Why your breakthrough ideas die before they ever start – and why the root cause sits in the portfolio layer, not the teams. You’re Killing Breakthroughs Before They Even Begin Innovation collapses at the portfolio layer – long before the work starts Let me start with a few scenes you’ve probably lived through: Approval for an innovation initiative requires a detailed feature list and effort estimation – before a single customer has been interviewed. A team is told to produce a 10-year ROI...
5 days ago • 6 min read
Many teams leave agile workshops inspired, only to revert to old behaviors days later. This article explains why agile values fade so quickly and shows one effective way to make them stick long after the session. How do I make agile values stick after the workshop? One great way to make agile values stick after the workshop is by creating emotionally memorable experiences that people practice together, remember later, and recognize in their daily work, for example through experiential games...
11 days ago • 5 min read
Last time I already mentioned a classic motivation study from the 1940s that should have changed how companies lead people. And despite the results, managers keep focusing on the wrong motivators. Let's look at this study in a little more detail. Here’s the mirror-image effect every leader should understand. The 75-Year-Old Motivation Study Every Leader Still Gets Wrong If you ever needed proof that managers and employees live in two different realities, here it is: the top motivators...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Most leaders today talk about motivation as if it were obvious: you set targets, attach rewards, maybe add pressure, and magically people perform. But the idea that humans do great work because they want to, not because they’re pushed or paid, is surprisingly new. And it didn’t come from management theory. It came from a series of weird psychological experiments that almost didn’t happen. The story of intrinsic motivation starts long before anyone had a name for it – and its lessons hit...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
You know that feeling when a company throws another process or incentive program at a problem, and everyone quietly knows it won’t fix anything? That’s the Motivation Gap at work. Leaders keep betting on the wrong motivators, and employees wait for the things that actually matter – and then they quit. Here’s what’s really going on. The Motivation Gap – Why Leaders Double Down on the Wrong Things It’s almost impressive how consistently managers get motivation wrong. Ask them what drives...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Every leader wants a motivated team. But motivation isn’t something you can hand out – it grows in a culture of trust. Here’s how to build it with eight simple but powerful practices we use in our leadership workshops at Silicon Valley Alliances. Build Trust to Ignite Motivation Every leader wants a motivated team. People who care. Who take initiative. Who don’t need to be chased for every deadline. So we try: pep talks, bonuses, team events, motivational posters. And for a while, it works —...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Ever seen a team celebrate record-high velocity while customers quietly vanish? This satirical fable will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe rethink what you measure next sprint. The Velocity Cult (A modern corporate fable about rewarding A while hoping for B) Let me tell you about Sophie. She joined bright-eyed, caffeinated, and carrying just enough imposter syndrome to fit right in. Day one, her manager pointed at the wall-sized Jira dashboard glowing with KPI green. “See that number? That’s...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Let’s be real: dependency management isn’t progress – it’s maintenance of dysfunction. In this article, I unpack why these fancy PI planning boards might be making things worse, and how to actually design for flow instead. Stop Managing Dependencies. Start Eliminating Them. Let’s start with a blunt truth: Managing dependencies is a trap. (Yes, I’m looking at you, PI Planning boards with your red strings and sticky-note spiderwebs. 🔍) These boards don’t make your organization agile. They just...
3 months ago • 3 min read
In the 20th century, the biggest cost in product development was waste. But the world has changed – and your metrics probably haven't. Let’s talk about the shift every company needs to make to survive and thrive in the 21st century. The Real Cost Driver Has Changed – Has Your Company Noticed? Once upon a time – not that long ago – product development was a slow, stately dance. A new idea emerged every few years, maybe once a decade. Companies would then spend years perfecting its execution:...
3 months ago • 3 min read