Agile Book

Agile and the Art of Simplicity

By Emma Sharrock / January 29, 2017 / Comments Off on Agile and the Art of Simplicity

When we talk about simplicity we often think about decluttering exercises that are total overhauls. And this is the time of the year when we find our inboxes cluttered with “New Year, New You” emails from people marketing their latest product. These amazing products will turn your life around, allowing you do more, have more,…

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Time to Reflect

By Emma Sharrock / December 20, 2016 / Comments Off on Time to Reflect

It’s that time of the year again where we all look at each other and say “Where did the year go?” We discuss at length how time has been going so fast, and we’re barely ready for Christmas. We frantically run around sourcing seafood and Christmas treats to fully enjoy the festive season. Then at…

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How Motivated Are You?

By Emma Sharrock / December 3, 2016 / Comments Off on How Motivated Are You?

One of the Agile principles is to build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. If you are working in an Agile environment, have a look at your teams. Do you sense what one of my fellow Agile experts describes as “the…

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Time To Plan

By Emma Sharrock / November 21, 2016 / Comments Off on Time To Plan

One of the things I love about what I do is that I get to help people and their teams plan their future. It’s exciting to me to be part of a team realising what could be possible over the next year, quarter or month. Why Plan? Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: “In preparing for…

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Project Next Evolution

By Emma Sharrock / November 11, 2016 / Comments Off on Project Next Evolution

It’s been a big couple of weeks for The Agile Project Manager. Amid book orders and speaking gigs, I have embarked on a new journey of my own. I wrote about it on LinkedIn. You can check it out here. Let me know what you think!

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Efficiency vs Effectiveness – it’s time to decide

By Emma Sharrock / September 12, 2016 / Comments Off on Efficiency vs Effectiveness – it’s time to decide

A popular term I hear A LOT is “this is an ‘AND’ not an ‘OR’”. And what it basically meant was “This thing we want you to do is really important, but not important enough to take you away from your current job. Your current job is still the most important. But this new thing, well, it’s…

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Agile

Sprinting to Fitness – Get Fit with Agile

By Emma Sharrock / September 1, 2016 / Comments Off on Sprinting to Fitness – Get Fit with Agile

Happy first day of Spring! Now is the time people emerge from their winter hibernation and get active. For me, it’s running, and a few weeks ago I tore a ligament in my ankle (while running). So I’m taking some rest, So I’m taking some rest, doing some yoga, and learning a bit about moderation,…

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Systematise for Success

By Emma Sharrock / August 22, 2016 / Comments Off on Systematise for Success

People often ask me how I wrote The Agile Project Manager so quickly, and when I tell them “I made sure that I regularly sat down and wrote words”, they get that weird look in their eyes. The one that questions the simplicity of my strategy. And so I say “Oh, and I also enlisted…

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multitasking agile project management

The Dangers of Multitasking

By Emma Sharrock / August 16, 2016 / Comments Off on The Dangers of Multitasking

Hi, my name is Emma and I am a multitasker. I am literally a great juggler. Both of small colourful balls, and of larger project crises features. I have always been dexterous at handling outcomes in dynamic environments, but it wasn’t until I became truly Agile that I realised the potential cognitive repercussions. I recently…

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Pokemon GO

Influencing Change with Pokemon GO

By Emma Sharrock / August 9, 2016 / Comments Off on Influencing Change with Pokemon GO

Pokemon GO has taken the world by storm. Everywhere you look there are people moving from one ‘Poke Stop’ to another, eyes glued to their phones as they capture, evolve, and train their little critters to ‘take the gym’. A lot of jargon there, right? You got it though, right? Oh yes, I see you!…

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maximise work not done

Start Less, Finish More

By Emma Sharrock / July 30, 2016 / Comments Off on Start Less, Finish More

I was reading the 4-Hour Chef on the weekend and was thrilled to discover that Tim Ferriss is as passionate about Agile as I am! He didn’t say so in as many words, but I know that’s what he meant. Tim builds many of his successful high performance strategies around the concept of the minimum…

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control influence your environment

Control of your Environment

By Emma Sharrock / July 26, 2016 / Comments Off on Control of your Environment

A while ago I wrote a post about the power of your environment – who and what you surround yourself determines your results. One of the things I love about learning then writing about it is when I find evidence to back up something I have previously written about. And, even better, I find something…

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getting stuff done agile style

Getting Stuff Done

By Emma Sharrock / July 26, 2016 / Comments Off on Getting Stuff Done

I have received lots of lovely comments about my latest blog post – thank you! It’s weird, for a while I seemed to lose my “blogging mojo”, if there is such a thing. Every time I sat down to write, nothing came out. Well, very little. I never seemed to feel like writing. Admittedly, I…

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public speaking

Public Speaking Simplified

By Emma Sharrock / July 26, 2016 / Comments Off on Public Speaking Simplified

Long term followers of this blog (thank you!), will already know I am passionate about helping people communicate. In fact, I wrote a piece about it some time ago – you can find it here. I find there are a lot of people teaching communication and public speaking skills, and all of them have some…

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get uncomfortable

Be Comfortable with being Uncomfortable

By Emma Sharrock / July 26, 2016 / Comments Off on Be Comfortable with being Uncomfortable

The other day I was in a cycle class when the instructor said “I know this feels hard now. It feels uncomfortable. What you need to do is get comfortable with being uncomfortable!” My eyes were bleary with sweat, and my legs were shaking, so I didn’t immediately ponder on the metaphor of life our…

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making decisions

3 Steps to Making Great Decisions

By Emma Sharrock / July 26, 2016 / Comments Off on 3 Steps to Making Great Decisions

Decisions, decisions… Have you ever had a big (or small) decision to make, and you simply did not know what to do? So did you delay making the decision? Did you worry you would make the wrong decision? Did you feel pressured into making A decision? We’ve all been there. There will come a point…

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