Facilitating meaningful conversations in large groups can be challenging. Thatโs where the World Cafรฉ technique comes in! It’s a structured, interactive method to foster collaborative dialogue, uncover insights, and build consensus. Hereโs how to run it effectively: ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ: ๐๐ญ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐๐ฉ ๐ 1๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฉ:Divide participants into small groups and assign each group to …
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Dec 03
๐ Context Switching: The Silent Productivity Killer ๐
You’re deep into an important task when your phone rings. You switch to handle the call. Suddenly, an urgent email pops up, demanding immediate attention. Before you know it, youโve jumped between three tasks, and nothing’s finished. Sound familiar? That’s the hidden cost of context switchingโjumping between tasks, which can reduce productivity by up to …
Nov 25
๐ฆ Symptoms vs Problems in Project Management ๐ฆ
ย In project management, itโs easy to confuse symptoms with problems. However, identifying the root cause is the key to unlocking successful solutions. Hereโs a common example:๐ Symptom: โOur team keeps missing deadlines.โ๐ Problem: Poor backlog refinement, unclear priorities, or a lack of capacity planning. Or another:๐ Symptom: โOur stakeholders are unhappy with deliverables.โ๐ Problem: …
Nov 08
๐ฉ๏ธ The Paper Airplane Factory Game: How Limiting WIP Transforms Team Efficiency!
One of the games I like to facilitate is the Paper Airplane Factory game with my team, and it is a great way to explore how managing Work In Progress (WIP) affects our productivity, quality, and flow. Hereโs how the game works and the lessons we learned about WIP limits: The SetupThe idea of the …
Oct 30
Unleashing Creativity with the Marshmallow Challenge: The Power of Prototyping
The Marshmallow Challenge is a simple exercise with profound lessons: teams get spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow and are challenged to build the tallest possible structure with the marshmallow on top. Surprisingly, kindergartners often outperform business students! Why? They prototype. Rather than planning endlessly, they test and iterate quickly, learning from each attempt. This …
Oct 24
Situational Leadership Part 4: Empowering Your Team Through Delegation
As we continue our exploration of the Situational Leadership Theory by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, we’ve looked at the Telling (S1), Selling (S2), and Participating (S3) styles. Now, let’s discuss the Delegating (S4) style: ๐น Delegating (S4): In this style, the leader delegates most of the responsibility to the team, allowing them to take …
Oct 22
Situational Leadership Part 2: Engaging and Motivating Your Team
Continuing from my previous post on the Situational Leadership Theory by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, we covered the Telling (S1) styleโideal for providing strong direction when your team needs clear guidance.Next up is the Selling (S2) style: ๐น Selling (S2): Leaders still provide direction but focus on engaging and motivating the team. Communication is …
Oct 15
Measuring to Improve in Project Management
“You canโt improve what you donโt measure.” โ Lord Kelvin โ Why Measurement MattersMeasuring key metrics like cycle time, lead time, and bug counts helps you spot bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Without solid data, you might rely on guesses, but accurate measurements lead to informed decisions and real results. ๐ What Should You Measure?According …
Sep 13
Project Management and “The Emperorโs New Clothes”
Hans Christian Andersenโs story The Emperorโs New Clothes (1837) teaches a lesson that is still relevant today, especially in project management. In the story, an emperor who loves his clothes hires two scammers pretending to be tailors. They promise to make him a special, invisible outfit to anyone “stupid.” Of course, no one wants to …