The whole room lifted. People smiled. You could hear the pride in their voices. Not because I told them they’d done well, but because they could see it for themselves.

If you’re a manager wondering what you can do before everyone disappears for Christmas, here’s what will have the biggest impact: give them permission to stop, give them space to reflect, and give them credit for what they’ve delivered this year. It’s simple, it’s human, and it works.

I’ve done that with dozens of teams over the years. A short conversation is often enough to show you what’s worth fixing and what isn’t. If you’re curious where your flow might actually be snagging — or you want a second opinion on where to focus — this is exactly what I do.

I’ve always believed something simple:
Less increases focus. Focus increases delivery.

You don’t measure quality by how much you’ve done.
You measure it by how happy people are that you did it.

“Teams rarely change because of a new framework. They change when the way they carry work shifts — one conversation, one interaction, one small step at a time.”

Everyone says they want feedback — until they get it.

There’s a famous story about Sony’s yellow Walkman: everyone in the focus group said they loved it. Then, when offered one to take home, every single person chose the black version.

That’s the trouble with feedback. It sounds useful, feels helpful, but it isn’t always true.

In delivery, chasing every opinion can drain momentum faster than any blocker. Real agility isn’t about reacting to everything — it’s about knowing which feedback feeds flow, and which just adds noise.

We froze all new work and focused entirely on what would get value moving again. Two weeks later, we had a working regression pack. One month later, releases that had been stuck for 18 months started going out the door.

The team didn’t need more motivation. They needed permission to stop.
Because sometimes the bravest thing you can do in delivery isn’t to start something new — it’s to stop pretending you’re busy.

Rework isn’t just about fixing bugs — it’s the cost of unclear intent. Every time a team builds the wrong thing or has to redo what’s “done,” delivery slows and trust erodes. The fix isn’t speed; it’s clarity. A short, deliberate conversation before work starts can save weeks later. Here’s how one team turned their rework problem into steady, confident delivery.

I use a rule I call The Power of Two.

If you’ve got three things to do, pick two.

If you’ve got ten, pick two.

Even if you’ve got a hundred, yes, still pick two.

The truth is, the team usually does know. They’re the experts. They understand the problems, the blockers, and the opportunities better than anyone. But they’re waiting for permission that never comes.

I’ve seen one clear, confident decision unlock more progress than six months of discussion. It doesn’t even have to be the perfect decision. It just has to move the team forward. Once you’re in motion, you can adapt, adjust, and refine. But you can’t steer a ship that’s standing still.

So what shapes culture?
It’s learned behaviour.
We learn it from our parents, our friends, our community — and at work, we learn it from our leaders.

Look at your to-do list and decide which are the two most important.
You might not even consciously know why, but I bet you make a good decision.
Even if it’s not the best one, at least you’re doing — and that’s better than just thinking about doing.

Most of us work in wetware — the messy, brilliant, human kind of work.
Hardware follows rules.
Software follows logic.
Wetware? It follows mood, energy, distraction, and sometimes bad coffee.

Real change starts with the few who care enough to make a difference.
Back them. Remove the noise around them. Give them the confidence and skills to deliver.

Most teams don’t struggle to start work — they struggle to finish it.
You can see it on every board: work in progress everywhere, but not much moving to done.

The middle is where work goes to die. It’s where effort builds up, visibility fades, and nobody’s quite sure what’s next.