191: The Agile Mindset

Agile mindset for teams, writing as a way to remove bias and learnings about parenting

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Unrelated: How Writing Can Clarify Your Thoughts and Remove Bias

Writing is a great way to pressure your thinking: it's hard to summarize something you need help understanding. By trying to explain an idea, you'll test many framings, flesh out its edges, and see new connections. Writing makes a train of thought visible. The process put pressure on the idea. Writing exposes gaps in understanding. It is easier to explain something with the knowledge. Writing is where we clash views, fledge out edges and find potential connections.

Writing can help eliminate bias. We can gain further insight into our thoughts by revisiting our written notes. A blank page reflects your thoughts, and when your ideas are unclear, your words on the page will be too. We don't have to share everything we create with others. Instead, we can have internal conversations by writing down our thoughts. Writing helps us organize ideas and create knowledge rather than just transmitting information. Writing can help us get into a flow state and improve our writing skills. In addition to conveying a clear message, our writing must serve a purpose. It should be well-structured and persuasive, but it must be valuable. With this, our writing is meaningful. 

Off Topic: How to Discipline Your Children Without Punishment

In practice, mindful discipline means approaching each situation with curiosity. Why did my child do that? Usually, the answer has to do with emotions and goals. What emotion were they trying to express? What purpose were they trying to do? What lesson do I want them to learn right now? How should I deliver that lesson? This answer may vary depending on the answer to the first question. This answer will also depend on the specifics of the situation. For example, if your daughter is two years old, she may be too young to understand jealousy, so you may need to simplify how you deliver your lesson. But older children can understand nuanced emotions so that you can discuss jealousy more in-depth with them.

It is crucial to refrain from using bribery or threats to make our children believe what we desire them to. When parents are on autopilot, they often resort to two common punishments: time-outs and spanking. This often escalates kids' strong emotions rather than helping them calm down. Spanking, like time-outs, often escalates dramatic situations. When a child's primitive brain is engaged, it's almost impossible for her to think about the experience, so she'll continue acting out.

Many parents misunderstand discipline to mean punishment. Discipline is about teaching children to improve their behavior. Discipline has two goals. In the short term, it aims to establish close cooperation with children by redirecting them to positive behavior. In the long term, it helps children develop skills like empathy and emotional regulation to serve them throughout their lives. Children will make better decisions and need less discipline as they get these skills. With consistent and loving discipline, children's brains form new. Positive connections are a foundation for healthy relationships and good mental health later in life.

Current Work: The Agile Mindset

In the engineering industry, teams may follow the habit of following agile processes. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence and can be improved upon. If your team is in this "agile zombie mode," consider starting fresh. Begin with a clean slate and add processes to address your problems. Take ownership of the process and only include tasks that add value to the business. Keep things simple and remove any unnecessary steps. Remember, the ultimate goal is to provide value to the customer. It's important to note that providing value doesn't mean releasing a product or feature to the public. If something is valuable but has yet to be shared, it's not benefiting anyone. That's why in Modern Agile, we strive to find ways to deliver the proper outcomes faster. This involves identifying smaller increments that can be deployed now instead of later.

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