Recording of some of the stories
Discussions between the stories were not recorded.
Moderator: Mary Lynn Manns, co-author of Fearless Change & More Fearless Change
We will begin at 10:00 on the dot.
Linda Rising, Learning Means Change
The Campfire will kick-off with a provocative story. Can Linda do it? What if she learned something that could up-end some long-cherished ideas about influencing others? "Facts don't always convince" has been a watchword of both Fearless Change books, including something called the "backfire" effect. Now, Linda has learned that both of these maxims may not hold up all the time. Tune in to see how this story turns out!
Linda is the co-author of Fearless Change & More Fearless Change. She is an independent consultant, trainer, speaker, writer with a focus on agile development, patterns, retrospectives, the change process, and the connection between the latest neuroscience and software development.
Steve Berczuk. Life Lessons from the Classroom
We’re taught that rules can bring order, and we are sometimes taught that rules shouldn’t be followed blindly. Steve shares a somewhat banal experience he had in high school that made a big impression about how he thought about context and when to Question Authority.
Steve Berczuk is a software developer who is fascinated by the role of people systems in software development. www.berczuk.com
Steffani Brasil. How to just create connections at work - a Just Do It story
There is power in the "Just Do It" Fearless Change pattern for creating human connections as a remote worker. This story is told with the hope that we will one day hear more about this change being part of remote work.
Stefanni is the co-founder of hexdevs, a Senior Developer at Thoughtbot, and a core maintainer of faker-ruby.
Eric Willeke. Growing the Dandelion
The impact of change is seen and felt in many ways. Sometimes it's about the landscape we create, and sometimes it's about the seeds that get away.
Eric is a long-time agile transformation leader focusing on growing the capabilities of agile change leaders and the coaches that support them.
Tsvetelina Plummer. Cultural integration - is there such a thing?
Can cultures blend or does one always come on top? When going through a merger/acquisition, every employee has at least one question - "what will change for me?" How can we be evangelists and at the same time be fearless in getting things done in a new way? These are some questions (& answers?) from a very hot merger kitchen!
Tsvetelina is a senior agile coach at the market research company GfK which has recently merged with Nielsen IQ. She is focusing on unleashing the potential of continuous learning to conquer scale and enable rapid innovation.
Johanna Rothman, How I Lost My Balance and Gained New Insights on Agility
We see so many examples of faux-agile that I worry that real agility is no longer. But then I realize most of us practice agility in real life: set a goal, take a small step, and get some feedback. How have you seen real agility in your life or work?
Johanna, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice about all aspects of managing product development. See her writing and books at jrothman.com and createadaptablelife.com.
BREAK
Chris Swisher, Low Hanging Fruit is Unexpectedly Bitter
Discovering organizational culture, the hard way. Years later, they still talk about what I did…but not in a good way. How simple acts can expose deeper unspoken boundaries and clues about change readiness.
Chris is a Leadership Coach and Principal Consultant for Evans Consulting, Inc., dedicated to resolving leadership challenges and addressing the people side of change. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisswisher/
Patty Payette, PhD, Confessions of a Change Agent
Patty will talk about how she harnessed the patterns of Fearless Change to put her relationships with colleagues at the center of her organizational change conversations and the "good, bad and the ugly" lessons learned on the journey.
Patty has been collaborating with faculty, staff and students to introduce and sustain innovative teaching methods in higher education since 2007. She is a scholar practitioner who coaches other academic leaders to make their change agendas happen on campus, and publishes about her strategies.
Diana Larsen, Stepping into Speaking the Uncomfortable (for me and others)
One time a colleague startled me with the description “Diana, is the person who will say what everyone in the room is thinking but won’t say.” While it can be uncomfortable, I will share how I’ve learned the value that impulse can bring to my community, to my clients, and to me.
Diana, also known as a Visionary Pragmatic, Retrospective Goddess, and Leadership Agility Advisor, engages with challenges that emerge at the intersection of team improvement, learning, and leadership. Discover more about her contributions at dianalarsen.com.
Richard P. Gabriel, Dangerous Waterhole
In nature, a waterhole in an otherwise dry countryside provides essential water to all animals within travel distance. It is a commons, but a commons to predator and prey alike. In Kenya, for example, elephants, hippos, giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, gazelles, crocodiles, leopards, and many other species gather at waterholes to take a drink or have a quick dip. Predators know prey must visit; prey know predators must visit. It is dangerous. The most intriguing change to make in the world is to create a dangerous waterhole.
Richard has many years of experience as a researcher at IBM and Sun Microsystems. He is now a poet, writer, and computer scientist living in California—see his writings at https://dreamsongs.com.
Zorina Alliata & Hara Gavriliadi. Embracing Innovation Together
This is a story about the partnership between humans and machines, where automation paved the way for more meaningful human interactions. In the near future, we will witness how this collaboration becomes more common. Can we ensure that humanity remains the driving force at the heart of innovation?
Zorina and Hara work in AI and Customer Experience at Amazon. They work with global companies to help them design strategies and implement data, ML and AI-powered products and services.
As we think about what we learned during the Campfire, we will wrap-up with an important discussion
How can we make change when we can't talk with each other?
Rachel Keith & Mary Lynn Manns
Rachel is a producer in One Small Step and Mary Lynn was one of the participants. Rachel will discuss this nationwide initiative that is helping to bridge political divides, one conversation at a time. Mary Lynn will tell a story about how the experience affected her.
Rachel is a reporter and host for WHQR Public Media in Wilmington, North Carolina. Mary Lynn Manns is the co-author of Fearless Change.