95: Becoming Agile

Get involved with The Product Management Center. Learn more at https://ipma.info.foster.uw.edu/   In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak welcome Larry Apke (T-Mobile) as they discuss how to become agile. It's important for PMs to become agile because Agile methodologies promote adaptability, collaboration, and customer-centricity. In today's fast-paced business environment, products and market conditions can change rapidly. Agile practices, such as Scrum or Kanban, enable PMs to iterate quickly, gather frequent feedback, and adjust their product strategies accordingly. This approach helps teams deliver value more efficiently, respond to customer needs effectively, and stay ahead in competitive markets.   Disclaimer: All opinions of the speakers are their own.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 06:29 Waterfall vs. Agile 07:54 The Agile Manifesto 09:32 Waterfall tendencies 11:04 Who is responsible to drive agile? 12:11 Common misperceptions about what it means to be agile 13:57 Discrepancy between philosophy and frameworks 16:09 Safe certifications 18:15 Understanding the why 21:51 Embracing negative feedback 25:18 Implementing agile 29:53 Proper sequencing of the backlog 31:55 Having leadership understand the cost of delay  36:06 Investing time in the discovery phase 39:04 How to get leadership out of the priority mindset? 44:39 Avoiding horizontal slicing  50:13 Golden Rule of Agile