A blog for people in organisations.
With useful, first-hand tips from experts.
Conclusive ways to personnel development
Digitalisation is also forcing companies to rethink personnel development. Which areas of competence are becoming key factors?
How sustainable are software companies?
Software is changing the world. Are software companies ready to assume their responsibility for a sustainable transformation of the global economy?
Creating transparency for the steering board
The relationship between project management and steering board is not always easy. What tips help to create transparency?
Impulses for organisations – Part 4
Different characteristics of innovations, the longing for leadership and the effect of individual bonuses – 3 impulses from 3 experts.
The idea of chaos engineering
Chaos engineering has something that many a framework wishes for: practical relevance. What logic and principles does the approach follow?
From executive to leadership personality
What is the difference between an executive and a leadership personality? And how do more and more women succeed in leading with personality?
Radical acceptance
Radical acceptance is a powerful tool to strengthen the resilience of a team. How can it be implemented and where are the stumbling blocks?
IT portfolio management in classic organisational structures
IT portfolio management in classic organisational structures is a challenge. How does the agile application work? A practical report.
Poor marketing practices by companies
In some companies, certain processes, patterns or marketing practices are poorly thought out and not suitable for imitation. Here’s a selection!
Self-efficacy and collective efficacy in the team
Self-efficacy and collective efficacy are important for the success of teams. What influence does the work environment have on both factors?
Old white man
Who doesn’t know him, the old white man who resists change? Does he also exist in companies and what are the possible consequences?
Greenwashing – pros and cons
Greenwashing is considered bad and image-damaging, but many companies do it. What are the reasons and motives for and against it?
Understanding employees in their 30s
What phase of life are many employees in their mid-30s in and why is it important for companies to address this?
Impulses for organisations – Part 3
The superficial support of a community, cooperation instead of opposition and the prescribed return to offices – 3 impulses from 3 experts.
The desire of managers to create
What is your motivation to be a manager?Many people answer this question with the will to create. But what does this mean in practice?
Lencioni’s dysfunctions are toxic – what nonsense!
Patrick Lencioni defines five dysfunctions in teams. What are the correlations and what insights can be derived? A review.
Resilience and agility with the right focus
Many organisations want to become more resilient and agile. However, they often turn the wrong screws in the process. A thesis.
Creativity in companies
Creativity is an important ingredient for the success of companies. How creative are organisations and what tips promise improvement?
Finally, meaningful meetings!
It seems that nobody likes meetings. What is missing is a concept that optimises the path to decision-making to get more out of meetings.
Strong together: leadership and followership
Leadership and followership are two factors for good cooperation in organisations. How do you strike a balance between these factors?
Impulses for organisations – Part 2
Different working hours, communication about agility and a role in employee retention – three impulses from three experts on three topics.
Who is to blame?
Time and again, companies look for someone to blame. Why is this so, why do employees participate in it and what is the alternative?
The customer is king
Do you treat your customers like kings or do you not want this at all? And who is your king: the employees or the customers? An individual opinion.
10 factors for more customer satisfaction
Why should companies pay more attention to the success of their customers? And which factors work directly towards customer satisfaction?
Strategic networking
It’s nice to have people in your network who can help with questions. And how do you find such people? Through strategic networking.
Proxy Product Owner – a Scrum Antipattern?
What does a proxy product owner do? In which scenarios is he used and what are the challenges?
Decision-making ability – the success factor of teams
The decision-making ability in a team is a collective quality that is decisive for success in complex situations. How can it be shaped?
Opportunities and limits of self-organisation
Many organisations are showing interest in self-organisation. Where does it fit and where does it not and how can an introduction succeed?
8 reasons for professional requirements management tools
Many companies manage requirements in office tools. Why should companies use professional requirements management tools?
Stumbling blocks in the introduction of Kanban
Stumbling blocks lurk in the introduction of Kanban. A practical look at interpretations, terms, visualisations, workload, flow and metrics.
Hunting for key figures
Key figures are omnipresent in organisations. What are their purposes, what effects do they have and what blind spots loom?
Hard to beat: participative corporate communication
Participation is the magic word when employees are to become ambassadors. How does this change corporate communication?
Intrapreneurship needs empowerment and ownership
Interest in intrapreneurship is growing in organisations. With the help of empowerment and ownership, employees act like owners.
The art of omitting things
Driving innovation is indispensable for many companies. But sometimes less is more. How does the art of omitting things work?
Promote psychological safety
How can psychological safety contribute to meetings being more effective and better decisions being made together?
Corporate sustainability
Many companies are concerned with sustainability. How can a strategy be developed and which measures promise success?
Impulses for organisations – Part 1
Value pricing, effort estimation in software development and developer skills of Agile Coaches – 3 impulses from 3 experts on 3 topics.
Art meets Easter Bunny
Many artists have approached the motif of the Easter Bunny in their paintings. A surreal excursion into an art history and a homage to Easter.
The works council in the course of agile transformation
The works council can become a partner or opponent of the management in an agile transformation. How can they be positively involved?
Between stimulus and response
Stimuli trigger impulsivity in some people. But impulsivity is not a fixed trait. How can you react more calmly? You can find tips here!
ChatGPT, I need your help for my team!
How can we benefit from Artificial Intelligence? A conversation with ChatGPT about working in teams and team roles according to Belbin.
The 4-day week brings 3-day free time
The 4-day week is much discussed. While some companies are still arguing, others are already using the working model. What are the advantages?
From glorified backlog to customer success
The backlog as the ultimate to-do list becomes a burden, especially when it is unclear what constitutes product success. Which approach helps?
Internal agile coaching evolved
Organisations that rely on internal Agile Coaching have challenges to overcome. A fresh look at experiences helps here.
As a WOW! company shaping the future
Reinventing oneself again and again is becoming a constant challenge for companies. The time has come for the WOW! company!
User stories – when the harm is greater than the benefit
Formulating user stories with “As a [role], I want [function] so that [benefit]” can cause big problems. How can this be avoided?
4 big ideas to improve your sprint reviews
Many organisations could get more out of the sprint review in the course of product development. Which 4 ideas help to maximise the benefit of it?
Loyalty in companies – Part 3
What measures can be used to promote loyalty, how can strengths and weaknesses be dealt with and what helps in the face of uncertainty in companies?
I am (not) a personal brand!
What is the importance of personal brands for companies? A conversation with Heiko Roessel, Tanja Bernsau and Alex Rammlmair about personal branding.
How social enterprises measure and communicate their impact
Measuring and communicating their impact is a challenge for social enterprises. How do ethos, pathos and logos help in practice?
All feedback is toxic – what nonsense!
“All feedback is toxic” is heard more and more often. Why is this nonsense, what is Feedback 101 and why is feedback a process?
Content marketing today and tomorrow
A conversation with ChatGPT about the importance of clicks and impressions, and a possible end to content marketing as we know it today.
Requirements workshops in distributed software projects
Which fields of action are important in distributed software projects and how can successful requirements elicitation in workshops be achieved?
Loyalty in companies – Part 2
Even if there is no universal leadership concept, corporate culture is the foundation for loyalty. How can it be shaped?
Is New Work just business theatre?
Many organisations have difficulties with New Work. What conditions must be created so that New Work is more than just business theatre?
Beware: turnover of staff
In many industries, workers are as highly contested as customers. Unwanted turnover of staff can thus become a danger for companies. What to do?
Four special power skills in project management
The Project Management Institute lists 10 success factors for projects. They are particularly effective in combination with power skills.
Are likes a currency?
Why do people like posts on social media, what meaning can likes have and are likes a kind of currency and if so, for whom?
Loyalty in companies – Part 1
What is loyalty, which forms can be distinguished and what significance does it have in companies in topics such as leadership or communication?
Shift-Left – (never again) sleepless in DevOps
What is behind the Shift-Left approach and why does it have a maximum positive effect with DevOps? A field report!
What is the most important skill of companies?
“What is the most important skill for employees and for companies? – Madeleine Kern, Janine Tychsen and Joan Hinterauer answer these two questions.
Your company should become faster, more agile, more innovative?
Dealing with complexity determines the future viability of companies. What do organisations need to become faster, more agile, more innovative?
“We need training!”
Training is of little use when organisations want to address cultural issues and changes. What helps is an intentional discourse.
Actively letting go
Actively letting go is an approach in an uncertain time for a (working) life in which people want to shape the future according to their ideas.
Mental stress of the Scrum Master job
The Scrum Master job can bring mental stress. What circumstances contribute to this and what measures help to balance it out?
Leadership and self-leadership in project management
Project leadership without self-leadership does not work! How can self-leadership be learned and what are the effects?
Rating: Really wonderful!
The time is right for really wonderful book recommendations. Different themes, different motifs, exciting books!
My hibernation
How can you take a hibernation as a self-employed person and what are the rules of the game? A field report and a proposal.
Four tips for better meetings
Many people would like to have fewer or shorter gatherings. What are four tips to help create better meetings?
Tuckman was wrong – what nonsense!
Tuckman’s model of team development is often critically questioned. What did Tuckman do and what did he want to achieve? A classification.
Software development made easy
A hyperagile approach helps in the development of good software.10 tips for optimisation in software development – a satire.
The undermined project term and its consequences
In many companies it can be observed how the project term is undermined and employees are exploited. What can those affected do?
Software Bauhaus concept: One team to build it all
What is the Software Bauhaus concept? How does it help in the development of software and what advantages does it offer in practice?
Agility in the energy industry – it does work!
How can the path to (more) agility succeed in the energy industry? Which lessons learned are important? A field report.
Transparency in organisations
Many employees like transparency and associate it with freely accessible information and open communication. Where are the possible limits?
Using data science in retrospectives
Teams can prepare for retrospectives with data science methods and Jira data. A look at application scenarios and backgrounds.
Svelte – one new kid on the block
What is Svelte? What are the differences to other frameworks, when is it suitable for use and when should you wait a little longer?
Adaptive Facilitation
Adaptive Facilitation can help with complex and complicated issues. How does the facilitation method with its 18 principles work?
Factors of software acceptance
Lack of software acceptance jeopardises corporate investments. On which factors does acceptance depend and how can it be increased?
Building personal branding on LinkedIn
What is personal branding? Why do you need a personal brand and what strategy can you use to develop one?
The secret german podcast champions
Looking for great podcasts about decision-making, clarity or working in organisations? Here you will find a list of German podcast recommendations.
Customers don’t know what they want
Is it true that customers do not know what they want? Maybe service providers only hear what they want to hear? An appeal for good service.
Diversity connects
How can organisations deal with diversity in the right way, what is diversity in the first place and why should it be consciously promoted?
Transformation is a constant
We are living in an age of transformation, but what does this mean for companies and for their customers? And what comes after the transformation?
Recommendation marketing: Highly advised
Recommendation marketing is considered an effective means of customer acquisition. How does it work and what do you have to watch out for? A field report.
How do you and organisations learn?
“How do you learn?” and “How do organisations learn?” – Julia Collard, Tim Robert Zander and Tobias Leisgang answer these two questions in a conversation.
Eliminate requirements
How can you eliminate requirements if the quantity of requirements is too large and new requirements are continually being added?
Agility as a buzzword? Yes, please!
Agility is considered a buzzword by many people. Why and when can its deliberate use as a buzzword nevertheless make sense?
The “why” in requirements engineering
Simon Sinek calls for “Start with Why” when it comes to leadership. Can this demand be transferred to the requirements engineering of companies?
DevOps and microservices architectures closely scrutinised
What microservices architecture does Uber use? And what is the connection between DevOps principles, autonomous teams and microservices?
Shaping project politics
What is project politics, what influences it in real company life and how can companies gradually develop “healthy” project politics?
Overcoming challenges in stagnant transformations
What can companies do if they find that their agile transformation is stagnating? What challenges do they need to overcome?
Cooperation and collaboration in #AdaptiveOrgs
What is an adaptive organisation (#AdaptiveOrg)? How is the core process designed and what are the tasks of catalysts?
Columbo: Oh, just one more thing…
How can differences of opinion be resolved before they escalate into emotional conflicts? Three tasks and Inspector Columbo can help.
Positioning for self-employed people
Self-employed people often struggle with positioning their service. What question should they answer to initiate sales
Shaping the new togetherness
How can cooperation in workshops and meetings be designed to create a spirit of togetherness at eye level? A field report.
Why I advise my clients against agile software development today
Why is it a good idea to do software development in an agile way, but not a good idea to offer agile software development as a service?
The problem with problem thinking
What is problem thinking and how can we free ourselves from situations where negative thoughts are triggered by problems?
A fool with a tool …
What is the truth of the saying “A fool with a tool is still a fool”? What influence do tools, features or perspectives have in the assessment?
How does a radically self-organised team work?
Self-organisation is an important topic in many companies. How is it promoted and how important are structures, processes and roles?
Abbreviations on the Internet
A list of abbreviations that are frequently used on the internet. JTLYK, probably TL;DR, AFAIC useful and an alternative to STW.
5 Misconceptions about quantum computers
There are at least 5 major misconceptions when discussing quantum computers and quantum technology. An attempt at explanation.
Quotes for people in businesses
A collection of quotes about paths, planning, future, knowledge, ideas, risks, courage, mistakes, changes, successes, motivation, leadership and happiness.
Old culture instead of new work
What can companies learn from Maori culture and what concepts can be found that are also addressed in New Work?
New Leadership – People in focus
What is behind New Leadership? What is new about it, why are companies no longer able to avoid it and how do you become a New Leader?
Leadership and agility in voluntary work
Almost 29 million people in Germany are involved in voluntary work. What role do leadership and agility play in volunteering?
Agility doesn’t work without resilience!
In times of high market dynamics, many companies want to be as agile as start-ups. Resilience is the key factor for sustainable agility.
The victory of basic features
Basic features are not perceived by many customers, but their absence causes dissatisfaction. Why is their importance increasing nowadays?
No!
A “no” to something can be a “yes” to one’s own needs. How do employees in organisations succeed in saying “no” more often?
Humour in projects
There are projects in which humour is a survival strategy. Laughing together does not solve problems, but it has a liberating effect.
What agility and health have to do with each other
Agility could help you achieve better health, as appropriate practices can also be effective outside the familiar context.
Introverted in online marketing
As a quiet, introverted person in the noisy business world, it is not always easy to become visible. What superpowers can you use to change that?
A psychological look at the virtual working world
It is time for a look at the psychological consequences of virtual collaboration and home office beyond subjective opinions.
Working with agile values
Agile working is often associated with five values (openness, commitment, focus, courage and respect). How meaningful is this in reality?
New Work also needs aptitude diagnostics
In many companies, teams are becoming more involved in personnel selection. This makes sense, but should not replace aptitude diagnostics.
From feature roadmap to outcome roadmap
It is not the features but the outcomes that determine the success of a product. These outcomes should also reflect the roadmap of a product.
Are you still arguing or are you already communicating?
How can colleagues communicate effectively with each other when everyone believes that their personal opinion is important and correct?
The ideal handling of notes
What is important when dealing with notes? How can typical challenges be overcome and which tool helps in practice?
Simply make no mistakes
It is not always possible to avoid mistakes. It’s good that there are a number of ways to improve the way we deal with mistakes.
Away with the budgets
Budgets reflect a belief in predictability. This has always been difficult, but is almost anachronistic in a world of change.