Why write Mastering Work Intake?

Why write Mastering Work Intake? Because Jeremy Willets and Tom Cagley decided maybe things could be different. That just chanting “stop starting and stop finishing” wasn’t enough. Our book provides the reader with ideas, principles, actionable advice, worksheets, and examples to help you tame the chaos of work entry. If you had the world enough and time maybe you could put off getting better, making better choices until tomorrow. However, things are the way they are and you can act.

Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake – https://bit.ly/474ul6G 

You could read the book on your own. Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher and Roman Emperor, wrote. “Mastery of reading and writing requires a master,” Jeremy and I have created two cohort-based workshops (starting soon) to help you discover the context you need to find your path to Mastering Work Intake.  Join us!

The link to Maven to register and for more information: https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 

SPaMCAST listeners, use SPAM50 at checkout to save 50 USD.

 

Craft and Defend Organizational Culture, An Interview with Peter Schroeder, SPaMCAST 805

SPaMCAST 805 features our interview with Peter Schroeder. We discuss plane crashes, fatherhood, and the journey from DJ to a technologist and then to a business person. Organizational culture is critical in all organizations, double in distributed environments. Peter discusses how he learned to craft and defend organizational culture. 

 

Rule #2: Embrace Boredom, Deep Work Chapter 5, Re-read Saturday WK 6

Our society has a concentration problem. I was recently in line at Costco and as I was waiting to check out I pulled out my phone and began deleting emails. After a few moments, I remembered Rule #2, Embrace Boredom. I put my phone back in my pocket and looked around, everyone else was looking at their phone or actively interacting with others. A better use of the time would be contemplating a large essay I am writing on how different roles interact with the Nine Core Principles of Work Intake. Parts of the topic are clear cut while others are nuanced. Instead of spending my time in “high-stimuli/ low-value” activities, mind candy, the time would be better spent thinking about a deeper issue. Newport’s idea in this chapter is less to be bored than to create space where you can do deep work. The pings, dings, and kitten videos need to be pushed aside.

 

Applying The Nine Core Principles of Work Intake and Why Organizations Do Projects with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 804

The Nine Core Principles of Work Intake are a key backbone of Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and Tom Cagley. Teams and organizations need to apply these principles to avoid chaos. In the SPaMCAST 804, we illustrate the application of the Nine Core Principles based on role and organizational hierarchy beginning with the classic Scrum team roles.

We also have a visit from Susan Patente, who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast. This installment discusses why organizations do projects and their role in society.

 

Rule #1: Work Deeply, Re-read Saturday WK 5, Deep Work Chapter 4

The second part of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport contains the rules and ideas for learning to work deeply. Chapter Four, Rule 1, is titled Work Deeply. When I read this chapter for the first time I was listening to the audiobook while jogging. I initially felt that the chapter title was trite. The title reminded me of the Steven Martin joke, “You can become a millionaire and never pay taxes.” After announcing the name of the joke, Martin states with a deadpan face, “First you get a million dollars and not pay taxes. When the tax person comes you tell them two simple words. You forgot.” (Link) Fortunately, Newport follows the title with ideas for avoiding the superficial and making space for deep work. 

 

Mastering Work Intake – What is Work Intake?

Our video provides a quick overview of Work Intake and why it is important. Enjoy and let’s discuss the concept. Learn to solve IT’s dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it.  Today we are also announcing two new Mastering Work Intake training opportunities.

Diagnose and solve work intake anti-patterns

Become a work intake master. Work intake is the biggest challenge facing organizations today. If you don’t get work intake right, you won’t be in business for very long.

We offer two different versions of the cohort —

• One with pre-recorded videos and less time in live sessions. (Begins May 3 – 24th)
• One with fewer videos and more time in live sessions. (Begins May 31 – June 28

Both versions include teaching, peer feedback & discussion, feedback from Jeremy and Tom, Q&A, templates, and an electronic copy of our book, Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery.

Enroll or join our mailing list using the links below:  

https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7

 

Time For Agile To Buy Mom or Dad Jeans? A Conversation with Mark Metze, Jeremy Willets, and Tom Cagley, SPaMCAST 802

The SPaMCAST 802 features a panel discussion.  Mark Metze, Jeremy Willets, and myself. discuss “Is agile still a movement or has it reached middle age?”  We weigh the appropriateness of wailing and gnashing of teeth, hand wringing and sullen withdrawal, or pragmatism and philosophy. In the end, perhaps the right answer is to buy a pair of mom or dad jeans and accept that all great movements reach middle age at some point. We look forward to your opinions and comments.  

 

Deep Work Beats Shallow Work Re-read Saturday WK 4, Deep Work Chapter 3

Chapter 3, Deep Work is Meaningful completes Part 1 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. If you are reading this chapter for the first time, my interpretation of the author’s intent is not to prove that deep work is meaningful but rather to argue that it is more meaningful than shallow work. If that ethical dichotomy is true, spending more time on deep work is better than less. Note, that later chapters will show that a simple tradeoff is not straightforward. 

 

Winning Without Focus? Myth Debunked and Soft Skills Are Hard – SPaMCAST 801 with Kies Kostaqi

The SPaMCAST 801 will examine the question, “When is not having clear priorities a winning strategy?” While the answer might seem self-evident, I am not sure people and organizations put their money where their mouth is.

We also have Kies Kostaqi’s You Are Not Alone column. This installment highlights the soft skills required to be an effective Scrum Master. Soft does not mean unimportant or easy to develop.

How can you spread the word about Mastering Work Intake? The best way is to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you buy your books. Reviews increase the likelihood that someone like you will discover the book!  

 

Conformity Wins – Least Effort, Most Follow, Re-read Saturday WK 3, Deep Work Chapter 2

I was not in the workplace in the 1950’s so I can not remember the classic 1950s open office. But I have seen ghosts of approach over the years, ranging from cube farms to agile team rooms. The most startling was an office with 12 small standing desks around the perimeter and a four-person table in the middle (two chairs were missing because they did not fit). This horror story was presented as an agile team room that fostered collaboration and serendipity. The two times I walked by the room, at least half the team was somewhere else and the rest had noise-canceling headphones on and a little sign that said: “Do not disturb”.  This is not apocryphal. Chapter 2 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport, Deep Work Is Rare, describes a work environment where deep work is difficult.