EP 15: Start With Why: Think, Act & Communicate From The Inside Out

The story you’ll create next is something that you will inevitably end up sharing in the future. Being comfortable, not learning, not growing, not challenging yourself leads to stagnation. Your story becomes less interesting. The longer you stay in that spot, the less compelling it becomes. Not just to you, but to others as well.

Heidi Helfand is Director of Engineering Excellence at Procore Technologies, creators of cloud-based construction software. She is author of the book Dynamic Reteaming: The Art and Wisdom of Changing Teams which challenges the notion that you need to keep your teams "the same" in order to be successful. Heidi was on the "first team" at two highly successful startups - ExpertCity, Inc. (acquired by Citrix) where she was on the team that invented GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar and AppFolio, Inc., a SAAS property management software company that went public in 2015. She is a co-active coach certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I especially find Heidi’s work on Dynamic Reteaming fascinating as most, if not all of the literature, workshops, courses and training that I’ve come across out there around creating excellent teams promotes the idea of persistence of a team in order to follow the path to maturity and excellence.  Join us as Heidi explains her work around Dynamic Reteaming and her upcoming book, Dynamic Reteaming:  The Art and Wisdom of Changing Teams . You can learn more about Heidi & her book by visiting her website & LInkedIn profile: www.heidihelfand.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidihelfand 

There's a lot of attention on the Growth Mindset right now. Which is a good thing. This is a topic that’s really close to me because I practice it as much as possible., and I've worked with hundreds of people over the last 10 years on cultivating their growth mindset But with so much material floating around out there, I wanted to take it back to the source and cover a few basic things because there seems to be some misinterpretations of the Growth Mindset. In 5 minutes, we'll cover: 1.) What a Growth Mindset really is 2.) What a Growth Mindset isn’t 3.) What a Fixed Mindset is 4.) Fixed Mindset Triggers 5.) Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

Far too many organizations continue to focus on process coaching and optimization.  We've seen this too often with Scrum teams who are going through the mechanics of Scrum, or "checking boxes" without embracing the true spirit and mindset of Agile.   But it doesn't stop at the team level. Without all levels of the organization adopting, practicing and optimizing a growth mindset, embracing a learning culture, organizational safety and servant leadership, your company is missing the true benefits of an agile transformation - regardless of how much optimization is happening at the process level.   Listen in as Ron Darnell, Ph.D., John Hill and I weigh in on this critical but lacking facet of agile transformations. 

Kyle Griffin is the creator of Diamond Agile - a new, multi-faceted approach for organizations to reach and measure true Enterprise Agility.  You can learn more about Diamond Agile by visiting https://www.diamondagile.com

Multi-tasking doesn't lead to higher throughput, productivity or efficiency. Limit your work in progress (WIP), group work items by complexity and limit context switching. Start finishing what you have on your plate before starting new things and you'll get more done, faster.

Eliana is a gracious, inspiring, funny & care-free 9 year old girl. Whether she’s dancing on stage with musician, producer and music mogul Pharrell Williams, being a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, meeting Jimmy Kimmel at a red carpet event, where she was a special guest, appearing on countless television interviews, flamenco dancing or horseback riding, she is always swept up in the magic of the moment, her positive attitude and outlook on life is truly inspiring. You would have no idea looking at her or talking to her what she’s been through.  Eliana has  been fighting for her life almost since the day she was born, starting with a stroke at the tender age of 4 ½ months which doctors determined was caused by a brain tumor. Though she had already faced a potentially fatal brain cancer before she was even half a year old, she had always kept up a positive attitude—and never stopped chasing the magic of life.  Talking with Eliana and soaking in her angelic spirit literally changed how I view people, relationships and experiences.  Listen in to hear this brave, inspiring young girl. 

The 80's brought us some of the best movies ever made. Breakfast Club, Top Gun, Goonies, Stand By Me, Scarface -  the list goes on. But one in particular, The Karate Kid, taught an important approach to mastery that can be used for just about anything.

Dr. Ron Darnell is a university professor focused on Organization Management who studied the impact of good explicit coordination practices on the success of organizations and projects. His journey to his Ph.D is both inspiring and educational.

Ever wonder what sets the most influential people and companies apart from everyone else? It starts with "Why". Everyone knows what they're creating, and most know how to create it, but what's missing all too often is the why they're creating it.  Listen in to learn how to start thinking, acting and communicating like some of the most influential people and brands out there.