Agile

An Interview with Frank Gollas Introduced by Annie Bordeleau Many Agile practitioners have adopted the Solution-Focused approach to lead constructive conversations with their teams, invite self-reflection, develop the future vision and plan actionable next steps. Frank Gollas and his colleagues have taken this relationship to the next level, however. In this short interview, Frank describes how SF is weaved into a large transformative project in a company of 4000 employees, which is slowly building 300 self-authored teams.

Andrew Gibson Reviewed by Wendy Van den Bulck Just as the whole world is overwhelmed by complexity, here’s Andrew’s latest book, ‘Make Life Simple’. I’d say, brilliant timing… I met Andrew on two occasions; the SOL World Conference in Frankfurt in 2017 and the SFiO Unconference ‘SF use in Large Scale Contexts’ in 2019, long before he wrote this book. Having read his book, I realise now that in our conversations at these events, Andrew did a lot of what he describes. He is a great explorer of desired outcomes, is authentically interested in peoples’ stories and is always thinking about opportunities that make a difference. That, to me, is one of the purest things that I can say about the book; he writes from within, and you can read that in every word.

Maurice (Mo) Hagar and Rod Sherwin Review by Rod Sherwin Mo Hagar is part of a growing world-wide community of agile practitioners who also have knowledge of the solution focused approach to change. I like the way Mo draws out the strong parallels between agile and solution focused approaches and shows how existing agile practices can be enhanced by applying SF thinking. For those working in agile teams, we often quickly take to SF because of this strong alignment in principles. I look forward to being part of this community as it grows and develops around the world.

Veronika Jungwirth and Ralph Miarka Introduced by John Brooker In this edited recording of an SFiO Global Chapter meeting, Veronika Jungwirth and Ralph Miarka summarise the topic of Solution Focus Coaching for Agile Teams, with many valuable tips on using SF to coach teams that wish to adopt agile practices. Role modelling SF from the very beginning, Veronika and Ralph relate how they came to write their book after much experience of coaching teams, mainly in IT, to adopt agile ways of working. This story is important because it explains the inspiration for linking SF with agile processes and how they have evolved their outlook over time.

Daniel Meier, Elvira Kalmár, Attila Molnàr, Roy-Mariott, Ralph Miarka& Veronika Jungwirth This conference was beautifully organised by an agile team who succeeded in moving locations at the last minute and still creating the space for amazing conversations and ideas to emerge. In this series, you will find articles, videos, interviews and presentations exploring different perspectives on how SF and Agile compliment each other in project work, team work and much more. Enjoy! 1. Beyond Agile – Building Self-Managing Teams Daniel Meier and Elvira Kalmar

Ralph Miarka, Veronika Jungwirth Introduced by John Brooker In this case study article, experienced Agile and Solution Focus practitioners Ralph and Veronika relate how they used a Solution Focus approach to help a department in the automotive industry become Agile. This article describes a thorough and beneficial piece of work, with useful learning for both SF practitioners and those who are interested in using SF to effect agile change. As well it provides a valuable template for those who may wish to carry out a piece of consulting work with SF.

Elvira Kalmár, Zsuzsanna Papp, György Pászty Introduced by Maurice (Mo) Hagar There is much to commend this case study. While the COVID crisis has proven a setback for some, forward-thinking companies like Invitech understand that such crises create opportunities for both Solution Focus (SF) and Agile. As well, Invitech demonstrates the synergies between SF and Agile, of which even forward-thinking companies often fail to take advantage. As shown here, Invitech’s blended approach addresses and mitigates some of the challenges that organisations often face when pursuing Agile “transformation.” It is worth noting in this case study that:

What shines through in this video is Douglas' delight at applying SF to the very traditional Project Management world and seeing how wonderful a difference it can make.

elvira-kalmer Introduced by Annette Gray Elvira Kalmar presents an inspiring Case Study session on how, as an Organisational Development consultant, she worked in a Solution Focus way with her client Invitech to bring about an agile transformation fast and with incredible lightness. Elvira engaged me as she described her approach (or lack of process as she explained), allowing the client to be the expert in their world, helping them define what agile transformation would look like and co-creating the steps along the way.

Stephanie Hammer Introduced by Trevor Durnford Some of the world’s leading brands, such as Apple, Google, Samsung and AstraZeneca, have rapidly adopted the Design Thinking approach. Staff in leading universities worldwide, including Stanford, Harvard, and MIT are teaching Design Thinking. So there is no doubt that this approach is gaining real traction in organisations.