Boxes and Arrows

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Teams moving to agile often struggle to integrate agile with best practices in user-centered design (UCD) and user experience (UX) in general. Fortunately, using a UX Integration Matrix helps integrate UX and agile by including UX information and requirements right in the product backlog. While both agile and UX methods share some best practices—like iteration and defining requirements based on stories about users—agile and UX methods evolved for different purposes, supporting differ

Software Review 107

Software Review Agile Software Design 107

Xplaner

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Did you like this? If so, please consider buying me a coffee!

Design 76

Design Video 76

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Why are you here? It's arguably life's most important question, but is it one you ask yourself? I recognize it's a question some people might view as self-indulgent, while others would see it primarily through a religious lens. But is there any part of an answer we could all agree on? I've found a very simple one for myself, and it's provided me in recent years with an increasingly powerful sense of clarity, inspiration and even joy.

Resources 22

Resources Meeting Company How To 22

CorporateIntel

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Teddy Roosevelt — who legend has it never wanted to be called by that name — is back in the news, at least to the extent that we are finding reason to quote him of late. In response to an earlier post of mine, a friend who had a challenging year sent me the following quote from Theodore Roosevelt: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

Creativity 40

Creativity Creative Process Innovation Culture 40

Speaker: Alex Salazar, CEO & Co-Founder @ Arcade | Nate Barbettini, Founding Engineer @ Arcade | Tony Karrer, Founder & CTO @ Aggregage

If AI agents are going to deliver ROI, they need to move beyond chat and actually do things. But, turning a model into a reliable, secure workflow agent isn’t as simple as plugging in an API. In this new webinar, Alex Salazar and Nate Barbettini will break down the emerging AI architecture that makes action possible, and how it differs from traditional integration approaches.

System

Boxes and Arrows

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

“It’s easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.” Leonardo Da Vinci Some of Leonardo’s projects failed because of their execution. The strange tale of Leonardo’s “Kitchen Nightmare” plays out like a Shakespearean “comedy of errors” where a visionary designer’s experiments all work perfectly to extremely disastrous results.

Design 94

Design System Project Creativity 94

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

"My manager expects me to be at my desk from 9 to 5," a highly successful salesperson lamented during a break at a session I was delivering at a progressive company in Silicon Valley. "I love my job," she went on, "but I have an hour and fifteen minute commute each way, and it's just wearing me down.". "Could you do your work from home?" I asked. "Absolutely," she told me.

Exercises 22

Exercises Meeting Management Company 22

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Since Daniel Goleman 's Emotional Intelligence , we've recognized the importance of tuning into social and emotional factors in the workplace. But many popular depictions of the workplace don't show any evidence of that sensitivity. Mad Men , Wall Street , and others impress that in business, only the strong survive. But emotional intelligence implies that successful leaders should be nice.

Study 21

Study Data Leadership Course 21

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

The most successful innovators are consistently portrayed as possessing a passion that borders on dogmatism. They work tirelessly to bend reality to achieve their vision, with Steve Jobs and his "reality distortion field" serving as the prototypical example. There's no doubt that passion is a critical component of innovation. After all, innovation is awfully hard work, with plenty of false starts.

Disruption 21

Disruption Course Examples Innovation 21

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

We live in a world mad for talent. From Hollywood and sports to executive search firms and HR departments around the globe, everyone seeks that special mix of natural abilities and attitudes that will make performance pop. A few months ago, Douglas Conant wrote a terrific blog post on how to find talented candidates for a job. When evaluating a potential hire, Conant looks for a strong mix of three qualities — competence, character, and skill as a team player.

Creativity 21

Creativity Guidelines Engagement Study 21

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

This post was co-authored with Holly Newman. Here in the U.S., the Super Bowl this weekend showed us the power of 30-second advertisements , and how influential they can be in promoting a company's awareness. But how often do we craft our own 30-second spots with audiences that we want to influence? Most of us are not in the business of making TV commercials, but in conversations there is almost always a 30-second moment that can make the meeting memorable.

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Meeting Company Examples Management 21

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

Roadmap

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Imagine that you wanted a new home theater system. But instead of spending hours in Best Buy or on Amazon comparing configurations and assembling the parts you needed, you could signal what you wanted and a company would create it for you. You might simply Pinterest the elements you liked, including information about your space or noise limitations ("One-bedroom apartment on busy street in New York," or "suburban space that needs stuff protected from little kids"), and then have a retailer give

System 21

System Marketing Video Company 21

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Complaints about email abound. Perhaps you've heard some of these or uttered them in pain yourself: I receive hundreds of emails a day. I can spend my whole day responding to incoming messages. I can't find anything in my inbox. In response, some companies are taking drastic steps to help workers manage the number of messages they receive. The CEO of Atos, a British IT services company, has vowed to ban internal email by 2015.

Policies 21

Policies Case Study Software Review Meeting 21

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

In her first week as Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde spoke for the greater inclusion of women in leadership. She is one of the many powerful women who use the platform to make the ongoing issues about the lack of female leadership visible. In fact, the rise of Lagarde and other female leaders feeds into the commonly held belief in the revolution from above — that is, female leaders are more able to represent women's interests and promote the aspirations of up-and-coming wom

Leadership 20

Leadership Survey Collaboration Report 20

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

A popular post on this site, Nine Things Successful People Do Differently , provides a fabulous summary of what makes the difference between those who succeed and those who don't. But, in our experience, it misses one really important "thing': Successful people habitually turn obstacles into assets. People who succeed at work and in life believe and act as if "everything is a gift.

How To 20

How To Exercises Resources Survey 20

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Report

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

At 5 am I was lying in bed, awake, thinking. Actually, thinking is too generous a word for what I was doing. I was perseverating. I was about to buy a new bicycle, and I couldn't decide on the color. I tried to visualize the bike and imagine how I would feel riding it in each color. I weighed the options, hoping one would rise as the right choice. I'd already gone online numerous times to look at the bike, even interrupting important work to do so, and I'd gone back to the bike store twice.

Meeting 20

Meeting Change Learning Company 20

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Is the tide finally turning? The Labor Department recently reported that the number of Americans quitting their jobs has begun to rise. Although the number is still quite low, it is a tentative sign that labor market mobility, which had petrified during the recession, has started to recover. Employers trusting a stagnant economy to keep top talent from leaving would do well to pay attention.

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Survey Report Leadership Learning 19

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

Thales Teixeira , Harvard Business School professor, explains what makes us want to watch—and share—certain commercials. For more, go to the article The New Science of Viral Ads.

Marketing 19

Marketing 19

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

The realities of globalization, with increasing emphasis on emerging markets, present corporate leaders with enormous challenges in developing the leaders required to run global organizations. Too many multinational companies — particularly Japanese, Indian, German, and some American ones — still concentrate vital decisions in the hands of a small group of trusted leaders from their home country.

Leadership 19

Leadership Collaboration Culture Groups 19

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Innovation is key to overcoming crises. This guide outlines how businesses can navigate uncertainty by adapting strategies, embracing open innovation, and strengthening resilience. Learn how to reassess business models, engage external expertise, and build a robust innovation ecosystem. Explore the three phases of crisis response—from immediate adaptation to long-term transformation—and discover how collaboration accelerates progress while reducing costs.

Innovation

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

The theme at Davos this year was "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models." One of the models up for discussion was leadership. Panels with titles like "Leading Under Pressure" and "New Leadership Models from China" abounded. While speaking at a private dinner hosted by PwC on the topic of leadership and values in a volatile world, the questions put to me were, "What leadership traits will be paramount in the future?

Collaboration 18

Collaboration Leadership Course Study 18

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

How useful would it be to identify the problem-solvers within your business? They're called entrepreneurs, and not all of them are created the same. The ability to identify entrepreneurs empowers organizations to effectively manage their workforce. Through research, we're beginning to learn more about spotting star performers who would otherwise become disengaged and flee — taking their new ideas with them.

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Groups Training Management Leadership 18

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

A few years ago, Brad Anderson , then CEO of Best Buy, told me something both provocative and profound. We were discussing what he looked for in selecting someone for a C-suite level role. Among other skills, he wanted to find executives who had the wisdom to know when the organization needed to be fundamentally changed and shaken up — and when the organization needed time to incorporate prior changes.

How To 18

How To Innovation Groups Change 18

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

"This business model is right for a company selling Purina Dog Chow, circa 1970.". "There's no way we could ever be this collaborative.". Both are comments I got about my book, back in 2009, about setting direction, collaboratively. The first is from a Google executive; the second, from an exec at Cisco. Same business model architecture, two entirely different responses: obvious or unachievable.

LEAN 18

LEAN Collaboration Technical Review Crowdsourcing 18

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The DHS compliance audit clock is ticking on Zero Trust. Government agencies can no longer ignore or delay their Zero Trust initiatives. During this virtual panel discussion—featuring Kelly Fuller Gordon, Founder and CEO of RisX, Chris Wild, Zero Trust subject matter expert at Zermount, Inc., and Principal of Cybersecurity Practice at Eliassen Group, Trey Gannon—you’ll gain a detailed understanding of the Federal Zero Trust mandate, its requirements, milestones, and deadlines.

Roadmap

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Believe it or not, Pixar was once a scrappy startup. The multi-billion dollar juggernaut with a near-perfect record of churning out hit after hit today was once "a bunch of guys going on their gut" according to Andrew Stanton, a co-founding filmmaker with the company whose credits include writing and directing Wall E and Finding Nemo. Stanton explained at the TED Conference on Tuesday that back in these scrappy days of 1993, as this group was putting together its ideas for its first movies, it s

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Guidelines Conference Industry Groups 18

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

The job of the senior executive is much more complicated today than it was a decade or two ago — and that trend will continue, especially if you hope to play on a global stage (which is a nearly universal condition these days for many companies). Why? Here are five reasons. 1. Soft skills are more important than ever. Most people come out of business schools fairly well armed with technical skills, but the softer side of management — communication, collaboration, cross-cultural intel

Agile 18

Agile Industry Resources Learning 18

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

While the global financial meltdown and its aftershocks have unleashed a flood of indignation, condemnation, and protest upon Wall Street, the crisis has exposed a deeper distrust and implacable resentment of capitalism itself. Capitalism might be the greatest engine of prosperity and progress ever devised, but in recent years, individuals and communities have grown increasingly disgruntled with the implicit contract that governs the rights and responsibilities of business.

Entrepreneurship 17

Entrepreneurship Case Study System Disruption 17

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Imagine the world in 2030, more resource-constrained than ever—but then suddenly benefitting from a breakthrough approach to harnessing wind energy. What if the person capable of hatching that innovation is, today, a middle-school girl in a village in Ecuador? Will it happen? Or think closer to home: If the cure for cystic fibrosis is just waiting in the mind of a girl in your community, will it ever see the light of day?

Resources 17

Resources Training Technology Learning 17

Speaker: Yohan Lobo and Dennis Street

In the accounting world, staying ahead means embracing the tools that allow you to work smarter, not harder. Outdated processes and disconnected systems can hold your organization back, but the right technologies can help you streamline operations, boost productivity, and improve client delivery. Dive into the strategies and innovations transforming accounting practices.

Generative AI

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Leverage is the mantra of the times in philanthropy, and rightly so. People want to know that the charities they support are using donations as effectively as possible. Donors and institutional funders are more demanding, more discerning, and less detached. They're no longer content with writing a check and securing their place in heaven. They want results.

Innovation Programs 17

Innovation Programs Training Technology Leadership 17

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, has been speaking out a lot lately about subtle dynamics that hold women back from reaching senior roles in business. Her TED talk and Barnard commencement speech went viral. Lean in, she says to women, take your place at the table, seize the stage. I never suspected she had a personal message for me, but sitting in on a recent panel on "Women as the Way Forward" that included Sandberg, I learned otherwise.

LEAN 17

LEAN Conference Leadership Examples 17

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

"We've spent a fortune on collaborative technology, but no one is using it. or if they are, it's for purely social, non-productive activities.". Sound familiar? It's a lament I've heard many times from organizations over the past several years. Most leaders are sold on the tremendous potential new collaborative technologies present to change the way work gets done: increasing productivity, stimulating innovation, and enhancing employee engagement.

Software 17

Software Collaboration Technology Training 17

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

The reality of web marketing is that almost all of it happens on platforms that are owned by others. Platform owners, such as Facebook or Google, have provided environments where some things are easy to do, some things are much harder to do, and some things simply can't be done. Even tougher for marketers is that these systems are constantly changing as the platforms evolve and grow.

Marketing 17

Marketing System Strategy Strategy 17

Speaker: Ben Epstein, Stealth Founder & CTO | Tony Karrer, Founder & CTO, Aggregage

When tasked with building a fundamentally new product line with deeper insights than previously achievable for a high-value client, Ben Epstein and his team faced a significant challenge: how to harness LLMs to produce consistent, high-accuracy outputs at scale. In this new session, Ben will share how he and his team engineered a system (based on proven software engineering approaches) that employs reproducible test variations (via temperature 0 and fixed seeds), and enables non-LLM evaluation m

Artificial Inteligence