SAFe Business Agility Podcast
186 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 62 ratingsAdvice. Firsthand experiences. Inspiring conversations. Fresh perspectives. You’ll find it all on the SAFe Business Agility podcast—your connection to all things SAFe, and a lot more.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Growing into Product Management
April 24, 2024 16:00 - 47 minutes - 65.7 MB“When you open yourself up to people and to experiences, the most amazing things can happen.” In this episode, Adam talks to Michelle Jimenez about a unique career journey that ultimately led her to product management. The two discuss the importance of keeping an open mind, why it’s OK not to have all the answers, and the value of taking on new challenges. Michelle also shares her advice for those interested in becoming a product manager. Like what you hear? Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn...
Tactical Tip: Thriving in a Charged Environment
April 23, 2024 13:48 - 3 minutes - 4.58 MB“Don’t come to the table with problems if you don’t have ideas for solutions.” In this episode, Michelle Jimenez, product manager at Scaled Agile, shares her tips for starting positive dialogue and creating a collaborative mindset in tense situations. Like what you hear? Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: Participatory Budgeting
April 16, 2024 14:17 - 5 minutes - 7.74 MBIn this episode, Benjamin Scheffold, senior manager of Agile transformation at Deloitte shares his top tips for success in the three key phases of a participatory budgeting event. He also explains why preparation, adaptation, communication, and repetition are critical for everyone involved. Like what you hear? Connect with Benjamin on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Creating a Better Hybrid Training Model
April 10, 2024 16:00 - 35 minutes - 49.3 MB“I was deeply skeptical [about hybrid training] as an idea. This goes against all I’ve learned …This is going to be a challenge for me, but I said, “Challenge accepted.” Let’s figure out what we need to do.” In this episode, Adam is joined by Carl Starendal and Ola Gedenryd to talk about hybrid training sessions that combine both in-person and online participants. They discuss the challenges and benefits of hybrid training, offering suggestions for the ideal technical setup and providing rec...
Tactical Tip: Value Stream Mapping + Value Stream Identification
April 09, 2024 15:00 - 3 minutes - 5.4 MBIdentifying value streams is a cornerstone element of the SAFe® Implementation Roadmap for good reasons. In this episode, SPC and SPCT candidate Stephan Khal explains the why behind that strategy and how combining that activity with value stream mapping can produce powerful outcomes for the business. Like what you hear? Connect with Stephan on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: Planning for Your Next PI Planning
April 02, 2024 14:27 - 3 minutes - 5.35 MBIn the spirit of relentless improvement, how do you make your next PI Planning event even better than the last one? In this episode, SPC Marcin Cieslinski offers four key tips to make sure everyone is prepared to plan successfully. Like what you hear? Connect with Marcin on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Improv Your Way to Better Communication
March 27, 2024 14:48 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MB“Improv as a teaching tool connects people in real-time, in a real way, and it does it magically.” Today’s episode is … a little different. Adam is joined by Erin Diehl, founder and CEO of improve it!, a professional development company helping teams work better together through improvisation. Erin shares her personal journey and how she discovered not only her passion for improv but how it can be used to help others. They discuss the effectiveness of using improv to combat some of the bigge...
Tactical Tip: Servant Leadership
March 26, 2024 15:00 - 9 minutes - 13.7 MBIn this episode, Helen Fleming, SAFe Coach and SPCT candidate dives into the powerful philosophy of servant leadership, which prioritizes the needs of others to empower them to succeed. Helen shares why servant leadership is experiencing a resurgence at AT&T and describes real-world examples of the effect it’s having inside the company. Like what you hear? Connect with Helen on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: I'm an Introvert and I'm a Trainer
March 19, 2024 15:00 - 4 minutes - 6.24 MBDoes presenting in front of a large group of people make you anxious? You’re not alone. In this episode, self-proclaimed introvert Robert Dunlap, an SPCT candidate at a telecommunications company, shares his tips to help you overcome your fears and teach a great class. Like what you hear? Connect with Robert on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Managing Technology and AI in the Workplace
March 13, 2024 15:00 - 41 minutes - 56.5 MB“AI is not coming for your job. You don't have to fear AI. You have to fear the person who knows how to use AI better than you do.” On today’s episode, Adam sits down with William Kammersell, Director of Product Management at Scaled Agile to discuss technology and AI in the workplace and how to use both to enhance productivity and learning. They talk through their own experiences using AI, how the tools are only as powerful as the data they have access to, and their ideas for how AI might fa...
Tactical Tuesday: The Impact of Leadership Behaviors
March 12, 2024 15:00 - 3 minutes - 5.42 MBHow are your behaviors as a manager or a leader affecting others in your organization? In this episode, Carl Starendal, SAFe Fellow in Sweden, shares his advice to help you model positive behaviors, stay involved when shifting responsibility to someone else (decentralized decision-making), and invest in developing strong relationships with your colleagues during good and bad times. Like what you hear? Connect with Carl on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: The Death Spiral of Software
March 05, 2024 16:00 - 4 minutes - 6.12 MBOrganizations that focus too much on shiny new software features often forget about other key elements like technical debt, security, and performance. And that can compromise the software they deliver. In this episode, Lech Babula, iSPCT at Nordea Bank, shares some tips to help you avoid the software death spiral loop and take action. Like what you hear? Connect with Lech on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
User Experience Design and Managing Priorities
February 28, 2024 15:54 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MB“We were shipping six linear feet of technical documentation with every system that we sold. And it occurred to me that a lot of what we were documenting was just bad design and challenges using the system. I proposed that we take a look at what documentation we would prefer to write … and adjust the software to match the documentation.” In this episode, Adam talks to Harry Max about user experience design and prioritization. Harry is an executive coach and the author of Managing Priorities:...
Tactical Tip: The Power of Vision
February 27, 2024 15:12 - 5 minutes - 4.81 MBDoes your organization have a vision? In this episode, Susan Gibson, CEO, cofounder, and SPCT at Temenos+Agility shares her perspective on how vision is critical to execution—and why it’s often missing from organizations’ large change initiatives. Like what you hear? Connect with Susan on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tuesday: Outcomes Over Outputs
February 20, 2024 15:50 - 3 minutes - 3.72 MBIn this episode, Konrad Swistelnicki, SPCT candidate at Kegon, explains why the evolution of commitment in Agile approaches and in SAFe is a good thing. And why value delivered is really what matters. Like what you hear? Connect with Konrad on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Planning a SAFe® Summit
February 14, 2024 16:00 - 41 minutes - 56.7 MB“Be present. Be engaged. Participate in everything and anything—sit at a round table, talk with an expert one-on-one, and network at the partner marketplace. You never know what you’ll learn.” Twice a year, a small but mighty team of six people plans and executes the SAFe Summit. In this episode, Adam talks to two of those six people, Karen Lewison and Eric Neal, to find out what happens behind the scenes to successfully pull off these popular events. Karen and Eric talk about the challenges...
Tactical Tip: Navigating Management Styles
February 13, 2024 16:00 - 5 minutes - 4.87 MBWhat do you do when you are trying to implement or improve new ways of working but management isn’t hearing your message? Fernando Razo, Enterprise Lean-Agile Coach at Softtek, shares his key tips for navigating the human element of those conversations. Like what you hear? Connect with Fernando on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: Industrial DevOps
February 06, 2024 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.02 MBHow are cyber-physical systems different than software and what does SAFe look like in that environment? Oliver Wörl, SPC at NTT Data explains and shares a tip for improving that system, one element at a time. Like what you hear? Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: Get the Right People in the Right Roles
January 30, 2024 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MBTune in as Mahesh Varadharajan, SPCT and SAFe practice lead at KnowledgeHut shares a short story about how having the right person in the right role helped an organization avoid derailing its PI Planning event. Like what you hear? Connect with Mahesh on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: LPM: Keep the Goal in Mind
January 23, 2024 16:00 - 1 minute - 1.73 MBThe early stages of adopting Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) can feel a bit overwhelming. In today’s episode, Deema Dajani, SAFe Fellow and product management director has some essential advice to help you stay calm and carry on. Like what you hear? Connect with Deema on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here. Connect with Deema on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Real Options
January 17, 2024 16:39 - 37 minutes - 52.2 MBHow can an approach that originated in finance help you better evaluate epics and initiatives in SAFe, particularly around uncertainty and risk? In today’s episode, Adam talks to SAFe Fellow and SPCT Joe Vallone about real options. The two discuss how the approach is best applied at the portfolio level and why it’s useful in evaluating MVPs and in deciding whether to pivot, persevere, or refactor. Read the article mentioned in the podcast. Like what you hear? Connect with Joe on LinkedIn. E...
Tactical Tip Tuesday: Love the Problem, Not the Solution
January 16, 2024 17:27 - 2 minutes - 4.21 MBYou need to be customer-centric, speaking to customers and validating, but how do you do that? Deema Dajani, Product Management Director at Scaled Agile, Inc., recommends the Double Diamond of Design Thinking. Like what you hear? Connect with Deema on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here. linkedin.com Deema Dajani - Scaled Agile, Inc. | LinkedIn SAFe Business and Portfolio Agility Experiences | Learn more about Deema Dajani's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting...
Embracing Agile at Norfolk Southern
January 10, 2024 16:00 - 34 minutes - 47.4 MBAdam is making the most of his time at the 2023 SAFe® Summit Nashville, this time sitting down with Alexis Williams of Atlassian, Josh Fruit with Accenture, and Dana Buttera of Norfolk Southern. They talk about some emerging trends in business and enterprise agility before launching into a thorough conversation about how, together, they’ve successfully helped Norfolk Southern, a centuries-old train company, embrace an Agile way of working by focusing on the people, the problems that need to...
SAFe at B3
December 20, 2023 16:00 - 22 minutes - 30.4 MBListen to today’s conversation in two languages—the first half in English and the second half in Portuguese. In this episode, Adam talks to economist Marcio Tambelini who is responsible for Agile training at B3 in Brazil, one of the world’s largest stock exchanges. Marcio shares why B3 decided to adopt Agile methodologies, his experience implementing SAFe, and the outcomes that the company has realized around speed, autonomy, and customer satisfaction. He also highlights why he treats value ...
Tactical Tip: Perfect Your Product Pitch
December 19, 2023 16:00 - 2 minutes - 2.19 MBWhat’s the best way to get people to love your product when you release it? Deema Dajani, Product Management Director at Scaled Agile has some tips to consider before you even start building it. Like what you hear? Connect with Deema on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Atomic Habits
December 13, 2023 17:00 - 28 minutes - 39.7 MBOn today’s episode, Adam is joined by Richard Knaster, a longtime SAFe® Fellow and a leading voice in the area of value stream management. Richard shares his own journey to SAFe and tells us more about the work he’s doing today: encouraging organizations to embrace SAFe through the adoption of Atomic Habits. And how breaking things down into manageable chunks of work can help anyone achieve their goals—whether it’s eating better and exercising more or successfully completing an Agile transfo...
Tactical Tip: Running Your First Participatory Budgeting Event
December 12, 2023 16:00 - 2 minutes - 1.88 MBSo, you’re running your first participatory budgeting event and you’re nervous. What’s the best way to demystify the event for everyone involved? Deema Dajani, Product Management Director at Scaled Agile has some suggestions in today’s episode. Like what you hear? Connect with Deema on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: Agile HR
December 05, 2023 16:00 - 2 minutes - 2.08 MBHow are you supporting the people who support your people? Whether your organization is on its way or just getting started with incorporating HR into your Agile way of working, Fabiola Eyholzer, CEO of Just Leading Solutions, has some advice to help you on that journey. Like what you hear? Connect with Fabiola on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Advocating for the IP
November 29, 2023 17:00 - 30 minutes - 42.1 MBAdam welcomes Aly Orloff, Lead Agile Instructor and Coach at Lockheed Martin to the podcast to talk about all things innovation. They discuss the importance of encouraging a culture of innovation (which includes letting go of your fear of failure) and considering whether a healthy appetite for risk might have changed the fates of companies like Blockbuster or Kodak. Aly also shares her experience implementing SAFe at Lockheed Martin. To close out, she leaves us with three tips to convince ot...
Tactical Tip: Improving Portfolio Outcomes with Real Options
November 28, 2023 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.02 MBIs your funding rationale the best match for your organization’s MVPs and development value stream? In today’s episode, Joe Vallone, SPCT and SAFe® Fellow, describes the Real Options financial framework and why it’s attractive for funding Lean-Agile development. Read the article Joe mentions in the podcast. Like what you hear? Connect with Joe on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: Flow Accelerators - French
November 14, 2023 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.51 MBToday’s episode is in French and features Odile Moreau, SAFe Strategic Advisor and SPCT at Scaled Agile. She shares three key areas where organizations can use the eight flow accelerators to constantly improve. Like what you hear? Connect with Odile on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Using AI to Complement the Human Perspective
November 08, 2023 17:00 - 29 minutes - 40.8 MBToday, Adam talks to Terry Densmore, principal product manager at Digital.ai, about—you guessed it—artificial intelligence (AI). Terry describes how the company is using AI to improve Agile planning, deployment, and other aspects of business agility—and how that benefits customers. Adam and Terry also dive into the importance of value stream management, using AI to surface data and compare the plan to the truth, and the implications of commitment to simplify the business. Finally, Terry desc...
Tactical Tip: Strategic Themes
November 07, 2023 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.56 MBToday, Saahil is back to talk about how to go from good to great with your strategic themes. He shares what kind of strategic themes he’s seeing in the field, what’s missing, and tips to make them better to drive success for the entire enterprise. Like what you hear? Connect with Saahil on Linked In. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tip: PO for the System Team
October 31, 2023 15:00 - 3 minutes - 3.16 MBToday’s episode contemplates a unique approach to address system team challenges. Tune in to hear SPCT Saahil Panikar describe the idea of a profit-to-owner for the system team and how it has the potential to generate powerful results. Like what you hear? Connect with Saahil on Linked In. Explore SAFe courses here.
Reflection to Action with Feedback Loops
October 25, 2023 15:30 - 32 minutes - 45.3 MBIn today’s episode, Adam sits down with Tegan Harbridge from Easy Agile. After getting her expert opinion on how the 2023 SAFe® Summit Nashville holds up from an event design perspective, the two dive into conversation. They discuss the importance of knowing that you can’t be everything to everyone, accepting that not all feedback is created equal, and answering the question of why you’re doing what you’re doing—in SAFe, and in life. Like what you hear? Check out Easy Agile. Explore SAFe cou...
Tactical Tip: SAFe is Human
October 24, 2023 15:00 - 4 minutes - 4.16 MBIn today’s episode, SPCT Vikas Kapila explains why SAFe is a lot more than a framework—and why you should use it when planning your next vacation. Like what you hear? Connect with Vikas on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.
Tactical Tuesday: Customer Perspective
October 17, 2023 15:00 - 2 minutes - 2.93 MBRamesh Nori is here to offer insight on his approach to helping others when they ask.
The Art of Work Not Done
October 11, 2023 15:00 - 38 minutes - 53.4 MBToday’s episode finds Adam at the 2023 SAFe® Summit Nashville, where he sits down with David Gipp, an SPCT with Agile Velocity. After bonding over their shared experiences in the athletic retail space, and the value of the energy found there, they discuss the importance of outcome (not output), why the improv principle of “yes, and” is relevant, and how the “COVID pivot” is informing how the Agile community is working today.
Tactical Tip: 100 Coffees
October 10, 2023 15:00 - 6 minutes - 5.58 MBGez Smith wants to have coffee with you. Actually, he wants to have coffee with 100 of you. Inspired by a colleague who is setting out to have coffee with 100 random people, Gez makes an argument for why doing something similar will help encourage social connection and spark creativity on your next Agile Release Train.
Tactical Tip: Lean Portfolio Management Hacks
October 03, 2023 15:00 - 4 minutes - 3.8 MBHow do you foster innovation at an organization? Hazurasingh Siviya, SPCT with Temenos + Agility, is here today to offer three tips on just that—from looking at enhancements to current products and services to being a disruptor and adopting innovation as a mindset. He also highlights the importance of MVPs to drive innovation.
PI Planning: Collaboration, Dependencies, and Physical vs Virtual
September 27, 2023 16:00 - 45 minutes - 63.3 MBAdam sits down with Justin Oke, cofounder of Kendis, to talk all things PI Planning. They dive into what Kendis has to offer, how it evolved from an idea born from a social conversation over a few drinks to what it is today, and where it’s headed next—including the three things that Justin is most excited about. Adam and Justin also reflect on how their time spent in the military and law enforcement has had a lasting impact on their approach to the work they do today.
Tactical Tip: Innovation
September 26, 2023 15:00 - 5 minutes - 4.82 MBHow do you foster innovation at an organization? Hazurasingh Siviya, SPCT with Temenos + Agility, is here today to offer three tips on just that—from looking at enhancements to current products and services to being a disruptor and adopting innovation as a mindset. He also highlights the importance of MVPs to drive innovation.
Mindset Over All Else
September 20, 2023 16:00 - 34 minutes - 47.2 MBWhat do quotes from Spiderman, Adam Grant, and Steve Jobs have to do with SAFe? Find out in this engaging conversation with Adam and Anand Murthy Raj, SAFe Fellow, SPCT, and Managing Director at Gladwell Academy – Asia. They discuss what they’ve learned over the course of their careers—both inside and outside of SAFe. And they highlight the importance of being relentlessly curious, seeking discomfort, and remembering to enjoy the space between point A and point B.
Tactical Tip: Collaboration Advice for External SPCs Working with Internal Teams
September 19, 2023 15:00 - 2 minutes - 2.75 MBEren Özdemir is here to offer a few quick tips and things to keep in mind when working with an external client on a SAFe® transformation.
Applying SAFe in Highly Regulated Environments
September 13, 2023 16:00 - 41 minutes - 56.9 MBIn this episode, Adam sits down with Gez Smith to talk about his specialty: applying SAFe in highly regulated environments, specifically banks. They discuss the unique challenges of matching SAFe with a regulatory framework and how at the end of the day, SAFe is all about people and relationships. The two also share some lessons learned the hard way during SAFe workshops in other countries—and why that kind of learning has been some of the best.
Tactical Tip: SAFe Principle #5 and the System Demo
September 12, 2023 15:00 - 2 minutes - 2.37 MBThere are few things worse than getting to the end of a project and realizing that things just aren’t working the way you anticipated. That’s where SAFe® Principle 5 comes in. Hear from Natalia Kuzmina, Head of Agile Practices at S&P Global, about how using a system demo is a better way to evaluate a project.
Measuring Progress to Improve Agile Maturity
September 06, 2023 16:00 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBIn today’s episode, Adam takes a step back from SAFe to explore something a little different with Brent Hurley from Agility Health, one of the leading Agile team management platforms. After hearing a little bit about Brent’s background, the two take a deep-dive into all things Agility Health, including the history of the company, and how the tool helps companies build, assess, and grow Agile teams.
Tactical Tuesday: Eight Tips for Coaching a Well-established ART
September 05, 2023 15:00 - 3 minutes - 3.46 MBIn today’s episode, Mauricio Gambini, enterprise Agile coach from Enterprise Agility, offers his eight suggestions to start coaching on a well-established ART to help facilitate continued growth and improvement.
Business Agility in Corporate Functions
August 30, 2023 16:00 - 33 minutes - 46.5 MBIn today’s episode, Adam sits down with Markus Vogg, SPCT and global head of business agility at Capgemini Invent, and Em Sperring, SPC and business agility senior consultant, to discuss their Agile journeys. You’ll hear about their experience in bringing Agile to traditionally non-Agile spaces, like HR and accounting, and how that experience informs their approach to any Agile transformation—big or small. They also discuss the joys of working with intercontinental teams and share some advic...
Tactical Tuesday: The Case for a Co-trainer
August 29, 2023 15:00 - 2 minutes - 2.6 MBIt’s no secret that the SAFe implementation roadmap encourages a variety of training throughout the journey, but have you ever considered bringing along a co-trainer? Sarah Blaesing is here today to make a case for why a co-trainer just makes sense.