Pressing Pause: A Summer Break and What’s Coming Next

Pressing Pause: A Summer Break and What’s Coming Next

Author: Mountain Goat Software July 2, 2025 Duration: 1:09
We’re taking our own advice and hitting pause to recharge this July. While we’re off the mic, revisit past episodes packed with timeless insights and conversations you may have missed. Overview This week, we're pressing pause to model the sustainable pace we teach. Brian shares a quick update about our summer break, what’s ahead in August, and how you can make the most of the podcast archive while we’re away. Whether you’re poolside or simply stepping back from the daily sprint, we hope you’ll join us in creating a little breathing room and we can’t wait to be back with a fresh season soon. References and resources mentioned in the show: Subscribe & Listen to Previous Episodes of the Agile Mentors Podcast Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an Agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Auto-generated Transcript: Brian Milner (00:00) Hey there Agile Mentors, this is Brian Milner and I'm just gonna take a moment of your time today because we're actually going to be practicing what we teach here at Agile Mentors and we're gonna be working at a sustainable pace. So for us that means we're gonna take a few weeks off. It's summer and I know many of you are going to be taking time off with your families and we're gonna be doing the same thing. So we won't be around for the next month. We're gonna be out of here for July, but already have some plans for when we come back in August. So stay tuned when we come back in August, we've got a new season of shows that will begin there in August that I think you'll really enjoy. While we're off, might I suggest you go back through our archive. Look at some of the previous podcast episodes we've done. There's quite a few now. And maybe you've missed some of the episodes from the past. Go back and find some of our great guests that we've had over the years when we've been doing this. I think you'll find some really great guests and some really interesting topics. So fill your diet of Agile Mentors with that while we're at taking a little bit of a break here at Agile Mentors. I hope you're having a great summer and we look forward to seeing all of you back here in August. Take care.

Hosted by Mountain Goat Software, the Agile Mentors Podcast is a conversation for anyone involved in or curious about agile practices. It’s a space where the philosophy meets the practical, moving beyond theory to tackle the real-world challenges teams face every day. You’ll hear discussions that dig into the nuances of Scrum, Kanban, and other frameworks, exploring how they adapt to different environments and scale. The dialogue often focuses on the human side of change-how to foster better collaboration, navigate organizational hurdles, and cultivate a genuinely agile mindset rather than just going through the motions. This podcast serves as a resource for continuous learning, whether you're troubleshooting a specific sprint issue or looking for fresh perspectives to reinvigorate your approach. Each episode aims to provide actionable insights and thoughtful reflection, making the complex landscape of modern software development feel more accessible and manageable. Tune in for honest talk from experienced practitioners who understand that agility is a journey, not a destination.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Agile Mentors Podcast from Mountain Goat Software
Podcast Episodes
#186: Why Teams Stop Caring About Retrospectives with Cort Sharp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:46
Retrospectives are supposed to help teams improve, but for many teams they slowly become rushed, repetitive, or skipped altogether. In this episode, Brian Milner and Cort Sharp unpack why retrospectives lose their value…
#185: The Real ROI of Agile with Scott Dunn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:55
A lot of organizations say they’ve “gone Agile,” but still struggle with missed deadlines, unclear priorities, and teams that feel busy without delivering better outcomes. In this episode, Scott Dunn joins Brian Milner t…
#184: Scrum in High-Stakes Environments with John Holmes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:55
Many leaders assume Agile breaks down in highly regulated environments. John Holmes has spent years proving the opposite inside aerospace, defense, and space programs where the cost of failure is extremely high. Overview…
#183: How AI Is Reshaping Product Ownership with Lance Dacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:23
AI can help product owners move faster, but faster is not always better. In this episode, Lance Dacy and Brian Milner explore where AI genuinely improves product work and where teams still need strong judgment, clear pri…
#182: Never Stop Experimenting with Stavros Stavru [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:59
In a world changing faster than most teams can keep up with, standing still may be the biggest risk of all. Brian Milner sits down with Stavros Stavru to explore why experimentation is no longer optional and how teams ca…
#181: How to Start Agile Without Overengineering It with Cort Sharp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:34
Too many teams try to “do Agile” by adding layers of process before they understand the problem they’re trying to solve. In this episode, Brian Milner and Cort Sharp discuss how to start Agile simply, avoid unnecessary c…
#179: Leadership Decisions That Quietly Derail Agile with Mike Cohn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:35
Many agile struggles don’t start with the team. They start with leadership decisions that seem reasonable but create friction, confusion, or misalignment over time. In this episode, Mike Cohn outlines the patterns that m…
#178: How AI Is Actually Changing Software Teams with Hunter Hillegas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:24
AI isn’t just speeding up coding. It’s starting to change how teams work, what they build, and even who needs to be involved. In this episode, Brian and Hunter separate real impact from hype and explore what’s already sh…
#177: The 5 Habits of High Learning Teams with Lance Dacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:45
Most teams say they want to improve. Few actually build the habits that make it happen. In this episode, Brian and Lance break down what separates teams that learn from teams that stall—and what leaders do that quietly g…