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Jake Calabrese

Agile Trainer, Coach & Consultant | Leadership Trainer | Agile Advisor | Speaker | ICF Professional Certified Coach | See Available Course Dates Below 👇

Jake Calabrese is a Principal Leadership and Organizational Coach/Trainer at Helping Improve LLC, a company he co-founded with Paul Tevis.12 He is an ICF-Certified Coach and Agile Advisor with expertise in business leadership, team improvement, and organizational change.3

Calabrese has a background in Agile methodologies, having previously worked with Agile For All for five years before starting Helping Improve LLC in 2020.12 He specializes in helping organizations tackle opportunities, solve problems, and improve their leadership and team dynamics.13

Some key aspects of Jake Calabrese's professional profile include:

  1. He offers training courses, including "Leading Amazing Teams".5
  2. Calabrese is known for his direct, no-nonsense approach to coaching and training.12
  3. He is a published author, regularly writing articles on topics such as team management, leadership, and Agile practices.3
  4. His expertise spans various areas, including self-organizing teams, prioritization of work, and remote team management.3

Jake Calabrese maintains an active online presence, sharing insights and updates through his LinkedIn profile (username: jakecalabrese) and his company's website, helpingimprove.com.14

Highlights

Aug 29 · linkedin

"I hate Agile methodology!"

Hold up. Did you know Agile isn't even a methodology?

Mind-blowing, right? Here's the scoop:

  • Agile = One page of principles and values
  • No procedures. No rigid rules. Nada.

So when you're cursing "agile," you're probably mad at: Your company's interpretation of a one-pager. Oops.

Here's the kicker:

  • Every org does agile differently
  • That's cool... if it works

Before you throw agile under the bus, think:

  1. Is it agile you hate, or your company's interpretation?
  2. Is it actually producing results?
  3. What could you tweak to make it better?

Agile is all about improving. Yes, even how you do agile.

#AgileIsntMethodology #RethinkAgile #MakeAgileWork #continuousimprovement

Aug 28 · linkedin

Stretch goals are still a terrible idea. Yeah, I said it.

Why? Let me break it down for you:

1️⃣ It's a fancy way to say, "We didn't bother prioritizing." 2️⃣ It's like saying, "Hey, just try harder!" (Eye roll) 3️⃣ It's the never-ending story of work. Fun, right?

Here's a wild idea:  What if we actually broke work down into manageable chunks? What if we trusted people to, you know, do their jobs? What if we engaged with them and helped them if they were struggling?

Stretch goals are just manipulative motivation in disguise.

Ask yourself: 

  • Are you motivating or manipulating?
  • Why not prioritize instead of "stretching"?
  • Do you really think this makes people work harder?

Remember: A vision isn't a stretch goal. It's a long-term aim—big difference.

Challenge: Can you ditch the "stretch" talk and just focus on what really matters?

Give it a shot. Your team might actually get stuff done. Imagine that!

#NoMoreStretchGoals #PrioritizeDontStretch #RealAgileWork

Related Questions

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Jake Calabrese
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Location

Denver, Colorado, United States