Don Jacobsmeyer

I’ll admit it… I’ve heard teams joke that they’d rather go to the dentist than another retrospective. And yet, retros are the leg day of Scrum. Skip them, and the whole system wobbles. This week on the podcast, Brian Milner CST and I dig into why so many teams feel stuck in stale retros—and how to bring them back to life without adding more painful meetings. 🎧 New episode drops Wednesday. Subscribe now so it’s waiting in your queue—link in comments.

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If you are looking into the benefits of agile IT practices, check out this blog post by one of AEM Corporation's experts who do a deep dive into the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). SAFe is helping IT departments standardize development efforts across teams.

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If your automations keep breaking, it’s not you — it’s your stack. I see this all the time. People spend hours (sometimes days) trying to make automation tools do what they want. Scripts break. Workflows fail. Frustration grows. One friend recently told me he ran the same automation 38 times before it finally worked. Thirty-eight. The problem wasn’t the code. It was the tool. He used N8N, a powerful platform, but for his goal, Make.com would’ve done it in half the time. No API headaches. No missing nodes. Just results. That’s the thing about automation: 👉 The most advanced tool isn’t always the right one. 👉 Time is a bigger cost than features. 👉 Progress matters more than perfection. When it comes to automation, start simple. Prove the value. Then grow complexity only when it earns its place. Because speed to value will always beat sophistication without success. If you’re spending more time fixing automations than benefiting from them — your tech isn’t helping you. It’s managing you. Audit your stack this week. Ask yourself one question: “What’s the simplest tool that can do the job right now?” You’ll be amazed how much time you’ll get back. PS: If you want to go deeper into advanced automation, we’re hosting a two-session live course on December 1 and 8 at 12 PM ET — two hours each. Join us to learn how to build faster, smarter, and more reliable automations. Link in the comments for full details.

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I used to think stabilization meant fixing defects. Then real implementations taught me otherwise. Something counterintuitive in Workday stabilization that actually works. After supporting multiple post-go-live environments, I noticed something strange. The teams struggling most were not missing configuration fixes. They were missing behavioral clarity. Stabilization improved only when we slowed down. Not when we accelerated fixes. Depth of understanding beat speed of resolution. The pattern became obvious. Workday instability rarely comes from technology. It comes from unclear ownership, inconsistent data habits, and decision confusion. Once those were addressed, systems “stabilized” without major rebuilds. That changed how I approach every stabilization effort now. The three moves that consistently work: Decision clarity before system changes. Fewer reports, stronger ownership. Fix upstream data behavior first. What improves quickly: • User confidence • Data reliability • Fewer tickets • Faster adoption • Calmer HR operations I’ve seen stabilization timelines shrink using this approach. Stabilization is not about fixing systems. It’s about fixing how people use them. Systems follow behavior.

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I have been testing Lovable versus Replit. So far it seems like Lovable is better for immediate UX tasks but not as good for more complex functionality use cases. Anyone else find that to be true or have a different experience?

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Week 3-4: 1:1s Processes and Technology- What’s going well vs. what’s not going well? Episode 24-25 - ScrumMaster First 90 Days In my experience, what looks like a “people-problem” is often more of a process or technology problem. #scrummother #moveyourownneedle #scrummasterfirst90days

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Agile assessments aren’t just about scores—they’re about surfacing clarity and alignment. Yesterday, I supported a team Agile Assessment where the Scrum Master facilitated a thoughtful conversation. I stepped in occasionally to clarify questions and guide deeper reflection, making sure the team felt confident in how to evaluate their current state. What stood out? The power of conversation over checkboxes. When teams understand the "why" behind each dimension, the insights are richer and more actionable. 💡 Tip: Treat assessments like working sessions, not audits. When done right, they become a catalyst for ownership and improvement—not just a snapshot. #AgileCoaching #TeamDevelopment #AgileAssessment #ScrumMasterSupport #AgileLeadership #ContinuousImprovement

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