In this edited rebroadcast from Season 2, Episode 2, we explore the surprising lessons a professional jazz quintet can teach us about business cultures and teams.

The original, unedited version with all of the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhvOJoZmTMs

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/business-and-jazz/

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A HW Show Classic Rebroadcast from 2022, this is one of our most viewed episodes, and we're excited to bring it to our broader audience.

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/but-we-must-management/

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Are you tired of wasting hours in unproductive meetings? The average professional spends over 30 hours each month in meetings that go nowhere. In this episode, we introduce the Focused Conversation method from the influential book "The Art of Focused Conversation" edited by Brian Stanfield. This isn't just a tool for better meetings—it's a transformative approach to thinking, communicating, and connecting more effectively with others.

Discover how this four-step process—Observe, Reflect, Interpret, and Decide—helps you tap into collective wisdom, foster meaningful dialogue, and bridge divides in an increasingly polarized world. We'll delve into the neuroscience showing how our brains filter information and how the Focused Conversation method overcomes these limitations to enhance decision-making and build stronger connections.

Whether you're leading a team meeting, engaging in community discussions, or seeking deeper conversations in your personal life, this episode equips you with practical tools to make a positive difference in your sphere of influence. Join us as we explore how to turn challenging discussions into opportunities for growth, collaboration, and breakthrough conversations.

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/the-art-of-focused-conversation/

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In this episode of the Humanizing Work Show, Peter and Richard delve into the often messy world of cross-team coordination. While collaborating within a team has its challenges, coordinating between teams can feel like navigating a maze—too much information, missed details, and meetings that waste everyone's time.

We explore why common approaches to cross-team coordination often fall short:

• Unstructured Meetings: Regular cross-team meetings without a clear agenda can lead to irrelevant discussions and overlooked critical topics.
• Overloading with Details: Sharing full backlogs or all team details creates noise, making it hard to identify what's truly important for coordination.

To overcome these pitfalls, we introduce a streamlined approach to cross-team meetings that saves time and ensures no important details are missed. By visualizing the agenda—not every team's workload—you can focus on what truly requires coordination.

What You'll Learn:

• A Simple Coordination Model: Discover how we at Humanizing Work use five key areas to effectively coordinate within our small team.
• A Complex Coordination Strategy: Learn about a real-world example where a dozen teams improved their cross-team meetings using visual tools and a structured agenda.
• Practical Tips: Get actionable advice on setting up your own efficient cross-team coordination meetings.

If you've ever left a cross-team meeting feeling like it was a waste of time or worried that something important was overlooked, this episode is for you.

Enjoyed the episode? Help others find the show by liking, commenting, and subscribing on YouTube, or by rating and reviewing us on your podcast platform.

Explore more resources at: humanizingwork.com

Check out the episode page for a transcript and additional links: https://www.humanizingwork.com/cross-team-coordination/

Join us as we make cross-team coordination more human, effective, and efficient—saving you time and ensuring every crucial detail is captured.

More ways to connect:

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• LinkedIn
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• Twitter - @rslawrence
• Twitter - @tptman

“We’re agile—we don’t need to plan.” “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Which is right?

In this episode, Peter and Richard explore two common mistakes around planning—either trying to plan everything or not planning at all—and why the alternative is something that looks like both planning and execution at the same time. Learn how successful organizations like Pixar use iterative planning techniques to manage complex projects, and how you can apply these principles to your work. This episode challenges common planning misconceptions and offers practical advice for leaders, product managers, and team members looking to improve their planning processes.

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/plan-or-not/

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"Strategy just gets in the way of us doing our job." - Jos de Blok, CEO of Buurtzorg

In this thought-provoking episode of the Humanizing Work Show, we examine a counterintuitive approach to leadership. While creating clarity through purpose, vision, and strategy is often crucial, sometimes the best leadership move is to step back.

We explore the case of Buurtzorg, a Dutch home healthcare provider that's challenging conventional leadership wisdom:

• When traditional purpose, vision, and strategy statements become unnecessary
• How Buurtzorg scaled to 10,000+ employees with minimal management oversight
• The power of intrinsic motivation in highly skilled professionals
• Applying the Theory of Constraints to identify true leadership priorities

Is your organization's primary constraint really a lack of purpose? Or are there more immediate barriers to success? Join us as we unpack this intriguing case study and discuss insights that could refine your approach to leadership.

This episode offers valuable perspectives for executives, team leads, and anyone interested in organizational dynamics and effective leadership.

Listen now to gain fresh insights on organizational success drivers.

For more in-depth learning, explore our online Theory of Constraints course [Link] and upcoming Humanizing Work Leadership Intensive [Link].

Subscribe to the Humanizing Work Show for regular, practical insights on leadership and organizational effectiveness.

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/when-purpose-strategy-dont-matter/

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Most projects start green but end up in crisis mode. Instead, make your project "Earn Green" by directly tackling risk and complexity first. We’ll share real-world examples of how sequencing work this way makes the end of the project calm and peaceful, even when you can't ship incrementally. Whether you're a project manager seeking on-time delivery or an Agile advocate looking to make a difference, this episode offers practical insights to transform your project outcomes.

Key topics:

• The pitfalls of traditional green-yellow-red status reporting
• How to "earn green" by addressing complexity early
• Balancing Agile principles with non-incremental delivery constraints
• Practical skills for recognizing and tackling project risks
• Real-world success stories from Adobe's transformation

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/earn-green/

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In this action-packed episode of the Humanizing Work Show, hosts Peter and Richard break down the art of delivering thoughtful, articulate responses to unexpected questions. Whether you're a coach, nonprofit leader, or professional looking to enhance your communication skills, this episode offers concrete strategies you can start using today.

Learn five key techniques to master impromptu speaking:

1. Develop your "vocabulary" through daily writing exercises
2. Use recording and transcription to refine your thoughts
3. Practice in low-stakes environments to build confidence
4. Employ mental models to quickly analyze complex situations
5. Shift your focus from self to others by getting curious about what they really need

Richard shares his personal journey of developing these skills, offering relatable examples and actionable advice. You'll also get a preview of an upcoming workshop designed to help you put these techniques into practice.

Don't let unexpected questions leave you speechless. Tune in now to gain the tools you need to speak confidently and effectively in any situation. Transform your on-the-spot responses from a source of stress to a powerful professional asset.

Episode page: https://www.humanizingwork.com/on-the-spot-questions/

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