I was a big fan of Rework and always felt the principles of that book were a great embodiment of the spirit of Agile (even though 37signals doesn't necessarily follow any of the frameworks that have been popularized alongside Agile). This made it particularly exciting when the book Shape Up was released which outlined their approach to product development.
When I started reading Shape Up, I knew there would be many great takeaways. I didn't, however, expect it to challenge so many assumptions I’ve internalized from years of working in Agile environments.
Below are a few of the ideas that really stood out to me:

Ever since I was in school, one thing I've always done first thing in the morning is make my bed. Since it seems like a relatively simple task I never really thought about the effect it had on the rest of of my day, over the years it’s become a popular example of how small actions can create flow and set the tone for the rest of the day. That single task delivers an early win, which gives a sense of order, accomplishment, and forward motion before you’ve even had your coffee.
That’s momentum in action.

n many organizations, there’s an unspoken belief that the most efficient system is one where everyone is operating at 100% capacity. On the surface, this seems logical (after all, idle time looks like waste) and if every person is busy all the time, surely the system is producing maximum output… right?
Unfortunately, reality doesn’t work that way. Optimizing for full utilization often creates hidden costs, slows the system as a whole, and erodes resilience.

I've always loved the idea of checklists, but was fairly skeptical on how well they worked in the real world based on how I had seen people using them. That all changed, however, when I read The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande.

Whether you’re leading product strategy, closing a sales deal, resolving team conflicts, or simply trying to figure out where to eat with our spouse, you’re negotiating more often than you might realize.
Chris Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, wrote Never Split the Difference to show how high-stakes negotiation principles can be applied in everyday life. I've now read this several times (and watched Chris's MasterClass) and each time I revisit it I'm amazed with how applicable the principles are to almost any interaction and how easy it is to start bringing the book's tactics into my day to day.
I highly recommend reading the entire book, but I wanted to share some of the takeaways that I have continued to come back to year after year:

​Most teams I’ve worked with don’t struggle because of a lack of talent, effort, or ideas. The real issues are usually systemic (i.e. hidden constraints disrupt their flow). Teams often make fast progress at first, but momentum fades as bottlenecks emerge, handoffs stall, and priorities collide. Everyone’s busy, but the outcomes can often lag.
That’s where the Theory of Constraints (TOC) comes in.

"Agile won't work for us" is something I've heard many times throughout my career. It is typically from companies that have tried and had a bad experience or people who have assumptions about what it means to try Agile. In this article I will share 4 common Agile myths in the hopes that teams that have been hesitant to try it out, might take another look. 

When you're faced with a difficult problem it's easy to be overwhelmed with anxiety. This can lead to paralysis which prevents any chance of moving towards a potential solution. In his book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Dale Carnegie outlines a simple (not to be mistaken with easy) 4 step process that you can try the next time you feel stuck (some of this will feel obvious, but its surprising how often we forget these things when stress takes over).