Dave Thomas' keynote on Tuesday
- When you are certified, you are useless, you just now have the body of knowledge in your head but it takes 10-30 years to learn how to use it.
- Certification does not provide confidence... this is what craftsmanship can overcome.
- Practicing leads to sub-cognitive action and muscle memory.
- You have a QA team because you didn't care enough at the beginning.
- If you can't do it with an index card, then you can't do it with fancy tools.
- Coaches exist to create awareness and responsibility.
- Don't inflict advice, ask questions, invoke change
- Good coaching questions cause exploration (what, when, how much, how many), aim at a descriptive answer, avoid judgment (how, who, why), and avoid an unproductive state of mind
- When tackling problems, use the G.R.O.W. approach (Goal, Reality, Options, What to do)
- Goal - describe desired state, insure it is high enough of a bar, be positive, be meaningful (what's in it for me), be specific
- Reality - are assumptions tested, explore different angles, expose feelings
- Options - existing ideas stated, limitations challenged, "stupid" ideas discussed
Another great quote - "worst level of management" defined as "far enough away they can't help, but close enough to interfere".
Hiring doesn't have to be Random by Rod and Arlo Belshee
- Hiring is the most permanent change you typically make in your organization
- It's expensive
- Candidates have skills (learned), traits (personality), and behaviors (reflections of traits).
- Focus on traits by interviewing for behaviors
- Behaviors are data points for proof of traits you want (they can lie and say they have certain traits, you need examples, the more specific, the more real)
- Best assessed by doing, have them code during interview process
- Before interviewing assess your team for what traits they have. Determine what is required for a new person to fit in, and what you are missing that you need to find in a new team member. (What do you value - must haves, what do you need - additive.)
- Focus less on skills, this can be taught.
- Avoid labels, these say more about the interviewer than the interviewee and can lead to legal issues.
- "If you missed it in college, I can train you on the job, if you missed it in kindergarten, not my problem"
- Your team is a system with behaviors within a context. You can modify that system.
- Add a reinforcing capability.
- Balance out an excessive trait.
- Fill in a missing trait.
- Put the interviewee at east so you can collect data. Gang/Panel interviews don't do this, they could destroy your data collection.
- Why isn't your team talking about and defining what the team needs in a new hire?
- A one beer problem is when you and another person go to the bar and drink a beer and quickly uncover the solution.
- 2 beers may help.
- Sometimes, it may take up to 5 or 6.
- After 6, it is clear that you need a higher distillation level.
- Try whiskey, it requires you to pass it around and share it (problem solving included).
- After 6 shots of whiskey, if you haven't solved the problem as a group, it's clear that additional alcohol isn't going to provide the necessary clarity.
- Time to switch to narcotics!!!
- Wait, maybe that's a sign it should be left to the professionals...
Thanks for the notes. I was at the "Effective Questions..." workshop and I think you captured the main points. One amusing moment was the default question to ask when you can't think of anything better in the moment... "What Else?"
ReplyDeleteAgile is a totally team work if you have good team then you get best result. I read entire season and feel these all are much closer to my thinking. Anyway you did good job.
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