I was at the Global Day of Code Retreat (GDCR) event in Melbourne on 8 Dec 2012. A code retreat is a great way for software developers to practice their coding skills. Since I was merely an observer on this event, I could have a good view from the outside in. Lot’s of energy there everywhere! Here’s what I saw. Continue reading
Agile Management Innovations – a Primer
My colleagues and I, we work as Agile coaches. Every now and then new clients invite us to take a look at their Agile teams. These clients typically introduced Agile software development several months before, and they usually say that it was, in general, a good decision. They release more often with fewer bugs, changes to the products are made much more easily, customer happiness is increased, and so on. Yet we see also another picture: the client’s organisation and the client’s team are bull riding together. Continue reading
Keynote “Can you Kata?” at WebTech Conference
At the WebTech Conference in Mainz I was very lucky to support Marko Schulz with his first keynote called “Can you Kata?”, together with Sebastian Sanitz. It was hilarious! We had a lot of fun on stage and received lots of feedback. Watch the video! Continue reading
Australia, Here I Come!
The American businessmen Robert Townsend once wrote: “If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it’s OK. But you’ve got to shoot for something. A lot of people don’t even shoot.” In that sense, let me tell you that my star will be Australia: At the end of this year I’ll migrate from Germany to Australia. Continue reading
[The Pull Principle] Don’t Impose Commands, Offer Choices!
Talking about the pull principle means to talk about not having authorities and hierarchies, but talking about responsibility and commitment. The pull principle means to have the freedom and autonomy to be responsible and committed. And vice versa people who like practicing pull and having their freedom don’t like authorities: Continue reading
[The Pull Principle] Pull Your Next Job and Work Mate
[The Pull Principle] How to Pull a House
[The Pull Principle] People Signing Up for Work

No need for him: In a pull system,
decisions are made by the responsibility
and commitment of experts doing the work.
[The Pull Principle] On Supermarkets and Balance Weights
8 Great Short Games for Groups
At the Play4Agile 2012 conference in Rückersbach, Germany, in February, I especially enjoyed two sessions. Both sessions were about short games which can be played in trainings and workshops with groups, e.g. to warm up or to make a point in demonstrating team dynamics like collaboration or the like.
Below I describe 8 games from these sessions; there were more, but these were my favorites – or I simply couldn’t remember the others. Continue reading