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Managing Risk the Agile Way: Like a Hedge Fund
Manage risk. Despite having backlogs, Agile doesn't manage risks–explicitly. In 2007, Paul Kedrosky noticed a rather peculiar ratio. The ratio of software developers to non-developers at a major quant fund versus a major software company: Oracle (56,000 empl.) — 1:8 (one developer for every eight employees) Renaissance Technologies (178 empl.) — 2:3 (two developers for every 3 employees) It's not […]
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How to budget for innovation
You can’t control in advance whether an investment will go up, down, or sideways in value. But you can choose how much you allocate, both in relative and in absolute terms.
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Why new tech products usually stumble, and how to prevent it at your company
Your ability to deliver as a company depends on what you’re incentivized to optimize.
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6 traps when choosing operational metrics for software or digital teams
Digital work is hard to quantify. Here’s what I’ve picked up through the years, when agreeing to project, product, and delivery metrics for software teams.
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Disproved: Stealth mode helps me crush my competition starting from day one
While it might sound like a good idea, the data indicate otherwise when launching a new product business
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How the infamous 1984 Apple launch commercial was canned…almost
Apple has always had a flair for marketing. But even in the early days, this wasn’t without its controversies.
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What Your Product Messaging is Up Against
Since Apple was founded, a number of big changes have swept the technology world. Your clients live in a very different world. As a result, you market in a different environment. If you’re a technology entrepreneur, you need to be very clear on exactly how you are addressing the following: 1. Shortening Attention Windows: If […]
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Disproved: Successful new products are launched exactly the way they are envisioned
Vision drives new products. But too much vision can kill them. Where is the line? And what really happens in high-growth startups?
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Disproved: Politcians claim entrepreneurship is the economy’s job growth engine
Politicians love claiming they are supporting job growth and innovation. But are they really? Or does it just sound good?
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How to know if your company’s agile transformation is working
The actual results of agile are significantly below what is promised. Most companies (often including vendors) applying agile focus on process, because that’s how they think they’ll get efficiency gains. But they miss key subtle points underlying how agile really works when it delivers 15x gains.
