Every profession—and every discipline—has a set of foundational books that define the essential principles, the guiding philosophies and the essential practices of a given domain. Every person is unique. Each of us is a product of our genes, our formative experiences and the path of evolution we have followed into adulthood. For many of us,…
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We Are All Liminal Now It feels almost redundant to say this: we are living through what feels like an enormously unprecedented period. It’s not, wholly. The world has seen crises like this before. But not often. The magnitude—and the visibility—of the Covid-19 pandemic has taken over our imaginations, and our lives, in a way…
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Agile development hit mainstream recognition a long time ago. Yet there is often uncertainty and turmoil around what “agile development” means, in theory and in practice, and the place of testing within it. The confusion affects agile projects and the people in them. There have been some discussion points, such as Mike Cohn’s Agile Testing…
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While we often don’t have any formal authority or power to initiate a change, we might have influence. Regardless of where we sit in the power structure, it is possible to become a driving force for change. It’s not easy, it might cost us more than we are willing to pay, but making change happen…
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It’s that time of year again, when Peter and Mark explore the best books that they have read (or re-read, or re-re-read, or… you get the point) in the past year. The point being that they may have been published in 2019. But regardless of when they were published, they were most certainly relevant and…
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For some, life feels like an endless journey of excitement and accomplishment. They move from success to success, opportunity to opportunity, revelling in their ability to show up, face the challenges of the day and successfully apply their skills and talents. For others, life feels like an endless tunnel of dread and anxiety. The move…
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Inferior communication often results in increased stress, lost opportunities, misused resources, lost money and wasted time. Relationships and projects suffer. Effective communication builds relationships, boosts career success and enhances project completion. Say what you mean, get your message understood and acted upon. This month, guest presenter George Torok dives into strategies to communicate effectively and…
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For some, life feels like an endless journey of excitement and accomplishment. They move from success to success, opportunity to opportunity, revelling in their ability to show up, face the challenges of the day and successfully apply their skills and talents. For others, life feels like an endless tunnel of dread and anxiety. The move…
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When I became a manager, I was incredibly naïve about what it meant ‘to manage’. I micro-managed everything. I had no sense of how to spend my time. I rushed from one task to another without any attempt to think about what I should be doing and ultimately, I failed in my new role. Not…
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The topic of facilitation is continuing to preoccupy us (and this webinar series). Mark’s final comment last month was that “success in facilitiating is abstract.” There is no way to directly measure it, except by whether or not you helped guide the group to where it needed to go. And a great question we didn’t…
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