How do tech leaders learn to lead without blame? Today's guest is Diana Larsen, a truly dynamic and inspirational woman who works with global organizations designing high-performance work systems, and innovating team effectiveness – a theme that is top of mind for most businesses these days. We are chatting about the Agile Fluency model, how Diana supports business leaders in their transition to Agile methods, and her latest book ‘Lead Without Blame – Building Resilient Learning Teams.’All of Diana's books are required reading for anyone wanting to up their Agile game. Her insights into how teams work through the prism of the Agile Fluency model are fascinating, as is her view on how leadership is changing as our technological world is changing. I trust you will enjoy this episode.  "It starts with the leaders. Because somebody's gotta at least make that stab in the dark to figure out 'Where are we?... Where do we think we are?... and Where are we really?' ~ Diana LarsenIn This Episode:- What is the Agile Fluency model?- Is there a 'target' team for the Agile Fluency model?- Who decides what level of fluency is for them? - What does Diana see happening when a team member is added?- A success story of a business that has employed Diana's model- How do you avoid complacency once you've implemented Agile Fluency? - How we cultivate more resilient teams - insights from Diana’s new bookAnd more!Resources:- Agile Fluency - http://www.agilefluency.org/- Diana’s books - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Diana-Larsen/author/B002BM7U7Q?Connect with Diana Larsen:- Website - https://www.futureworksconsulting.com/Connect with Debbie Madden:- Website - https://www.stride.build/- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiemadden1/- LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/stride-build/

How do we visualize systems to improve product development? And where are the bounds of that system? Today I'm chatting with Rob O'Brien about process mapping, value stream mapping, and more. Rob is Principal Product Manager at Stride Consulting and has over ten years of product management experience that he brings to this conversation. Rob frames the debate for us by defining the 'socio-technical system' involving people, technology, and processes that all contribute to the overview of how we should see our product development systems.How do we include the engineers, the finance department, and other organizational leaders to ensure we are creating a system that can improve our products and services and ask the right questions that will ultimately improve the way we do things? There's a lot that can go wrong if we make assumptions about which part of our organization needs to be involved in process mapping. Rob shares the value of defining the bounds, asking those 'low-level questions,' and how to structure a two-day conference, say, whereby you are bringing in certain departments at key stages. Value stream mapping to improve product development is a favorite topic of mine and one that Rob provides much insight on. I trust you'll enjoy this conversation."I think the next biggest one (mistake), that actually feeds to that first mistake, is really thinking about and defining the bounds of what the system is in your world. So what do you mean by 'system' - and getting alignment on that?" ~ Rob O'BrienIn This Episode:- What do we mean by 'systems visualization?' - Where do we get it wrong when we build our product development systems?- How do we know if we've involved all the relevant stakeholders 'enough'?- The value of drilling down into some of the 'low-level questions' to ultimately save time- The importance of having clear definitions so you can go deeper on your processes- 'If you see something, say something - why it's important to speak up during the process- Understanding story mapping and other best practice value stream mapping approaches- How do we understand the specificity of what to capture?And more!Connect with Rob O’Brien:- Website - https://www.stridenyc.com/blog/author/rob-obrien- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-o-brien-82865b25Connect with Debbie Madden:- Website - https://www.stride.build/- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiemadden1/- LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/stride-build/

What comes first: the outcome or the output? Today I'm chatting to Josh Seiden about one of my favorite topics: outcomes over outputs. Josh is actually the author of a book with that exact title, Outcomes over Output: Why customer behavior is the key metric for business success.Josh is also the co-author of Lean UX: Designing Great Products with Agile Teams, and Sense and Respond: How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously. For Josh, the answer is clear: if we can define an outcome as a change in human behavior that creates value, then it's worth putting that ahead of the output or 'thing' we are creating. This is a fascinating approach to redefining the way we work, the way we set OKRs, and the way we measure success. When the name of the game is efficient growth, defining your outcomes is crucial. How do we make sure we are committing to the right work, though? And how do we articulate that to the teams that we build? Let's find out! "Let's really think about what are the things that people value, what are the outcomes that we're trying to get, and then work backwards to get to the output we need to make."  ~ Josh SeidenIn This Episode:- Why outputs follow outcome - Understanding how outcome is a change in human behavior (that creates value)- What do we mean when we say "outcome"?- What do we need to do to deliver an outcome? - What are AGILE teams committing to stakeholders?- How do we think about the way we organize our teams?And more!Connect with Josh Seiden:- Website - https://www.joshuaseiden.com/- Outcomes Over Output: Why customer behavior is the key metric for business success https://www.amazon.com/Outcomes-Over-Output-customer-behavior/dp/1091173265/- Sense and Respond: How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously - https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Respond-Successful-Organizations-Continuously/dp/1633691888- Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience - https://www.amazon.com/Lean-UX-Applying-Principles-Experience/dp/1449311652Connect with Debbie Madden:- Website - https://www.stride.build/- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiemadden1/- LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/stride-build/

Mike is the CTO at Greenhouse, the hiring operating system for people-first companies that enables fair and equitable hiring. And today, he's in conversation with me about how to expand customer segmentation after you've hit your product market fit. Mike wrote his first lines of code at Greenhouse 11 years ago, and he's continued to grow with the company. There's a lot to learn from Mike as he shares his secrets on learning about different aspects of business and the company (and seeing business learning as a hobby), as well as offering up advice for other startups in the tech space. One example is that you don't have to be all things to all people to succeed as a startup in the tech industry. Making decisions that benefit your business and your customer today, and in six months' time, is what you should be concerned with. Mike illustratively shares examples of different customers, their different demands, and ultimately how Greenhouse defines their Ideal Customer Profile. I'm sure you'll appreciate this episode of Scaling Tech. Please join me."When you start seeing really good retention (and) really good conversion rates, that might be an indicator that you should think about where you have more weakness – and try to get stronger there." ~ Mike BouffordIn This Episode:- How Greenhouse got its first 200 clients via word of mouth alone- How does Greenhouse think about customer segmentation?- How does Greenhouse cater to different customers? - Appreciating the lesson of 'stop them at the front door'- Getting clear about your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)- Considering scaling as it pertains to product market fit- Mike's approach of seeing business as his hobby in order to growAnd more!Connect with Mike Boufford:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/boufford- Greenhouse - http://www.greenhouse.comConnect with Debbie Madden:- Website - https://www.stride.build/- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiemadden1/- LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/stride-build/

Are you part of a tech team that is searching for constant and continuous improvement to get better in your business every quarter, every year, and with every software or product launch? Have you had the term 'OKR' bandied about as you try to decide on your company's Outcomes and Key Results?Jeff Gothelf is the co-author of Lean UX: Designing Great Products with Agile Teams, and Sense and Respond: How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously. Jeff is my guest today on Scaling Tech, and he's helping me unpack this popular management concept known as OKRs. When should your Key Results be Outcomes driven – and when should they be Output based? How do we give our tech teams the space and autonomy to identify a solution (and the freedom to pivot) while still holding the company accountable to clearly articulated goals?As well as being a prolific author, Jeff is a keynote speaker, trainer, and coach with large organizations – not only helping them build better products, but also build a culture that builds better products too. As such, he is ideally positioned to offer unique insight into how to create the right OKRs for your company. "This is definitely the flavor of the moment when it comes to management ideas." ~ Jeff GothelfIn This Episode:- Why 'the making of a thing' doesn't necessarily indicate value delivered to the market- When is it preferred to set an Outcome-Driven Key Result (over Output)?  - What do teams often get wrong when setting OKRs? - The problem of changing your OKRs just to match the work you're already doing- The importance of product discovery when setting OKRs And more!Resources:- Free 1.5-hour Product Strategy Alignment workshop - ideal for any tech teams who seek alignment around ensuring you are building the products/features that are most valuable to your business. Email [email protected] to see if you qualify.Connect with Jeff Gothelf:- Sense and Respond: How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously - https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Respond-Successful-Organizations-Continuously/dp/1633691888- Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience - https://www.amazon.com/Lean-UX-Applying-Principles-Experience/dp/1449311652- Website - https://jeffgothelf.com/Connect with Debbie Madden:- Website - https://www.stride.build/- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiemadden1/- LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/stride-build/