Here is today’s episode of the “Campfire Talks with Herbie”.
TameFlow Community Member: Jitesh Dineschandra
Name
Who are you?
Jitesh, born in India, lived in Portugal for 15 years and moved to the UK. Been in London since. I speak 5 languages, studied Maths & Statistics at University and attempted at doing a PhD in Medical statistics but never finished!
How did you get involved with Agile, Coaching, Organizational Performance - and in particular with TameFlow?
It started when I realised that not all business problems were simple and I went on a journey to learn about how to solve complex problems. I struggled to explain technology problems to business people, they just didn’t listen so I went on a journey to learn about how to run effective businesses and eventually after a number of years in senior technology roles I landed an Agile coach role in 2015. In recent years I’ve had the opportunity to work with some brilliant minds and have been mostly focused on Flow practices and helping others how to transform thinking by taking different perspectives on a problem.
My very first boss was my inspiration and who saw potential in me and taught me how to code. Looking back it was his inspired leadership style that really inspired me to progress my career and to have a passion about something I really believed in. He always said “I only hire smarter people than me”.
Are you currently (or do you intend) making a living in this sector? And with TameFlow?
I realised that I was fortunate enough to learn and practice Agile ways of working from a very early stage directly pairing with business people since 2003 so the Agile thinking and mindset had already set in me but I didn’t know there was a name for it until a few years later in 2006! I went on a journey working for technology consulting firms as well as big brand household names and learnt the art of building great teams and good quality products. 10 years later I realised I could teach and pass on my knowledge to others and I find that quite satisfying.
Give us a typical day in your life!
I wake up early to get the girls ready for school, breakfast time, drop them to school and pop in the coffee shop! Catch up with friends and family before work and log on ready for my first meeting of the day! I am definitely an owl! I am usually in meetings most of the day although now I block book time in my diary so I can execute actions and have a break. I love reading before bed, mainly technical books about agile and leadership!
What makes you happy at the end of a day?
A great source of reward for me is when I have managed to solve a problem - small or large and learnt something new and have helped someone being more effective.
What’s the most important skill or insight you’ve developed while getting involved with this industry?
Intuition is my greatest strength that I have developed over the years and helped me navigate complexity.
What are the greatest challenges on your path to using/improving the techniques you favor in this sector? Where do you see TameFlow in this?
I think the biggest challenge I see are the mental models at play in the workplace to this day. I also think that there has been minimal support for leaders in times of crisis in recent decades and have been left behind - I have great empathy for them.
For that sole reason I am currently galvanising a movement (The Future of Leadership) in support and better equip leaders leading in complex systems more effectively in time of crisis. I see Tameflow a key element aiding leaders managing work in complex systems.
I see a great challenge from a tooling perspective in general in the field of managing flow, and it’s one of the greatest constraints in evolving Flow thinking as the data isn’t readily extracted in the most popular workflow tools - it is a constraint in itself!
What are the greatest rewards you’ve had (personally or professionally) or would like to receive in this industry?
Professionally I have been entrusted with senior roles during my career and hope to influence more senior leaders in adopting Flow thinking and the TameFlow approach.
What do you want to learn from a community of peers, like the one here TameFlow Community site?
Various tactics and approaches to adopting TameFlow.
If other TameFlow enthusiasts want to reach out to you, where do they find you? And what is your TameFlow Community handle?
Usually LinkedIn is good place to get a in touch with me directly as I am an Open networker and enjoy exchanging ideas and approaches with other enthusiasts! My community handle is “Jitesh” and you will find my contact details there.
What question(s) would you like to ask Steve, or what topics would you like him to develop ( in relation to the TameFlow Approach)?
Given my expertise in product development so I’m keen to learn more about the Apex predator theory - is TameFlow the low energy, disruptor entrant in the Agile space? Another subject area that i’m keen to learn more about is how to deal with Market constraints.
Herbie talks about… Market Disruption
The questions asked by Jitesh require a little longer explanation than usual, especially since the answer needs to refer to Goldratt’s Six Technology Questions which can serve well to reason about the disruptive powers of an innovation. Hence the I put the reply in a separate post: Market Disruption the TameFlow Way
If you found the topics in the “Campfire Talks with Herbie” interesting, there is much more to learn about them in the Tame your Work Flow, How Dr. Goldratt of “The Goal” would apply the Theory of Constraints to rethink knowledge-work management book.
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