Over the years we have explored a wide range of books on Saturdays. Sometimes our re-reads reflect the real world outside software development. For example, in 2018 we re-read Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou, the story of Theranos and Elizabeth Anne Holmes. This year Ms. Holmes went to prison. While I don’t expect prison sentences for the subjects in the books we read in 2022, I expect the knowledge in the books we tackled to have a broader impact on the world. In the past year, we have re-read 3.4 books – 40% is the progress on the current book according to Kindle.
This year’s roster of books began with Agile Conversations by Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick. The book reinforces that people are the core of knowledge work. Knowing how to have the right conversations is more than just a good idea, it is a path to delivering value.
Week 1: Logistics and Introduction – https://bit.ly/3EZspxT
Week 2: Escaping The Software Factory – https://bit.ly/3HIlivg
Week 3: Improving Your Conversations – https://bit.ly/3ty0nYe
Week 4: The Trust Conversation – https://bit.ly/3ApUrSk
Week 5 The Fear Conversation (Part 1) – https://bit.ly/3gahSpt
Week 6 The Fear Conversation (Part 2) – https://bit.ly/34lLON4
Week 7 The Why Conversation (Part 1) – https://bit.ly/3Jg6KE2
Week 8 The Why Conversation (Part 2) – https://bit.ly/34YAsPc
Week 9 The Commitment Conversation – https://bit.ly/3pmaooj
Week 10 The Accountability Conversation – https://bit.ly/3KCJXD1
Week 11 Conclusion and More – https://bit.ly/3wlGSn8
The second book of 2022 that we re-read was one of my all-time favorites, Why Limit WIP: We Are Drowning In Work by Jim Benson. Over my career in helping, teams and organizations change it has become clear to me that the control of work entry is a huge determinant of whether anything other than change at a glacial to takes root (note, change at a glacial pace works well in geology but rarely is effective in the workplace). Work entry and WIP are intertwined. I am on a crusade to fix work entry; Why Limit WIP provides ammunition for that battle.
The entries in the re-read are:
Week 1: Preface, Foreword, Introduction, and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3iDezbp
Week 2: Processing and Memory – https://bit.ly/3qYR4yg
Week 3: Completion – https://bit.ly/3usMiLm
Week 4: Multitasking – https://bit.ly/37hUh5z
Week 5: Context Switching – https://bit.ly/3K8KADF
Week 6: Creating An Economy – https://bit.ly/3F1XKkZ
Week 7: Healthy Constraints – https://bit.ly/3kM8xqh
Week 8: Focus – https://bit.ly/3PkE0hg
Week 9: Awareness – https://bit.ly/3LBZfIl
Week 10: Communication – https://bit.ly/39Tji7Q
Week 11: Learning – https://bit.ly/38HQNtJ
Week 12: Epilogue and Final Notes – https://bit.ly/3y3LH4M
The third book began our coaching arc with the classic Coaching Agile Teams. The book is a tale of two themes. The first is a book of philosophy and the second is a how-to book full of techniques. The full value of this book requires two readings. The first time I read the book, I took the how-to path. This time the philosophies of agile coaching were more important to me than any individual technique. If you are or are ever going to be a coach this should be the first book you read.
The entries in the re-read are:
Week 1: Logistics and Introduction – https://bit.ly/3A1aNTe
Week 2: Will I Be A Good Coach – https://bit.ly/3nzDAHg
Week 3: Expect High Performance – https://bit.ly/3Rl4fFf
Week 4: Master Yourself – https://bit.ly/3zL8t2n
Week 5: Let Your Style Change – https://bit.ly/3Q8zHWa
Week 6: Coach as Coach-Mentor – https://bit.ly/3QLcSIi
Week 7: Coach as Facilitator – https://bit.ly/3AaP5KY
Week 8: Coach As Teacher – https://bit.ly/3AURGdL
Week 9: Coach As Problem Solver – https://bit.ly/3C06Gr7
Week 10: Coach As Conflict Navigator – https://bit.ly/3R6tmuc
Week 11: Coach As Collaboration Conductor – https://bit.ly/3fXoHOs
Week 12: Agile Coach Failure, Recovery, and Success Modes – https://bit.ly/3T0FluQ
Week 13: When Will I Get There? and It’s Your Journey – https://bit.ly/3MAe00v
Week 14: Final Thoughts – https://bit.ly/3z6zJaA
We close 2022 in the middle of re-reading Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond (Amazon Associate Link – buy a copy or two and give them to friends). Bob Galen and his co-authors have crafted a book that is destined to be a classic in the agile coaching profession. The book establishes a model defining not only what an agile coach is but a path for growth.
The entries are:
Week 1: Logistics and Forewords – https://bit.ly/3zoAYlx
Week 2: Introduction to Badassery in Agile Coaching – https://bit.ly/3hcEPMs
Week 3: The Mindset of the Badass Agile Coach – http://bit.ly/3Eu0qJu
Week 4: Agile Coaching Frameworks – http://bit.ly/3Ok60S7
Week 5: Badass Agile Coaching Agreements – https://bit.ly/3iylnKM
Week 6: Badass Agile Coach Arcs – https://bit.ly/3W4Mzzg
Week 7: Badass Agile Coaching Operating System – https://bit.ly/3hCZ86s
I am looking forward to reading and learning with all of you in 2023.