Since publishing best-selling book, Project to Product, technology business leader, Dr. Mik Kersten, has introduced transformative frameworks and ideas for delivering software at scale. He has given numerous standing room only keynotes and presentations worldwide and is an internationally recognized thought-leader. In this podcast, Mik + One, nothing is off the record as Mik sits down with industry leading guests and delves into how they deliver value and drive digital transformations in their organizations. Tune in for a new episode every two weeks! Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode. Follow Mik on X: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.projecttoproduct.org
Episodes
Friday Jun 17, 2022
Friday Jun 17, 2022
Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Sejal Amin, current Chief Product and Technology Officer for Khoros, where she leads global product development teams to build great experiences for customers.
In this episode, Mik and Sejal discuss a wide range of topics around continuous improvement, team health, organizational design, and flow.
Key discussions include:
- Lessons Sejal learned from making the shift from project to product and barriers to overcome when making that shift
- The importance of team culture and emphasizing the health of the team
- Strategies to accelerate and make lasting organizational changes that focus on outcomes; including an example of a structure and data-driven environment in which teams can thrive
- Proven tools that increase team performance to effectively work around data and flow
- Structuring a product and team hierarchy that is conducive to a successful project to product transformation that enables continuous learning, improvement and innovation
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Geordie Henderson, General Manager of AWS Messaging and Streaming at Amazon Web Services, and previously the VP of Engineering at Hootsuite.
In this episode, Mik and Geordie share insights into organizational design and innovation to build, integrate and lead successful software organizations, as well as other key topics including:
- An overview of Geordie’s experience in scaling high-performing teams at Amazon Web Services and Hootsuite, and advice to leaders on the missteps to avoid
- Implementing the correct team structures and dynamics when optimizing flow for business outcomes
- How to successfully approach creating microservices teams and managing product needs
- The concept of Single Threader Owners (STOs) and the role of product and engineering leadership when organizing around products vs. technology
- Input versus output metrics and the importance of having set goals when evolving team structure
- Advice to leaders on creating the dynamic and structure required for driving innovation within the organization
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Geordie Henderson and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/geordie-henderson/
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
In this episode of Mik + One, Mik is joined by Darrell Fernandes, Head of Product Technology at TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural and governmental fields.
In this episode, Mik and Darrell discuss themes around driving organizational improvement and customer value, as well as other topics including:
- The five key accountabilities that all IT product managers should consider when thinking about how an IT product fits within the market
- Insights into successfully building out Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that align with the business outcomes and deliver customer value
- Organizing cross-functional Agile Release Trains (ARTs) as capabilities and guidance for building them into the business and technology roadmap
- Operationalizing at a business level and advice on educating leadership and business counterparts when getting buy-in
- Recognizing success and building incentives that strengthen how the teams operate to become more innovative, efficient and value-focused
- Advice on how to approach and introduce Flow within the organization to deliver greater business value
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Darrell Fernandes and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/darrell-fernandes/
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Manuel Pais, co-author of Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow.
In this episode, Mik and Manuel discuss some of the key themes in Team Topologies, as well as other topics including:
- Manuel's learnings and key tips on how to effectively manage team collaboration in the shift to remote-first and hybrid working
- The relationship between the ideas behind the Flow Framework and Team Topologies
- Advice on how to set up value streams to enable and improve team flow and capacity when delivering digital experiences
- Implementing a reorganization and advice to leaders on how to approach this, and why it’s important to understand, implement and evolve the team topology
- Treating platforms as products and the importance of investing in platform teams to manage cognitive load and provide greater value to customers
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Manuel Pais and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/manuel-pais/
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
Episode 41: Bank of New Zealand on Applying the Flow Metrics at Scale
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
To kick off the first episode of 2022, Mik is joined by two guests from Bank of New Zealand: Paul Littlefair, Chief Technology Officer, and BMK Lakshminarayanan, Value Stream Architect.
In this episode, Mik, Paul and BMK delve into how Bank of New Zealand has been applying the shift from Project to Product and Flow Metrics, and other key topics including:
- Insight into how Bank of New Zealand’s transformation journey started, and the goals they first set out to achieve
- The importance of investing in continuous improvement, and rewarding for improvement and not just output
- Getting leadership buy-in, and why reporting the developer experience at the board level is crucial to enabling flow and visibility
- Introducing education around flow at all levels to create continuous learning across the organization, and insight into how Bank of New Zealand has executed this
- How tenacity, pivoting and starting today has brought a large enterprise organization like Bank of New Zealand on a great trajectory to getting things deployed, and how they’ve adapted their learnings at scale
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Paul Littlefair and BMK Lakshminarayanan and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/bank-of-new-zealand/
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Happy Holidays: A Message From Dr. Mik Kersten
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
We're taking a break for the holidays, but Dr. Mik Kersten, Tasktop Founder & CEO, and best-selling author of 'Project to Product', has left a short message to thank all of you for tuning in over the last year.
We'll be back with new episodes in 2022, however in the meantime, keep in touch by joining the Flow Framework Slack Community.
Built on communal learning, trust and professional development, this community provides a safe space to connect with business and technology leaders seeking to develop expertise in the transition from project to product, value stream management, Flow Metrics and the Flow Framework.
You will find a dedicated #ProjectToProduct channel where you can share success stories and challenges about your transformation journeys, ask questions and receive advice from your peers and even leave Mik a note about the podcast and suggestions for future guests! Mik has even made it his new year's resolution to check-in on discussion topics that arise from the podcast.
Join now: https://flowframework.org/flow-framework-community/
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
We’re delighted to welcome back Leffingwell, Co-founder and Chief Methodologist at Scaled Agile. Dean is an entrepreneur and software development methodologist best known for creating SAFe®, the most widely used framework for business Agility.
In this episode, Mik and Dean focus on practices and behaviors of high-performing teams, digging into their own experiences on what makes teams thrive. Additional topics include:
- Dean’s learnings on what he has seen with large transformations using SAFe
- Insight into how and why the Flow Metrics were incorporated into SAFe 5.1
- The importance of predictability in the enterprise
- The evolution of the Scrum Master role
- Measuring the system and outcomes, the different levels of team metrics, and who owns the Flow competency, outcomes and improvements of those metrics
- What makes a high performing team in 2021 and what Dean’s predictions on how this may look in 2025
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Dean Leffingwell and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/dean-leffingwell-2/
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Episode 39: Sally Elatta on Business Agility and Measurement
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Sally Elatta, CEO and Founder of AgilityHealth and Agile Videos.
In this episode, Mik and Sally discuss the importance of using business agility and measurement as critical ways in driving innovation, as well as other key topics such as:
- Sally’s business agility journey and her learnings from over the years
- Insight into some of the biggest surprises from AgilityHealth’s study on metrics and measurements
- The success patterns of creating a roadmap for improvement of change, and the importance of continuous improvement, removing obstacles and developing talent
- Defining growth items and some examples of them that help teams become high-performing
- The difference between business outcomes and transformation outcomes and why they are crucial at different levels of the organization
- Advice and guidance to leaders on how to get started or scale these initiatives
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Sally Elatta and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/sally-elatta/
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Episode 38: Dave Snowden on The Cynefin Framework
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
In this episode, Mik is joined by Dave Snowden, CSO & Founder of Cognitive Edge and Director of the Cynefin Center.
In this episode, Mik and Dave talk about the development of Cynefin, a framework for decision making, and other key topics including:
- The Cynefin framework and some of the existing methodologies and techniques that have been developed
- Examples of things that have gone in the wrong direction as a result of not understanding some of the first principles
- The best practices for technology leaders to identify and thrive through chaotic events or chaotic environments
- Guidance on how to take aspects of each framework and put them together in different combinations
- Advice on how to approach the Cynefin framework at various levels of leadership
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Dave Snowden and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/dave-snowden/
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Episode 37: Felipe Castro on Connecting Business Agility To OKRs
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
We're back! And what an episode we have to kick things off. Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Felipe Castro, renowned author, speaker and trainer on objectives and key results (OKRs).
In this episode, Mik and Felipe talk about how Felipe helps organizations transform how they use goals by adopting OKRs, and other key topics such as:
- How Felipe became an early adopter of OKRs
- Common mistakes organizations use when leveraging OKRs
- Why unlearning is the solution to change the ways of working
- The importance of shortening Feedback loops to manage risks and connect people to outcomes
- Characteristics of successful modern product teams
Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.
Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com
For more information about Felipe Castro and to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/felipe-castro/