Product Fields – Details, episodes & analysis

In this conversation, Jim Sammons and Rich Visotcky discuss various aspects of team dynamics, particularly focusing on Scrum Masters and the importance of engagement and interest in work. We explore the expectations placed on Scrum Masters, the significance of caring about the work being done, and how to navigate conflicts within teams around their work, tool choice, communication patterns, and more.

Key highlights include:

• Interest in work drives better performance and outcomes.
• Navigating conflict requires understanding the context.
• Caring about the work leads to better results.
• Frustrations in work often stem from organizational decisions.
• Shifting mindsets from tool dependency to problem-solving is crucial.
• Different teams require different types of support and skills.

Chapters

00:00 Intro 

00:16 Should Scrum Masters Be Interested? 

01:23 Do Process People Need to Grasp The Backlog? 

04:48 Do Care and Interest Go Hand in Hand? 

08:14 Marker 4 

08:14 Did the Creators of Agility Expect People to Care? 

10:56 Do You Need to Know How the Sausage is Made? 

13:41 The Legend of "Json the Troublemaker" 

18:25 It's Not Them, It's You 

21:39 The Way of Working 

26:30 What Gets You Riled Up? 

29:49 It Makes Sense, and it Makes Me Angry 

34:52 The "User" Will See You Now 

37:03 What Riles Rich Up? 

42:35 Part of the Solution? 

46:29 On the Next Episode... 

Connect with Product Fields:

📢 Follow the podcast for more inspiring stories
💬 Join the conversation on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/mastering-agility 

📩 Contact us for trades or sponsorships

👉 If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it!

Connect with our hosts:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessammons/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richvisotcky/

Check out our sponsors:

https://www.xebia.com

https://www.wiserbees.com

https://www.jointinsights.com

https://www.productfields.com

Gil Broza joins our hosts, Jim Sammons and Rich Visotcky, for the first episode of the Product Fields podcast in 2026!  In this conversation, we discuss the evolving landscape of agility and product management in the age of AI. Together, we explore how AI has transformed product delivery, the importance of accountability, and the need for leaders to adapt their strategies to ensure effective team dynamics. Too often, we have seen companies go full-on into AI without any strategy or understanding of the consequences. Through our discussion, we dive into the balance between leveraging AI for efficiency while maintaining critical thinking and human oversight, and the need for a thoughtful approach to integrating AI into work processes.

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:04 Agility Beyond Tech: Adapting Principles for Non-Tech Teams 

00:03:44 The Relevance of the Agile Manifesto, Values, and Principles 

00:08:44 AI's Impact on Product Delivery and Management 

00:12:15 Going Back to Principles in the Age of AI 

00:16:52 Accountability in the Age of AI 

00:28:03 The AI Industrial Revolution: Trust and Human Connection 

00:33:58 The Atrophy of Skills in the Age of AI 

00:35:07 The Impact of AI on Communication and Authenticity 

00:45:38 The Dangers of Over-Reliance on AI 

00:47:27 Fundamentals in the Age of AI 

00:50:45 The Danger of Agency and AI 

00:53:01 The Future of Work and AI Integration 

00:57:46 Quantity vs. Impact 

01:01:20 Closing 

Connect with Product Fields:

📢 Follow the podcast for more inspiring stories
💬 Join the conversation on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/mastering-agility
📩 Contact us for trades or sponsorships

👉 If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it!

Connect with our guests:

Gil Broza: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilbroza

Subscribe to Gil’s newsletter: https://3pvantage.com/subscribe-newsletter/

Attend Gil’s course, “Leading AI-Enabled Product Teams”: https://3pvantage.com/leapt/

Check out our sponsors:

https://www.xebia.com

https://www.wiserbees.com

https://www.jointinsights.com

https://www.productfields.com

For questions or requests that you would like us to check on, please drop a message on LinkedIn or join the Mastering Agility Discord community!

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Tricia Broderick

Are you struggling to lead your teams toward success during these chaotic times?

Tricia Broderick, co-author of Lead without Blame, focuses on this specific challenge. She is a leadership and organizational advisor. With over twenty-five years of experience, her transformational leadership ignites the growth of leaders and teams to deliver quality outcomes. Tricia boldly role models putting people first. Her aim is to create inclusive connections and collaborations that challenge and support people in an authentic, vulnerable, and engaging way. She is a highly-rated trainer, coach, facilitator, and motivational keynote speaker.

In 2022, she co-authored with Diana Larsen, Lead without Blame. A detailed framework for leaders to move past outdated workplace blame and shame strategies to cultivate resilient teams capable of facing adversity and setbacks confidently.

Sander Dur

Sander Dur is a Professional Scrum Trainer at Scrum.org, podcast host of Mastering Agility, Professional Scrum Master and Lead Agile Consultant, and trainer at Xebia. Besides this, he's an avid writer for predominantly Serious Scrum on Medium.com. Sander has a major passion for the human side in complex domains. Ensuring a high level of psychological safety, therefore, is a critical part of his work. Organizations in complex domains can only survive when innovating. Innovation can only take place with the right balance between low social friction and high intellectual friction. While most organizations now understand how to apply Agile frameworks, they struggle with the delivery of value. Psychological safety is the next step in this evolution and Sander has a huge drive to help organizations reach that step.
 
  Sander is enthusiastic, open-minded, and ambitious. He finds interpersonal relationships and intrinsic motivations very important in team dynamics. Besides his work, Sander loves to spend time with his family, enjoys sports and eating healthy, barbecuing, riding his motorcycle, and traveling.

Jim Sammons

My passion is helping people to:

• Do more of the right work (and less of the wrong work).
• Create more actual teams than just groups of people who work together.
• Learning how to improve themselves, their team, and their organization incrementally.
• Understand that less, not more, is usually part of the answer to some of the hardest questions we all face.
• See their workplaces, teams, and their sphere of influence as something that is evolving, which requires an evolution of all of its parts to adapt.

Throughout my career, I have worked with clients of all sizes, industries, and technologies.  Whether it’s leading a transformative strategy at a Fortune 100 or helping a new startup understand its unique value proposition the common focus I bring to each role is “making people better.”

Contact us at:

Masteringagility.org
https://xebia.com/academy/nl/trainers/sander-dur

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessammons/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderdur/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Abstract:

Any agile transformation can be incredibly challenging. Complexity is sky high, and so is risk. Talk through some of these challenges, accompanied by all his experience he condensed into his highly anticipated new book The 6 Enablers of Business Agility (released June 1st). Adopting the latest and greatest agile tools and practices won’t be enough to respond to rapid market change. But if that’s not the case, what can we do?! Join us now for some great advice and words of experience by this world-leading business agility and leadership consultant!

What you’ll discover in this show:

-        Implementing new roles for everyone alone is not going to cut it
-        We can learn from giants like Microsoft, Netflix, and Apple
-        It all falls back to having engaged employees
 
 

Speakers:

Karim Harbott

Business Agility and Leadership consultant, entrepreneur, author, and international keynote speaker

Karim Harbott is a world-leading business agility and innovation coach. He is a serial entrepreneur and founding partner of Agile Centre, a global agile training and consulting firm, and the Business Agility Academy, the leading international business agility certification body. He is also a non-executive director of the Scrum Alliance, the world’s first, and largest, agile certification body. 

 Contact Karim Harbott:
https://www.karimharbott.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karimharbott/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://twitter.com/karimharbott?lang=en

Sander Dur (host)

Scrum Master, Agile Coach, trainer, and podcast host for ‘Mastering Agility”

Sander Dur is a business agility enthusiast, with a passion for people. Whether it’s healthy product developme

Contact us at:

Masteringagility.org
https://xebia.com/academy/nl/trainers/sander-dur

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessammons/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderdur/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

"I don’t like the phrase 'meet people where they are.' If you only do that, it’s too easy for everyone to settle. Instead, I try to meet them a half-step ahead—and take them on a field trip to what’s possible."

In this episode, Jim and Sander talk about the pursuit of mastery, how to inspire growth, and why being too comfortable can kill progress. From Van Gogh's late start to corporate energy vampires, this conversation is part therapy, part stand-up, and -as usual- fully human.

In this heartfelt and candid episode, Sander and Jim meet up at the Xebia studio for a conversation that blends humor, vulnerability, and inspiration. They unpack what it means to pursue mastery, how creativity emerges in unlikely places, and why many of us wrestle with the pressure of "starting too late."

The dynamic duo reflects on Jim's experiences from the Van Gogh Museum, shares personal goals like writing a book and dives deep into what success truly means—especially when you feel like time is slipping away.

They also tackle workplace dynamics, including how to deal with energy vampires on teams, giving and receiving feedback effectively, and staying authentic even when the work gets tough.

Check out our sponsor:
www.xebia.com

www.scrummatch.com

www.wiserbees.com

www.masteringagility.org

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

💡 Description:
In this thought-provoking episode of Mastering Agility, Jim and Marge sit down with Phil Agnew, host of the UK’s #1 marketing podcast, Nudge. Together, they explore the fascinating world of behavioral science, revealing how subtle nudges shape our decisions, from marketing campaigns to everyday life.

Discover the psychology behind why we choose one option over another, the ethical considerations of influence, and how businesses (and individuals) can apply these principles for positive change. Whether it’s anchoring on menus, using loss aversion to boost performance, or avoiding the pitfalls of overused marketing tricks, this episode is packed with actionable insights and real-world examples.

🔑 What You’ll Learn:

• The role of behavioral science in marketing and decision-making.

• Why ethical influence is more critical than ever.

• How businesses and individuals can use nudges to drive behavior.

• The power of anchoring, loss aversion, and social proof.

• Surprising examples of influence—from handwritten notes to painted flies on urinals!

Connect with Phill on LinkedIn: (10) Phill Agnew | LinkedIn

Check out Phill's podcast Nudge: Nudge Podcast

Check out our sponsor:
www.xebia.com

www.scrummatch.com

www.wiserbees.com

www.masteringagility.org

ScanAgile 2025 - ScanAgile

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The conversation explores the concept of simplicity and its challenges in various contexts. It delves into the importance of feedback, organizational and cultural change, and the friction between doing the thing right and doing the right thing. The difficulty of simplicity is discussed, along with the power of simple solutions. The conversation explores the importance of simplicity in product development and the challenges organizations face in achieving it. The three main drivers in the workforce are identified as community, cause, and compensation, with their importance varying depending on career stage. Perks and benefits, such as ping pong tables and beer on tap, are no longer sufficient to attract and retain talent. The focus should be on creating work that matters and providing employees with a sense of purpose. Short-term focus and financial stress can hinder organizations and individuals from achieving simplicity. It is crucial to let go of unnecessary tasks and amplify the value of the work being done.

Takeaways

• Simplicity is the antithesis to complexity and is essential in various domains, including software development and product design.

• Feedback is crucial in achieving simplicity and ensuring that the right solutions are developed.

• Organizational and cultural change are necessary to foster simplicity and create an environment that values simplicity.

• There is often a friction between doing the thing right (craftsmanship) and doing the right thing (meeting customer needs and business goals). Balancing these two aspects is essential.

• Simple solutions can be powerful and effective, and often the simplest solution is the best one. The three main drivers in the workforce are community, cause, and compensation, with their importance varying depending on career stage.

• Perks and benefits are no longer sufficient to attract and retain talent; the focus should be on creating work that matters and providing employees with a sense of purpose.

• Short-term focus and financial stress can hinder organizations and individuals from achieving simplicity.

• It is crucial to let go of unnecessary tasks and amplify the value of the work being done

Check out our sponsors:
www.wiserbees.com
www.xebia.com
www.scrummatch.com
www.masteringagility.org

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

For questions or requests that you would like us to check on, please drop a message on LinkedIn or join the Mastering Agility Discord community!

Participate as an audience member
Mastering Agility Mural
Mastering Agility merch

Sander Dur

Sander Dur is a Professional Scrum Trainer at Scrum.org, podcast host of Mastering Agility, Professional Scrum Master and Lead Agile Consultant, and trainer at Xebia. Besides this, he's an avid writer for predominantly Serious Scrum on Medium.com. Sander has a major passion for the human side in complex domains. Ensuring a high level of psychological safety, therefore, is a critical part of his work. Organizations in complex domains can only survive when innovating. Innovation can only take place with the right balance between low social friction and high intellectual friction. While most organizations now understand how to apply Agile frameworks, they struggle with the delivery of value. Psychological safety is the next step in this evolution and Sander has a huge drive to help organizations reach that step.
 
Sander is enthusiastic, open-minded, and ambitious. He finds interpersonal relationships and intrinsic motivations very important in team dynamics. Besides his work, Sander loves to spend time with his family, enjoys sports and eating healthy, barbecuing, riding his motorcycle, and traveling.

Jim Sammons

My passion is helping people to:

• Do more of the right work (and less of the wrong work).
• Create more actual teams than just groups of people who work together.
• Learning how to improve themselves, their team, and their organization incrementally.
• Understand that less, not more, is usually part of the answer to some of the hardest questions we all face.
• See their workplaces, teams, and their sphere of influence as something that is evolving, which requires an evolution of all of its parts to adapt.

Throughout my career, I have worked with clients of all sizes, industries, and technologies.  Whether it’s leading a transformative strategy at a Fortune 100 or helping a new startup understand its unique value proposition the common focus I bring to each role is “making people better.”

Contact us at:

Masteringagility.org
https://xebia.com/academy/nl/trainers/sander-dur

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessammons/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderdur/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Sprint Goals provide the single objective, the single focus, for the Sprint when we're talking about what's the most important thing to do. Often it's a misunderstood or hard thing to create. Why do we need one? Can we really create only 1, we're working on so many things?! Maarten Dalmijn is here to talk to us about why Sprint Goals are so important and how to deal with these questions. There is so much to say about it that he's even writing a book on this specific topic!

Contact us at:

Masteringagility.org
https://xebia.com/academy/nl/trainers/sander-dur

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessammons/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderdur/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Summary

In this conversation, Sander Dur and his guest Riina Hellstrom explore the evolving role of HR in organizations, emphasizing the shift from traditional "resource management" to a more agile, empowering approach. They discuss the importance of adopting an agile mindset in HR practices, the impact of AI on the workforce, and the necessity for continuous learning and adaptation in the face of change.

Riina shares insights on how HR can create value for employees, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for leaders to prioritize initiatives effectively. The conversation highlights the importance of co-creating change with employees and fostering a positive work environment that encourages engagement and fulfillment.

takeaways

• HR should empower employees to succeed.

• Agile mindset is crucial for modern HR practices.

• Value streams in HR can enhance employee experience.

• AI will significantly impact HR roles and functions.

• Continuous learning is essential for career development.

• Leaders must prioritize initiatives effectively.

• Co-creating change with employees fosters engagement.

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted HR's importance.

• HR needs to adapt to technological advancements.

• A positive work environment enhances employee satisfaction.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.