Agile Complexification Inverter

Leadership is well defined - that's not the problem - the problem is it has many, many various definitions. Leadership definitions change throughout time. Your grandfather's definition of leadership may vary quite drastically from your's - ask him if you have the opportunity. A modern classic definition: Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. -- Peter Northouse Series Outline: A brief history of Leadership    A working definition of leadership    Is leadership a process    May leadership emerge from a group    Is leadership more than a form of coercion and power Various Leadership Approaches    Situational, Skills, Style, Trait Leadership Theories    Contingency Theory    Path-Goal Theory    Leader-Member Exchange Theory    Transformational Leadership Model     Servant Leadership Model   ...

A paper and presentation at The Chair Academy , April 1 - 4, 2008 in Denver, CO. THE_DIGITAL_GENERATION_v2.ppt (PowerPoint presentation) Did You Know video by Karl Fisch & Scott McLeod.  Join the ShiftHappens conversation . THE_DIGITAL_GENERATION.pdf PDF Authors Info Tracy L. Gibson, Ed.D. Assistant Professor Organizational Leadership Chapman University -Bangor Mark Van Den Hende, Ph.D. Vice President for Academic Affairs & College Dean Waycross College University System of Georgia David A. Koontz Agile Coach Introduction   Traditional aged students today were born in 1987 and according to the Beloit College's Mindset List for the Class of 2009, “they don't remember when "cut and paste" involved scissors. They learned to count with Lotus 1-2-3. Voice mail has always been available. They may have fallen asleep playing with their Gameboys in the crib. Bill Gates has always been worth at least a billion dollars. Pixar has always existed. D...

I'm thinking a lot these days about the environment that we inhabit.  And who is here beside me.  The faces look similar to when I started in this business 20+ years ago, but what makes those people tick, is quite another matter. Many of these faces belong to Digital Natives - a person that grew up in a digital world. The term “digital native” and “digital immigrants” comes from Marc Prensky a writer, speaker, consultant and inventor in educational games and learning processes. In coining these terms Mr. Prensky is drawing on the analogy of natives to a homeland and in this case we are talking about the digital land or those who have always known the internet and the immigrants are the ones that are coming to this new land, some kicking and sreaming and others eagerly exploring and learning the new skills, language, and culture needed to travel in this digital world (Prensky, 2001). In this new digital land the natives have an advantage over the immigrants. This advantage ...

Proposal to Adopt Agile Development Methods David Koontz Chapman University College Proposal to Adopt Agile Development Methods Welcome to the Twenty First Century.  We have amazing technology, a complex ecosystem of global industry, and a systems-thinking learning organization.  However, we are using antiquated software development methods. Our home-grown methodology based upon a manufacturing model of large up-front detail designs, construction, then verification, and finally production is a phased or largely sequential software development process.  This process does not work well for software - a very malleable product.  Our project success rate of 32% is slightly better than the industry average of 28% (small companies) reported in the CHAOS Report (Johnson, 1995).  However, if we continue to fail two-thirds of the time, we may find ourselves at the back of the pack, and possibly in the bankruptcy courts. Agile software development is a family of m...

David Koontz, Sumalee Mahaguna, Daniel Stiles Chapman University     Organizations have many distinguishing factors that make them successful in their field.  However, one factor that is apparent in great organizations is vision.  Organizational vision is necessary for an organization to be successful because creative energy begins with vision.  Creative tension is the driving force which organizations use to make their vision a reality.  “Visionary companies are premier institutions…in their industries, widely admired by their peers and having a long rack record of making a significant impact on the world around them” (Collins & Porras, 2004, p. 2).  According to Peter Senge author of the Fifth Discipline , vision is distinct from purpose.  Purpose is abstract, leading towards a general heading whereas vision is a specific heading that is concrete (Senge, 2006).  Apple is a visionary organization that has a clear vision and pur...