of the Empire State Building—and why putting people first can be the key to winning at work. Hello Reader, today we will talk about people again. Because leadership and agility are more about people than about processes, organizations or frameworks.Here are a few other articles that also focus on the human aspect: How to overcome resistance to...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Agile Spikes Discover how agile spikes empower teams to navigate uncertainty and accelerate innovation in product development. Hi Reader, before we dive into today's topic of the agile spike, here is what you might have missed in the last few weeks: How to give feedback that works Story point abuse: Stop it! Coaching: Slow down to speed up Unlock agile velocity The truth about user stories And now let's talk about the mythical "spike". Have you heard of it?...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler How to Give Feedback That Actually Transforms People! Curious how to give feedback that truly inspires change and growth? Let’s dive into a simple method that makes all the difference. Hello Reader, it has been a very busy week for me. I had the honor to co-facilitate an amazing 5-day workshop for global leaders from all over the world. It's awesome to see people change so dramatically in just a few days. This leadership program is in its 22nd year now and it...

The Agile Compass Matthias Orgler Story Point Abuse: Stop It! Are you ready to put an end to the chaos of story point abuse that’s wreaking havoc on your agile team? Hello Reader, let's talk story point estimations today – and it's common abuses. But before we start, here are some related articles you might have missed: Unlock agile velocity The truth about user stories Mastering deadlines with agile methods Story Point Abuse: Stop It! Alright, we need to talk about something that’s been...