Core Protocols, Jim McCarthy, Agile, Scrum, Agile Boston

Jim McCarthy began his career as a software guy 30 years ago. Over the years, he has synthesized what he learned from his software and corporate experience and applied it to solving the riddles of team dynamics. He has had responsibilities in development, testing, marketing, program management, user education and general management. Leading software development teams at Bell Labs, The Whitewater Group, and Microsoft Corporation.

Since 1996, Jim has devoted himself to researching groups and how they create products and companies. Jim uses a teamwork lab (McCarthy BootCamp, a product development simulation) and in situ research at corporations large and small, worldwide. Jim wrote “Dynamics of Software Development” in 1995. With his wife and collaborator, Michele McCarthy, Jim has created the Core Protocols (now available in version 3.0), a collection of interpersonal protocols, evolved in actual use across hundreds of teams and thousands of individuals, protocols that support results-oriented behavior, the efficient aggregation of individual qualities into a greater whole, and the development and realization of shared visions. Together, they authored “Software for Your Head,” 2002, Addison-Wesley. He can be reached at jim@mccarthy.net, or encountered via their website, www.mccarthyshow.com.

Presentation:

NEW TOOLS FOR THE AGILE QUIVER: Core Protocols for TEAM GREATNESS

A talk by Jim McCarthy

Great software comes from getting your team’s best ideas into the product. Jim McCarthy, who led the legendary turnaround of the Visual C++ group at Microsoft, left Microsoft in 1996 to create a team dynamics laboratory to figure out how to always create a create a high performance team.

The McCarthy lab has focused extensively on this challenge, and has produced 11 rich, precise protocols (called the Core) for making unanimous decisions, supporting quality thinking, strengthening design iterations, and incorporating feedback, emotions, nobility, and passion into products.

Learn about these protocols in this motivating, challenging talk. In just a few minutes, you can pick up the fundamentals of an entirely new class of tool.

• Do you notice too much discussion and arguing and would prefer the best ideas would just get implemented now? –Learn about the Decider Protocol which guarantees unanimous team decisions with accountability and moves the team forward with a bias toward action.

• Do you accept that it is vitally important that you get the opinions of others about the quality of work products but notice that it is consistently painful to give and receive feedback? – Learn about the Perfection Protocol which solves all the problems associated with criticism.

• Do you notice that dumb things consistently happen on your team and everyone seems to lack self-awareness to some degree, including you? – Learn about the Core Commitments which provide a team constitution about commitment and accountability to the team. And learn about the Personal Alignment Protocol which allows each team member to address self-awareness around courage, integrity, passion and other virtuous behaviors.

Jim McCarthy’s keynotes at dozens of conferences all over the world are repeatedly considered the “Best of Show.” He wrote the classic 57 rules-of-thumb in, “The Dynamics of Software Development,” as well as the book, “Software For Your Head: Core Protocols for Creating and Maintaining Shared Vision.” www.mccarthyshow.com

DAN MEZICK SAYS:

We have an amazing speaker on Sept 8, Jim McCarthy, author with wife Michele of the book:

Software for Your Head: The Core Protocols

This book is about using a specific set of rule for structured communication inside teams. These rules are used when there is a decision, debate, or differences that need to be processed. (Or heat). The book describes protocols for providing feedback (PerfectionGame), being present (CheckIn), and deciding as a group (Decider). There are many others.

I am using these some of these protocols with the Scrum teams I am coaching and the results are extremely impressive-- right away. Scrum combined with Jim's Core Protocols creates very effective way for teams to get and stay in sync. This is amazing stuff. The ultimate objective for using the Core is to get an maintain a shared vision across the whole team. Shared vision leads to team greatness. Jim's work is about team greatness.

Here is a backgrounder:
http://www.liveingreatness.com/

This is probably going to be one of the most interesting meetings of the year and I think given the speakers we have heard so far, that is saying something.

I hope to see you at the meeting on Sept 8. It promises to be great !

005-26-2010 MEETING AGENDA:

6:30 PM: DAN MEZICK on "SCRUM EXPLAINED"

7:00 PM: Food & socializing & networking time

7:25 PM: JIM McCARTY on: CORE PROTOCOLS for TEAM GREATNESS

8:25 PM: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION OF MEETING

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MEETING VENUE: MICROSOFT offices in WALTHAM. REGISTER NOW for this meeting

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