Episode 49: Brendan Hopper on Lessons Learned Shifting From Project to Product

Episode 49: Brendan Hopper on Lessons Learned Shifting From Project to Product

Author: Dr. Mik Kersten: Author of Project to Product and Founder and CEO of Tasktop November 22, 2022 Duration: 50:13
Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Brendan Hopper, is the CIO for technology at Commonwealth Bank Group. He is responsible for ensuring the bank has a world leading IT engineering capability and is making the right technology investments and decisions. Brendan shares what drives his passion for driving innovation and flow at organizations and why technology should become an accelerator, not a disruptor for organizations and their customers.  In this episode, Mik and Brendan also discuss org structure and the core principle that to be evolutionary means focusing on small increments and not just major redesigns. Key discussions include:  Brendan’s professional journey in strategy and engineering How velocity can drive safety Building technology that real people delight in Creating a transformation network that is course correcting Lessons Brendan has learned in shifting from project to product  The need for feedback cycles in transformation Understanding data that bottlenecks at the value stream level and the organization level. Restoring and repairing organizational design Why org structure has to continually change Moving teams between value streams when roadmapping what is next What Brendan is focused on today Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review. Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne www.tasktop.com Additional Resources: Connect with Brendan Portfolio SAFe Dean Leffingwell on the Mik + One Podcast: Part 1, Part 2 MarTech Dave West - podcast episode Scrum Studio Greenfield project Skunkworks Bimodal IT Agile Release Train Mik + One Podcast Episode 20: Justin Watts For more information about Brendan Hopper and to view the full list of resources mentioned in this episode, as well as download the transcript, visit: https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/brendan-hopper/

Dr. Mik Kersten’s book, Project to Product, sparked a fundamental shift in how large organizations think about software delivery. That conversation continues and deepens in Mik + One: The Official Project to Product Podcast. Here, Kersten moves beyond the stage and the prepared keynote to host candid, unrehearsed dialogues with the people actually steering the world’s most significant technology-driven companies. Each episode is built around a simple, powerful premise: one guest, one conversation with nothing held back. You’ll hear from fellow authors, executives, and engineering leaders as they dissect the real-world application of flow frameworks and product-centric thinking. The discussions get into the granular challenges of shifting from project-oriented deadlines to sustainable product value streams, covering both the strategic wins and the difficult lessons learned. This isn't about abstract theory; it's a direct line to the tactics and philosophies used by industry pioneers. For anyone involved in technology business management-from team leads to the C-suite-this podcast serves as an essential masterclass. Listeners gain access to the nuanced, often unspoken details of scaling digital innovation, all through the lens of Kersten’s expertise and his guests' diverse experiences. The result is a consistently insightful resource for navigating the complex journey of modern digital transformation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 63

Mik + One: The Official Project to Product Podcast by Dr. Mik Kersten
Podcast Episodes
Episode 31: Gene Kim on Psychological Safety and Communications Paths [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:37
In this episode of Mik + One, Mik sits down with Gene Kim, best-selling author of The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project, as well as co-author of The DevOps Handbook. In this episode, Gene chats to Mik about the nex…
Episode 27: Robin Yeman on A Common Language Across Silos [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:27
Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is Robin Yeman, Senior Fellow and Agile DevSecOps Enterprise coach at Lockheed Martin. In this episode, Mik and Robin discuss how Robin approaches leadership with complex systems…
Episode 26: Eric Willeke on the Metrics Killing Your Transformation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:54
In this episode of Mik + One, Mik is joined by Eric Willeke, Co-Founder and Principal of Elevate.to. In this episode, Mik and Eric touch on many key points around simplicity and flow to drive successful digital transform…
Episode 23: Gail Murphy on What Makes Us All Unproductive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:07
In the final Mik + One episode of 2020, Mik is joined by Gail Murphy, Tasktop Co-Founder, and Professor of Computer Science and VP of Research and Innovation at the University of British Columbia. This episode with Mik a…
Episode 22: John Cutler on What Startups can REALLY Teach Enterprises [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:38
Joining Mik on this episode of Mik + One is “sage and poet of product thinking” John Cutler, Head of Product Research & Education at Amplitude. In this episode, Mik and John discuss: Defining what a product is Rethinking…