Author: Andrew Parker
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S3E15 – Vacationcast: An Announcement
Show Notes In this special ‘vacation cast’ episode, Andy shares an important announcement. Transcript Andy: Welcome back! This time it’s a vacation cast with me, Andy, and Mon-Chaio is probably away on Easter holidays while I’m recording this. So normally in my vacation cast I talk about something that I’ve been reading, something I’ve been…
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S3E14 – Does the Empiricism of TSP Provide a Path Forward?
Show Notes Andy and Mon-Chaio continue their journey into organizational models by discussing the Team Software Process (TSP). They touch briefly on the origins and history of TSP, its relationship with the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) from Carnegie Mellon, and how it helps teams organize their software development processes. The discussion takes a turn to…
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S3E12 – The 4 Spheres of Knowledge for Diagnosis
Show Notes In this episode of Tactics for Tech Leadership, Andy and Mon-Chaio dive into the discipline of organizational diagnosis through the lens of the paper ‘Organizational Diagnosis: an Evidence-Based Approach’ by McFillen, Balzer, Varney, and O’Neil. They discuss the need for a rigorous approach to diagnosis in organizational design and change. The focus is…
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S3E10 – SWIFTly Understanding Failure Modes
Show Notes In this Tactics for Tech Leadership podcast episode, Andy and Mon-Chaio explore SWIFT (Structured What If Technique). While traditionally seen as a technical tool for failure analysis, the hosts consider its potential applications in leadership and organizational contexts. Listeners will learn how SWIFT can help anticipate system failures even before they occur, from…
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S3E8 – 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
Show Notes Andy and Mon-Chaio explore Patrick Lencioni’s concept of the five dysfunctions of a team, discussing how absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results interrelate to impact team performance. They reflect on their own experiences and the importance of productive conflict, peer accountability, and commitment…
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S3E6 – 6 Box Model
Show Notes Andy and Mon-Chaio explore Marvin Weisbord’s Six Box Model, a framework from the 1970s for diagnosing organizational issues. They explain each of the six parts of the model: purpose, structure, relationships, rewards, leadership, and helpful mechanisms, and then illustrate it being used to assess an example software development company. Listeners will learn how…
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S3E4 – Action Science
Show Notes Andy and Mon-Chaio explore the dense yet insightful book ‘Action Science’ by Chris Argyris. They discuss Argyris’s method of developing self-knowledge to break existing norms and achieve actionable knowledge. The conversation covers the core principles and propositions of action science, including the importance of understanding one’s reasoning, questioning underlying assumptions, and fostering mutual…
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S3E2 – A Journey into Differential Diagnosis
Show Notes In this episode, Andy and Mon Chiao explore differential diagnosis. They clarify what differential diagnosis truly entails and how it can be applied in technical settings, particularly within software teams. The hosts illustrate its importance through real-world scenarios, emphasizing the balance between gathering information and taking corrective action, the consequences of different types…
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S2E52 – Festive Ferments
Show Notes In this special end-of-year episode, Andy and Mon-Chaio reflect on the highlights and challenges of 2024, discussing their most memorable podcast episodes. As is tradition on the podcast, the Christmas episode is something different. Mon-Chaio and Andy explain their experiments with fermentation, sharing intriguing recipes and techniques involving shiokoji, hot sauce, and Christmas…
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S2E49 – Scaling Up: From Garage to Global (Part 4 of 5)
Show Notes This is the fourth in a multi-part series that will explore the various stages of scaling a company using a hypothetical startup scenario inspired by ride-sharing services. Mon-Chaio and Andy advance into the next phase of scaling up a hypothetical ride-sharing company, exploring how it might transition to food delivery. They discuss the…