In today’s world, every company is a technology company that happens to make [insert product here].

The companies that understand this reality and invest in digital transformation and modern software product development and delivery will lead the future. The ones that don’t? Well, we’ve seen what happens.

Somewhere along the way, the accountability of Scrum Masters and Product Owners got watered down to the point of irrelevance.

Most teams mishandle requirements. I’ve seen it across industries—established firms, agile startups, all struggling the same way. They craft plans that promise value but deliver little. Why? Traditional requirements focus on tasks, not users—turning vision into a rigid checklist. That approach fails. To build better software faster, you need user stories done properly. Here’s how to get it right.

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is waiting until the outcome to judge success, only to turn around and criticize teams for not meeting expectations they were never clear on in the first place.

This is a failure of leadership, not execution.

You think you know who you are—but do you? The way you react, the fears that haunt you, the insecurities you can’t shake—none of it is random. It’s programming, installed before you even had a say. Your Personality is who you appear to be—your patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Your Character is who you choose to become—your moral compass, integrity, and ability to grow beyond your instincts. So what do we do about this…?

When Agile teams face unknowns: technical challenges, architectural decisions, or research-heavy tasks, they use a Spike. But what exactly is a Spike, and why is it critical to Agile execution?

Agile faces a growing credibility crisis. Skepticism around traditional Agile practices is rising, organizational layoffs are forcing role realignments, and leadership remains unconvinced of Agile’s promised benefits. Simultaneously, businesses confront unprecedented levels of chaos, complexity, and change, with escalating pressure to rapidly adapt and deliver. So, what dafuq do we do?

OKRs (Objectives expressed as Key Results) were designed to provide a line-of-sight between daily execution and strategic outcomes. They should align teams, create focus, and drive measurable impact. But let’s be honest—most companies f*ck them up.

We throw around buy-in and alignment like they’re some magic dust we sprinkle over leadership to get them to stop resisting change. But let’s be real—most so-called “buy-in” is nothing more than reluctant head-nodding in a meeting, and most “alignment” is just a set of vague PowerPoint bullet points that mean jack sh*t when it comes to actual execution.

Agile was supposed to be the savior of software development. Instead, it has become one of its biggest obstacles. The original principles of Agile, flexibility, collaboration, and iterative & incremental delivery, have been distorted into rigid frameworks, bureaucratic nonsense, and a system that caters more to business stakeholders than to the developers delivering solutions.

So how did we get here? More importantly, how do we get out?

What often appears as failure within Scrum (or Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, agility, etc.) isn’t a flaw in the framework or approach itself—it’s a reflection of anti-patterns and misunderstandings that run much deeper. These issues reveal not just misapplications of Scrum but also underlying organizational dysfunctions that sabotage effectiveness.

The debate between Waterfall and Agile is often oversimplified as a battle over project management. The truth? Agile didn’t eliminate project management—it evolved it.

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) has been a focal point of debate within the Agile community. Critics argue that it’s overly prescriptive, while proponents highlight its structured approach to scaling Agile across enterprises. These ongoing debates often overshadow a critical truth: the success of Agile transformation is less about the chosen framework and more about leadership commitment and organizational mindset.

Agile methodologies have their roots in software development, aiming to enhance flexibility and responsiveness in delivering high-quality products. However, as organizations strive for greater adaptability, the roles within Agile coaching have evolved, each encompassing broader scopes and requiring distinct competencies. Understanding the progression from a Scrum Master to a Transformation Coach is essential for practitioners aiming to effectively guide teams and organizations through Agile adoption and beyond.

We’ve all seen it—the moment something goes wrong, a missed deadline, a bad decision, a failed initiative, and leadership’s knee-jerk reaction is to come down hard on someone. Maybe it’s a public takedown in a meeting. Maybe it’s an email chain with layers of blame. Maybe it’s a performance review where failure is dressed up as “missed expectations.”

Here’s the truth: Failure isn’t the problem. How we respond to it is.

Let’s face it: the Critical Path Method (CPM) is the dusty relic of a bygone era, clinging to life in boardrooms where Gantt charts are still treated like sacred texts. Born from the world of construction and manufacturing—where things are linear, predictable, and governed by gravity—CPM thrived. But software development? That’s a different beast entirely.

Scrum isn’t here to save your broken system. It won’t magically fix your dysfunction, remove organizational bottlenecks, or align leadership on priorities. But here’s what it will do—it will expose every single flaw in your system.

That’s not a flaw in Scrum. That’s the point.

Unique problems in the chaotic world of product development and delivery plague every team, business unit, or organization. One team struggles with missed deadlines, another with poor code quality, and another with disengaged stakeholders. At first glance, these challenges seem so distinct that they demand custom solutions, tailored strategies, and elaborate frameworks.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: the problems may differ, but the solutions are almost always the same—and often the simplest.

If you’re a leader reading this, let me get straight to the point: You are either the biggest enabler or the biggest obstacle to true agility in your organization. No fancy framework, no army of Scrum Masters, and no Agile Coach can fix what leadership mindset breaks.