Author: Neal
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Liftoff @Miroverse – Template ‘In Design’
Last week I had a call with the designers at Miro where we discussed the template for ‘Liftoff – starting agile and high performing teams’. It is quite nerve-racking getting a template out there that people will be using! The design I did was probably a good first attempt at structuring the information but it…
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Heilmeier Catechism
George H. Heilmeier, a former DARPA director (1975-1977), crafted a set of questions known as the “Heilmeier Catechism” to help Agency officials think through and evaluate proposed research programs. The keen observer may notice that a good liftoff ensures that such questions are also answered, and collaboratively. What’s also interesting is that the removal of…
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Can you do a Liftoff in stages?
Technically, yes! We believe it’s best to run a Liftoff as a consecutive two-day event, but it is possible to do it in stages. For example, I once facilitated a Liftoff in two parts: first, I worked through the Purpose section with leadership and team, then a couple of weeks later, we covered Alignment and Context with just the…
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Liftoff February Working Session
Liftoff Miro Template Updates Chartering and the team charter Neal and Diana discussed the team chartering process, including the difference between a liftoff and a charter, the hierarchy and stability of the different elements (purpose, alignment, context), and the importance of making the charter a living, evolving document rather than a one-time exercise. What’s the…
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What’s the difference between Team Chartering and a Team Liftoff?
Team chartering is what we believe is the minimum chartering required to successfully start a project or endeavour together with a team. We define this as chartering the purpose, the alignment and the context. The purpose, alignment and context serve as a triad that compliment each other. It is a minimum because, as can be…
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Templatizing Liftoff in Miro
Recently I had a wonderful call with an Agile Evangelist from Miro. They are very keen to host the Liftoff template in their Miroverse. I also learned a new word: to templatize. The next steps are to agree together with Diana Larsen what goes into the Liftoff Temlpate and then work together with the designers…
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Mini Liftoff for an Artist’s Retreat Centre
Whilst in Guatemala, I became friends with someone who owns a large plot of land which hosts a community, a space for creative workshops and a number of holiday rentals. He was eager to get investment and take slightly haphazard business into a more successful business. I joined the meeting together with investors and owners.…
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First Draft of a Liftoff Miro Template
This is the first draft of the Miro template and is really an attempt to bring together all the key activities into one single view. I’ve entered around the Purpose-Alignment-Context Triad, and then per circle we see quite visually that there are three key activities. And here we have a reference to the Pattern Language…
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Liftoff with a view!
I’ve been re-reading Liftoff whilst here on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. It’s always a joy to re-read an important book, and this time with new eyes, with the aim to support others. Naturally there were new things that I learned this time round, that I hadn’t noticed previously, or perhaps didn’t have…
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The Story Behind Liftoffs
In this discussion, Neal and Diana talk about the background and events that led up to Diana and Ainsley deciding to codify a Liftoffs as a practice to help teams at the beginning of any kind of project or venture.