Friday, September 30, 2016

Getting a Little Better Every Day @ Swisscom CX Day

Getting a little better every day @ Swisscom CX Day
Next month I am speaking at the Swisscom Customer eXperience Day. I am really looking forward to this event. Katja Leu and Christina Taylor have put together a fresh and interesting format on the topic "Agile".

"Agile" has long been the buzz word in software development for a new people-centered and efficient innovation culture that cuts across all methods. In four sprints we highlight "agile" insights as they relate to the organisation, leadership and culture, environment and collaboration, and measuring success. We will discover together how an agile corporate culture can contribute to lasting success.

The event is invite-only, but you will find the presentations from previous CY Day events in their archive. There are some really interesting talks lined up for this event.

"Work? Question. Think. Learn." by Bastiaan van Roden, Founder @ Nothing Interactive

The way we think about work is stuck in the age of the industrial revolution. Linear, recurring routines have become less suited to producing adequate answers to the challenges of today when we need them. Bastiaan prefers open, authentic participation when it comes to people creating meaningful experiences for other people. It's not about work anymore; it's about curiosity: only constantly asking questions, providing new answers and learning from them will ensure success.

Culture has a stronger impact than strategy." by Franziska Stebler and Rudolf Gysi, Agile Coaches @ SBB

The people in a company shape its culture. The culture is the shadow of the system and carries more influence than any strategy. For a company to change, it needs to start with the people. So the Agile Coaches train SBB IT employees in agile practices, empowering entire teams to develop new solutions faster. Using the "Iteration Zero" example, Franziska and Rudolf show how they boost the groundwork for product development with their people-centered approach.

"Goodbye boss. Hello trainer." by Heinz Herren, Head of IT, Network & Innovation @ Swisscom

You can see the full force of the butterfly effect in the networked world. When something happens in one corner of the world it is transmitted in the shortest of times to other areas and can trigger huge movements. Agile, people-centered collaboration is the answer to the shortcomings of hierarchical organizations in reacting quickly, flexibly, and diversely to changes. When it comes to management that means moving from rigid control to vibrant, learning organizations. Top and bottom was yesterday. Today it's about being a trainer and making others successful.

"The setting is crucial." by Thomas Bickel (Head of Sport) and Uli Forte (Manager) @ FC Zürich

What do agile forms of collaboration and top football have in common? What is the secret of a top-performing team that works in perfect harmony? What can influence a team positively and negatively in terms of its success? We find out from the perspective of the Head of Sport and the Manager of FC Zürich how important environment and communication are for perfect teamwork.

"Getting a little better every day." by me

Delivery is more important than all processes, frameworks, methods, and tools. But it's not more important than the people involved in the project. Only the team knows what really works. So the team determines the success, not a book, a consultant or a manager. For every race, the team decides which activities from the backlog bring the greatest added value if they are pursued further. Too much guidance restricts any eagerness to experiment and stops you from making mistakes, reducing your ability to learn. Quality is important from the first iteration. But it's not possible without technical excellence. Agility means small steps: getting a little better every day.

"Less is almost always more." by Head of Business Development @ Digitec Galaxus

Agility only works then the entire ecosystems works agilely together – not just some parts of the value chain. It's only when the entire system is operating agilely that its full power is released. It is important that everyone actively participates and can play their part. Focus is vital for this: it is only when we are prepared to give up some things willingly and leave them to the side that we can make everything faster and better. So less is almost always more.

CX-Day Panel

How does agile collaboration change management? Is management even necessary in an agile environment? If so, what type of management? How is the new management role defined and what values is it based on? Moderator Carsten Roetz will put these and other questions to the following panel of experts.

When you think such a talk could be of interest to your organization as well, have a look at my speaking page or just contact me.

Henrico was an invited speaker on our Swisscom Customer Experience Day event in October 2016. The theme of the event was agile insights, and how they relate to organization, leadership and culture, environment and collaboration, and measuring success. His talk "Getting a little bit better every day" was well prepared and well received by both organizers and attendees. I can highly recommend him as a speaker for any of your events on topics related to agile and software development in General. - Human Centered Design Consultant @ Swisscom 

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