If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
My Journey
Software - > Teams -> Team of Teams -> Managers -> Executives ->
Organizations
Gangplank
Where are you at?
Seeking Co-Founder?
Find Your Compliment
Be Clear on Value
Don’t Be Stupid
Building Team
Versatile / Polyglots
Humble. Willing to do Anything
High Learning Velocity
Embody Your Culture
Optimizing Teams
So Much. Start Crying Now.
Observations of High Performing Teams
Empowerment
Trust
Safety
Unanimity
Power of Inspection
Ability to Adapt
Only Adults Come to Work
Things that stuck.
1. Team = Product
2. Vision and values are building blocks for success.
3. Achievement requires alignment.
3a. Alignment requires trust.
3b. Trust comes from integrity, intent, capability and results.
4. Humans want to be happy.
4a. Happiness is rooted in serving others.
“Helping Frankie provides more satisfaction and makes me feel more connected and alive and myself than anything else that happens in 1996. I tell myself,
remember this, hold on to this. This is the only perfection there is, the perfection of helping others. This is the only thing that we can do that has any
lasting value or meaning. This is why we are here, to make each other feel safe.”
What does it look like?
1. Self-Awareness
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
2. Start with why?
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
Shared vision is not a statement or a goal, but rather an existential phenomenon — a state of being a
mature team that is intentionally attained.
3. Presence. Excellence.
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
Your degree of presence over a time and a particular place with a particular group determines
the extent of your results.
Connection = Mutual Presence
4. Personal Alignment. Commitment
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
In that moment, when trust unceremoniously displaces
suspicious defensive effort, you feel truly weightless and
extraordinarily lucid.
The Greatness Cycle
Smartness leads to greatness, via presence, integrity, conflict and
passion.
Regardless of Stage : Leadership
Why are these so elusive?
Egos
Leaders
Managers
Builder’s Manifesto
Principle #1
The boss drives group members.
The leader coaches them. The builder learns from them.
Principle #2
The boss depends upon authority.
The leader on goodwill.
The builder depends on good.
Principle #3The boss inspires fear.
The leader inspires enthusiasm.
The builder is inspired - by changing the world.
Principle #4
The boss inspires “I”.
The leader says “we”.
The builder says “all” - people, communities and society.
Principle #5
The boss assigns the task.
The leader sets the pace.
The builder makes sure sees the outcome.
Principle #6
The boss says, “Get there on time”
The leader says “get there ahead of time”.
The builder makes sure “getting there” matters.
Principle #7
The boss fix the blame for the breakdown.
The leader fixes the breakdown.
The builder prevents the breakdown.
Principle #8
The boss knows how;
The leader shows how.
The builder shows why.
Principle #9
The boss makes work a drudgery;
The leader makes work a game.
The builder organizes love, not work.
Principle #10
The boss says “Go”.
The leader says “Let’s go”.
The builder says “Come”.
Behaviors Manifest Culture
Culture is a Framework for Scaling
For Me Today
Self-Awareness
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
Why?
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
Tanga believes that shopping is FUN when you find something
new and exciting at a no-brainer price and.. you weren’t even
looking for it!
Tanga• I am empowered to make meaningful impact on my
customers and to my company.
• I am part of a team, my second family, who can accomplish difficult things.
• I contribute positively to the culture, and innovation business of Tanga.
• I make every single customer feel special and needed. I surprise them and delight them.
Tanga• I exceed what is expected of me time and time
again.
• My customers always understand that I care about them.
• My customers receive the best products at the best prices every single day.
• I will not pee on the toilet seat.
Client TeamCourage: We push ourselves past barriers and empower others to take bold actions; together achieving uncommon results.
Love: We speak the truth even when it hurts. Freeing others to be their best.
Excellence: We hold ourselves and others to the highest standard. Integrity: We do what we say we are going to do. We do the right thing, even when it isn't easy.
Vulnerability: We are real with ourselves and others. We are fully engaged when present and support others to do the same.
Gangplank
• Collaboration over Competition
• Community over Agendas
• Participation over Observation
• Doing over Saying
Gangplank
• Boldness over Assurance
• Learning over Expertise
• People over Personalities
• Friendship over Formality
Presence
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
I’m sad tasking doesn’t feel efficient. I’m glad I am learning
and adding value simultaneously. I am glad I got
in early today.
I am mad I hit the snooze button 3 times today. I am sad that my brother is visiting Arizona next
week and I probably won’t get to see him.
I am glad <person> still seems excited about mobile. I am
scared we will make a decision to use something like
<technology>.
Alignment
Personal, Team, Group, Organization
It is all about people.
Questions
http://derekneighbors.com
http://tanga.com
http://gangplankhq.com
30 Lessons
1. People aren’t honest. People value honesty.
2. Organizations can’t handle the truth.
3. People keep trying to scale agile instead of decoupling the organization.
4. People don’t apply agile principles to scaling.
5. Mindset is everything.
6. Culture determines long term outcomes.
7. The basics matter more than you think.
8. It’s the same questions/problems everywhere you go.
9. Vision goes a long way to achieving results.
10. Without alignment you have nothing. Stop ignoring mis-alignment.
11. Fun. Real fun. Have it regularly.
12. Going deep is the only way to build teams. [Trust]
13. Fail fast. [Go fast break sh!t]
14. Super hero coders are killing your organization.
15. Challenging the status quo daily is mandatory for survival.
16. Empathy.
17. If you think you are good or great, you have already started losing.
18. Chaos is a primer for magnificence.
19. Good Workspace design is lubricant for collaboration.
20. Values. Define them.
21. Every time you double, it is a different organism.
22. Fear is a powerful motivator. Don’t underestimate it.
23. Simple is hard.
24. Knowing the right thing to do is half the battle.
25. People are really happy being mediocre. Excellence is painful.
26. No one knows what an iteration is.
27. Good ideas are often killed by bad implementations.
28. Agile is just a tool mentality.
29. Resisting old habits and building new ones is harder than you think.
30. It is easy to get stuck / obsessed on process.