Mik + One: The Official Project to Product Podcast by Dr. Mik Kersten – Details, episodes & analysis

Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Dr. Steve Mayner, a revered expert and coach in digital leadership, organizational change strategy, continuous learning culture, agile contracts, and SAFe practices within government contexts. Mik and Dr. Steve Mayner discuss the nuances of transformative leadership and its pivotal role in driving successful business agility and digital transformation efforts. They also examine the evolution and future of Lean-Agile practices tailored for the fast-evolving AI landscape.

Listen as Mik and Dr. Steve Mayner explore the intersections of digital leadership, Agile transformation, and the emerging impacts of artificial intelligence in the digital age.

Key discussions include:

• Transformational leadership is essential for fostering an innovative and adaptive organizational culture.
• AI's role in enhancing productivity and operational efficiency requires leaders to embrace these technologies and lead their integration effectively within their organizations.
• Successful digital transformation hinges not only on adopting new technologies but significantly on leadership that creates an environment of trust and drives organizational change.
• Continuous learning and leveraging AI tools can exponentially boost a leader's effectiveness, enabling informed decision-making in real-time.
• Adaptive leadership, coupled with a strong foundation in business acumen, is crucial for navigating the complexities of leading organizations in the digital age.

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter:

@mik_kersten #MikPlusOne

Additional Resources:

• Portfolio SAFe
• MarTech
• Scrum Studio
• Greenfield project
• Skunkworks
• Bimodal IT
• Agile Release Train
• Mik + One Podcast Episode 20: Justin Watts
• Join the Flow Framework Community

For more information about Steve Mayner and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://flowframework.org/ffc-podcast/steve-mayner/

Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is technology luminary Gene Kim. Gene Kim is an esteemed author and technology thought leader with over two decades of experience studying high-performing technology organizations. Mik and Gene look into the groundbreaking insights from Gene's latest book, "Wiring the Winning Organization," co-authored with Dr. Steven Spear. They navigate the pressing need for new organizational frameworks that bridge the gaps left by traditional models like Lean, Agile, and DevOps. They also analyze the core mechanisms vital to achieving optimal organizational performance, such as simplification and amplification.

Listen as Mik and Gene explore the concept of ‘slowification’—the strategic slowdown for long-term gains—and provide practical advice on how technology leaders can implement these changes. 

Key discussions include:

• Understanding the critical layers involved in organizational performance: objects (code, patients), tools (IDEs, MRI machines), and social circuitry (team communication).
• Learn about the essential mechanisms—slowification, simplification, and amplification—that form the backbone of successful organizational design.
• Explore the impact of strong, clear feedback loops in optimizing organizational efficiency and uncovering hidden inefficiencies.
• Discover how partitioning complex systems into modular components can facilitate faster development and deployment cycles.
• Learn how Gene's book provides a framework that is understandable and actionable at all organizational levels, focusing on practical implementation.

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter:

@mik_kersten #MikPlusOne

Additional Resources:

• Portfolio SAFe
• The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim
• Wiring the Winning Organization by Gene Kim and Steven J. Spear
• MarTech
• Scrum Studio
• Greenfield project
• Skunkworks
• Bimodal IT
• Agile Release Train
• Mik + One Podcast Episode 20: Justin Watts
• Join the Flow Framework Community

For more information about Gene Kim and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://flowframework.org/ffc-podcast/gene-kim-ep-57/

Joining Mik on this episode of Mik + One is Steve Berez, advisory partner at Bain & Company and co-author of Doing Agile Right, Transformation Without Chaos.

In this episode, Mik and Steve discuss:

• Insights into Steve’s 30+ year journey developing Bain’s technology practice
• Real examples of implementing agile practices and how to do it right
• How to get buy-in from Finance teams and demonstrate the value of a capacity-based mindset
• Strategies organizations can take to realize Agile benefits more quickly
• How Doing Agile Right can improve the business technology dialogue

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne

www.tasktop.com

Additional Resources:

• Connect with Steve
• Doing Agile Right
• Dean Leffingwell on the Mik + One Podcast: Part 1, Part 2

For more information about Steve Berez and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/steve-berez/

In this episode of Mik + One, Mik is joined by Razat Gaurav, Chief Executive Officer at Planview.  In this episode, Mik and Razat discuss the trillion-dollar opportunity ahead to rebuild the future of how the enterprise works. Topics include:

• How new market realities will impact the way we think about transformations
• Designing foundational capabilities with resiliency in mind to maximize flow and unlock value
• Deep dive into the three “waves” that optimize software value streams
• The fundamental nature of operationalizing with learning cycles and feedback loops
• How Tasktop joining Planview will dramatically accelerate the ability to help the world's organizations survive and thrive in the age of software

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com

For more information about Razat Gaurav and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/razat-gaurav/

Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Sejal Amin, current Chief Product and Technology Officer for Khoros, where she leads global product development teams to build great experiences for customers. In this episode, Mik and Sejal discuss a wide range of topics around continuous improvement, team health, organizational design, and flow. Key discussions include:

• Lessons Sejal learned from making the shift from project to product and barriers to overcome when making that shift
• The importance of team culture and emphasizing the health of the team
• Strategies to accelerate and make lasting organizational changes that focus on outcomes; including an example of a structure and data-driven environment in which teams can thrive
• Proven tools that increase team performance to effectively work around data and flow
• Structuring a product and team hierarchy that is conducive to a successful project to product transformation that enables continuous learning, improvement and innovation

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review. Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com

Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Geordie Henderson, General Manager of AWS Messaging and Streaming at Amazon Web Services, and previously the VP of Engineering at Hootsuite.

In this episode, Mik and Geordie share insights into organizational design and innovation to build, integrate and lead successful software organizations, as well as other key topics including:

• An overview of Geordie’s experience in scaling high-performing teams at Amazon Web Services and Hootsuite, and advice to leaders on the missteps to avoid
• Implementing the correct team structures and dynamics when optimizing flow for business outcomes
• How to successfully approach creating microservices teams and managing product needs
• The concept of Single Threader Owners (STOs) and the role of product and engineering leadership when organizing around products vs. technology
• Input versus output metrics and the importance of having set goals when evolving team structure
• Advice to leaders on creating the dynamic and structure required for driving innovation within the organization

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com

For more information about Geordie Henderson and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/geordie-henderson/

In this episode of Mik + One, Mik is joined by Darrell Fernandes, Head of Product Technology at TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural and governmental fields.

In this episode, Mik and Darrell discuss themes around driving organizational improvement and customer value, as well as other topics including:

• The five key accountabilities that all IT product managers should consider when thinking about how an IT product fits within the market
• Insights into successfully building out Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that align with the business outcomes and deliver customer value
• Organizing cross-functional Agile Release Trains (ARTs) as capabilities and guidance for building them into the business and technology roadmap
• Operationalizing at a business level and advice on educating leadership and business counterparts when getting buy-in
• Recognizing success and building incentives that strengthen how the teams operate to become more innovative, efficient and value-focused
• Advice on how to approach and introduce Flow within the organization to deliver greater business value

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com

For more information about Darrell Fernandes and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/darrell-fernandes/

Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Manuel Pais, co-author of Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow.

In this episode, Mik and Manuel discuss some of the key themes in Team Topologies, as well as other topics including:

• Manuel's learnings and key tips on how to effectively manage team collaboration in the shift to remote-first and hybrid working
• The relationship between the ideas behind the Flow Framework and Team Topologies
• Advice on how to set up value streams to enable and improve team flow and capacity when delivering digital experiences
• Implementing a reorganization and advice to leaders on how to approach this, and why it’s important to understand, implement and evolve the team topology
• Treating platforms as products and the importance of investing in platform teams to manage cognitive load and provide greater value to customers

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com

For more information about Manuel Pais and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/manuel-pais/

To kick off the first episode of 2022, Mik is joined by two guests from Bank of New Zealand: Paul Littlefair, Chief Technology Officer, and BMK Lakshminarayanan, Value Stream Architect.

In this episode, Mik, Paul and BMK delve into how Bank of New Zealand has been applying the shift from Project to Product and Flow Metrics, and other key topics including:

• Insight into how Bank of New Zealand’s transformation journey started, and the goals they first set out to achieve
• The importance of investing in continuous improvement, and rewarding for improvement and not just output
• Getting leadership buy-in, and why reporting the developer experience at the board level is crucial to enabling flow and visibility
• Introducing education around flow at all levels to create continuous learning across the organization, and insight into how Bank of New Zealand has executed this
• How tenacity, pivoting and starting today has brought a large enterprise organization like Bank of New Zealand on a great trajectory to getting things deployed, and how they’ve adapted their learnings at scale

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com

For more information about Paul Littlefair and BMK Lakshminarayanan and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/bank-of-new-zealand/

We're taking a break for the holidays, but Dr. Mik Kersten, Tasktop Founder & CEO, and best-selling author of 'Project to Product', has left a short message to thank all of you for tuning in over the last year.

We'll be back with new episodes in 2022, however in the meantime, keep in touch by joining the Flow Framework Slack Community.

Built on communal learning, trust and professional development, this community provides a safe space to connect with business and technology leaders seeking to develop expertise in the transition from project to product, value stream management, Flow Metrics and the Flow Framework.

You will find a dedicated #ProjectToProduct channel where you can share success stories and challenges about your transformation journeys, ask questions and receive advice from your peers and even leave Mik a note about the podcast and suggestions for future guests! Mik has even made it his new year's resolution to check-in on discussion topics that arise from the podcast.

Join now: https://flowframework.org/flow-framework-community/

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com