Age of Product’s Food for Thought of June 18th, 2017—shared with 9,329 peers—clarifies why agile is by no means a silver bullet, and why there are no Scrum heroes. (Yub, Scrum is a rockstar free zone as there is no I in ‘team.’)

We then learn about flow theory, the theory of constraints, systems thinking, as well as lead and cycle time first hand from the example of Henry Ford and the Model T.

On the product side, we come to understand that measuring of what customers want is impossible, and that ‘idea debt’ needs to eliminated to be creative. We also learn when to say and how to say no to our bosses.

Have a great week!

Scrum Heroes & Agile

Scott Sehlhorst (via Tyner Blain ): The Potential of Agile Scott Sehlhorst considers the idea of agile being a silver bullet for organizational dysfunctions both dangerous and hard to manage.

Clemens Lode (via Front Row Agile ): Scrum Does Not Need Heroes Clemens Lode reminds us that Scrum is a rockstar free zone.

John Yorke : Henry Ford – Master of flow John Yorke details the steps Henry Ford took to continuously improve the production of the Model T—a good metaphor for today’s software delivery.

Ron Eringa (via Scrum.org ): Evolution of the Agile Manager Ron Eringa describes an idealized change (and career) pattern for managers embarking on their agile journey.

Jason Knight : Values I Value Jason Knight created a list of values: from Zappos and Netflix via SoftwareEthics.org to the agile manifesto.

From the Blog: 21 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns

What ceremony could better embody scrum’s ‘inspect and adapt’ mantra than the sprint retrospective? I assume all agile peers agree that even the simplest retrospective—if only held regularly—is far more useful than having a fancy one once in a while, or in the worst case having none at all. And there is always room for improvement. Learn more about 21 common sprint retrospective anti-patterns.

Read More: 21 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns

Product & Lean

Alan Klement : The Illusion of Measuring What Customers Want Alan Klement states that any method promising to measure what your customers want is a scam. 🏆 TIP OF THE WEEK—If you only can afford 10 minutes, read this one!

Nick Douglas (via Lifehacker ): Kill Your Old Ideas So You Can Be More Creative Nick Douglas shares his method to free himself from idea debt and open the mind for the next big thing.

Julie Zhuo : No No No Julie Zhuo elaborates on two essential skills in a PM’s life: Knowing when to say ‘no,' and how to say ‘no.'

Shaun Juncal (via ProductPlan ): 10 Product Management Takeaways from Mind the Product 2017 Shaun Juncal summarizes his key takeaways from the 2017 San Francisco ‘Mind the Product’ conference.