Remote working is the new reality, and transactional work – provided by freelancers, contract employees or consultants – has increased exponentially. It is forecast that as much as half the labor force will be working independently and virtually by 2020.Most organizations are still grappling with how to effectively manage their virtual staff and how to effectively support and motivate them – an increasingly urgent task as more Millennials join the workforce, bringing changed attitu...

The Provocative and Practical Guide to Coaching Agile TeamsAs an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence.More and more frequently, ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams. But it’s a challenging role. It requires new skills—as well as a subtle understandin...

THE RIGHT PHRASE FOR EVERY SITUATION . . . EVERY TIMEThe ability to craft an employee review that is meaningful and change-driven is what separates average supervisors from great managers. How often, though, have you struggled to find the most appropriate words for your needs?This completely revised and updated second edition of Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews provides hundreds of ready-made phrases you can use to clearly communicate any employee's perfor...

Whether it's interviewing for a job, evaluating employee performance, setting goals for the future, or keeping customers happy, the Perfect Phrases series has the tools for precise, effective business communication. Distilling complex ideas into specific phrases that diplomatically and honestly depict the concepts at hand, this invaluable series provides:Ways to enhance customer service in any businessDialogues and scripts to practice interactions with customers or ...

FORGE A POWERFUL STRATEGY TO BECOME A PRODUCT MANAGER WHO DELIVERS RESULTSThe world of business is moving at breakneck speed. More is being demanded of everyone--with fewer resources than ever. In no profession is this more apparent than Product Management.Written by one of today's leading Product Management thought-leaders, Steven Haines, The Product Manager's Survival Guide provides best practices, practical on-the-job advice, and a step-by-step blueprint for s...

Best practices for managing projects in agile environments—now updated with new techniques for larger projectsToday, the pace of project management moves faster. Project management needs to become more flexible and far more responsive to customers. Using Agile Project Management (APM), project managers can achieve all these goals without compromising value, quality, or business discipline. In Agile Project Management, Second Edition, renowned agile pioneer Jim Highsmith thoroughly ...

"This is the most complete change methodology we have found anywhere."—Pete Fox, General Manager, Corporate Accounts, Microsoft USIn these turbulent times, competent change leadership is a most coveted leadership skill, and savvy change consultants are becoming trusted participants at the board table. For both leaders and consultants, knowing how to navigate the complexities of organization transformation is fast becoming the key to a succes...

Apply software-inspired management concepts to accelerate modern marketingIn many ways, modern marketing has more in common with the software profession than it does with classic marketing management. As surprising as that may sound, it's the natural result of the world going digital. Marketing must move faster, adapt more quickly to market feedback, and manage an increasingly complex set of customer experience touchpoints. All of these challenges are shaped by the...

"Why can't you get what you really want from IT? All you desire is a ready-and-willing partner to help you exploit IT to drive your business. Instead, you get endless rules and regulations, not to mention processes, projects, and technologies that deliver too little, too late, for too much. It's frustrating!How to build a relationship that puts you firmly in control and produces the business results you need? In The 8 Things We Hate About IT, Susan Cramm provides the answers.

Does your Agile team experience the following common problems?• Members use established Agile practices and tools, but with little motivation or buy-in.• Even though the team is cross-functional, members don't collaborate effectively or leverage everyone's abilities.• Rather than act empowered, they wait for permission and approval.• Improvement has stalled – the team performs okay, but it can do so much better.You can't solve these problems with more p...

Some companies think that adopting devops means bringing in specialists or a host of new tools. With this practical guide, you’ll learn why devops is a professional and cultural movement that calls for change from inside your organization. Authors Ryn Daniels and Jennifer Davis provide several approaches for improving collaboration within teams, creating affinity among teams, promoting efficient tool usage in your company, and scaling up what works throughout your organization’s i...

THE RIGHT PHRASE FOR EVERYSITUATION . . . EVERY TIMEEmployees respond to organizational change with worry, fear, and sometimeseven panic. Your job is to keep them motivated and focused—so you mustchoose your words carefully during times of upheaval.Perfect Phrases for Communicating Change has hundreds of ready-to-use phrasesfor ensuring your employees make the transition with clarity, commitment, andskill. Learn the most effective language for:...