Natural born leaders?

The qualities of a good leader

Mr. X is good looking, very intelligent and has a high formal education. Also, he is funny (“ha ha”-funny, not weird-funny) and people like him.

Do you think that Mr. X’s good looks and his degree will help him become a good leader?

Ingrid Bergman is dead

Phone conversation #1

I was on the phone talking to this guy some time ago, the usual blahblah when he mentioned that he was in his parents’ apartment, checking if everything was fine, since they were on vacation. 

“Yeah, so I am watching some football on TV and now I am about to go home and sleep.”

“Cool. Did you water the flowers?” His mum has a lot of flowers, very pretty flowers, a jungle!

“Eww, no…” 

Being lean and blond

Some background

This happened a while ago, long enough so that the main characters can not be easily identified. Except for me, of course. It is okay, I can take it. I am blond. And I am lean. No, I am not Paris Hilton in disguise. I am a freaky-geeky kind of blond.

Some time ago I was given an opportunity to work with an offshore team from India. It was a very valuable experience from which I learned a lot.

A bit different X-mas card

 

 Joakim and I wish you all a merry Christmas and an agile New Year with a Christmas user story:

Turn for the conditions of satisfaction->

(Some of our friends that are geeky enough to appreciate this got similar cards in paper via snail mail today )

Many hugs,

Jelena & Joakim.

Intensive focus, flash fiction and having fun

ADHD sufferer?

Are you an Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder sufferer? Should I say “sufferer”?

Some of the symptoms you may have if you have ADD are: 

• problems getting organized
• problems staying focused (decreased ability to screen out distractions)
• delays in starting and completing your work
• troubles in managing your time and money
• difficulties in remembering all the small things in your everyday life etc… 

Going global

Even if you are not experiencing any of these symptoms, today we apply shorter and shorter time-boxing on all of our activities. We get bored so easily. We need something to stimulate us all the time. We jump from one activity to another often and fast.

How to start the transition to Agile within your organization: “Baby Steps” or “Big Bang”?

 

Why do you want to become Agile? What are the goals you want to achieve with that? Think about it. And then - think again.

In another post, I addressed some commonly used antipatterns, when one wants to get Agile just because it is cool, because everyone else already went Agile, or similar.

Here are two very different models that can be used to describe the transition to Agile from one perspective (Small versus Big). Which one is the most appropriate for your organization depends on many factors.

55:5 – Trying to understand Albert’s world saving formula

The Guy 

My first guess is that you all heard of him. He was my idol when I was a child, and a some of that infatuation remained even when I grew up (sort of), but I am not sure if he would make My Top 10 Favorite Famous People list today. (A mental note: Jelena, compile that list!)

My other guess is that you have some similar feelings of respect and amazement with the guy.

What the Pomodoro technique is and why my cat cares

Do you want to increase the effectiveness of your working process?

Do you want to fight your tendency to procrastinate?

Do you want time to be your friend, not your enemy?

We are humans, not machines. We can not work non-stop, we need maintainable pace.

Did you hear about the Pomodoro technique before?

This is how my cat helped me capture the essence of Pomodoro on camera:

Staffan Nöteberg blogs, among other things, about the Pomodoro technique in a smart and cool way. He makes it easy to understand the mechanisms behind it.

Check out his Pomodoro Technique in 5 minutes, you may find it valuable. I recommend it!

How to make your organization Agile in seven easy steps

(common Agile transition antipatterns exposed)

(High Crap Factor warning!)

So, you want to become Agile… everyone is on that track already, and you feel that you are lagging behind. Do not worry! Agile is not hard, it is not magic. There is so much information out there, it can be overwhelming. Let me help you. Here is how to become Agile – fast.

1. Announce to everyone that from now on, you are Agile. Communicate it to your employees, put the ads in the relevant newspapers, underline that you are doing (whatever you are doing) - The Agile Way!

 

The Disaster Exercise (How to use negative thinking to your advantage)

“I had such a nightmare last night, you would not believe it!” announced dramatically LittleMissLisa entering the office on a rainy Tuesday morning.

“Good morning to you too!” Annie answered with a smile.

“Yes, hi, I am sorry, but… it was so terrible, a real Armageddon!”

“Apparently you are fine! Did Bruce Willis come and saved you?”

“Obviously! And also, I got this neat idea! Let’s go and get some coffee. And then we will do a Disaster exercise!”

 

The Disaster Exercise