At an AgileTO meetup this week on Agile Transformation Teams individual tables were fictional ATT teams that went through steps to define their work. No one at our table knew each other and came from different backgrounds and experiences. The first step was coming up with a scenario. And then a vision. An interesting exercise. What we came up with was neither right or wrong, it moved us forward to the next steps: metrics to measure success, setting the team and budget, user stories for the ATT.
Have you ever considered asking your people to rate how aligned your company Culture is to the stated values?
Culture shouldn’t be something that we look at only on an offsite retreat. It’s something that we do every day. Partly, how things are done around here! If what is done doesn’t support the stated Culture, then start with taking a thermometer of what people think about where you are now.
Is your storytelling about the customer? Or about you?
I believe there is a case for not getting in your own way. I find people who are solving a problem that was previously a big problem for them do sometimes get in their own way. It’s almost as if it fuels their passion – but they aren’t yet detached enough to be objective.
How do you protect and grow an account when the customer is dissatisfied for good reason?
It happens. Buggy software. Late delivery. Escalations. Sometimes we disappoint customers. It happens. But then how do you protect and grow the account in these situations? How do you start a turn-around? There are strategies that can help.
The prospective customers that potentially need us the most are often the ones that understand that the least
If customers already knew the full value of what we offer, they may be getting it from somewhere else or already have solved the problem for themselves. So often, the ones that need our help the most are the ones that see our value the least.
In a customer-first culture customer-facing teams are servant leaders
Servant Leadership is often used to describe how people lead internal teams. Leadership that inspires, enables and encourages success. That focuses on removing obstacles. That promotes collaboration. Providing people with what need to be successful and achieve their best outcomes.