Tag: systems

Lean 5S for personal productivity

Lean 5S is usually talked about in the context of factories, workplaces and production systems.

But it is also a powerful way to think about personal productivity.

At its heart, 5S is about creating an environment where useful things are easy to find, unnecessary things are removed and the system is simple enough to maintain.

That applies to a workshop. But it also applies to your home, your desk, your files, your inbox, your notes, your photos and your task manager.

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Cynefin and constraints – what is really holding things back?

Last week we explored Cynefin as a way of understanding the nature of the problem.

This week we go one level deeper.

Because once you recognise the domain you are in, the next question becomes what is constraining this system?

Most frustration at work is not caused by laziness or lack of effort. It is caused by constraints.

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Cynefin for beginners – understanding the nature of the problem

Cynefin is one of those frameworks that quietly rewires how you see work. It stops you arguing about methods and starts you asking about the nature of reality you are in.

Most debates about productivity, leadership or agile delivery get stuck at the level of tools.

  • “Should we use Scrum?”
  • “Do we need a detailed plan?”
  • “Is this a quick win?”
  • “Why is this taking so long?”

Cynefin suggests we are often asking the wrong question.

Before choosing a method, ask “What kind of problem is this?”

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What Scrum Masters do when they ‘do nothing’

There are moments in Scrum Mastery where it looks like they’re doing very little.

They’re quiet in a meeting.
They don’t jump in to fix a problem.
They let a conversation run longer than feels comfortable.

From the outside, it can look like inaction.
From the inside, it’s some of the most deliberate work they do.

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Scrum Master as systems steward, not process police

The common misunderstanding

One of the most persistent misunderstandings about the Scrum Master role is that it exists to enforce process.

  • Ceremonies must happen.
  • Rules must be followed.
  • Frameworks must be complied with.

Seen this way, the Scrum Master becomes a kind of process police officer – checking attendance, correcting behaviour and reminding people what Scrum says should happen.

But that framing misses the point of the role entirely.
Scrum does not exist to be obeyed.

It exists to help teams work effectively in complexity.
And complexity does not respond well to enforcement.

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