Open Tech Calendar

The Future of Work Scotland team are delighted to be bringing you a session with the author's of the newly published book "Agile Conversations", Douglas Squirrel & Jeffrey Fredrick

Do you dread and avoid conflicts? If so, you are missing out on the power of collaboration, and you are not alone. To unlock the value of diversity requires key skills to make conflicts productive. As we describe in Agile Conversations, conflicts should be a rich source of learning and improvement for any team. We'll show you two techniques for turning disagreements into high-energy discussions that will give you better decisions, higher commitment, and faster execution.

Learning Objectives:

What can our attendees expect to take away from the session?

1. Why unproductive conflicts are probably your fault, and why that's good news
2. How to use the Four Rs to improve your conversations and get more from your conflicts
3. How to use Test Driven Development for People (aka the Ladder of Inference) to be transparent and curious when you have a conflict.

Here's some background on our amazing guest speakers for this session:

Douglas Squirrel has been coding for 40 years and has led software teams for 20. He uses the power of conversations to create dramatic productivity gains in technology organizations of all sizes. Squirrel’s experience includes growing software teams as a CTO in startups from fintech to e-commerce; consulting on product improvement at over 60 organizations in the UK, US, and Europe; and coaching a wide variety of leaders in improving their conversations, aligning to business goals, and creating productive conflict. He lives in Frogholt, England, in a timber-framed cottage built in the year 1450.

Jeffrey Fredrick is an internationally recognized expert in software development with over 25 years’ experience covering both sides of the business/technology divide. His experience includes roles as Vice President of Product Management, Vice President of Engineering, and Chief Evangelist. He has also worked as an independent consultant on topics including corporate strategy, product management, marketing, and interaction design. Jeffrey is based in London and is currently Managing Director of TIM, an Acuris Company. He also runs the London Organisational Learning Meetup and is a CTO mentor through CTO Craft.