Yesterday we had another great InnSpiratie meeting. Peter Latten introduced us to LSP – Lego Serious Play. In addition to members of the Agility Guild, several colleagues from the client were also present. In just one afternoon, we got a great sense of how Lego can be used for things like getting to know each other, identifying and prioritizing improvements, and discussing stakeholder management.
Thank you, Peter, for a truly inspiring workshop!
If you’d like to know more about Lego Coaching — in November I recorded a podcast together with Suzanne Warmerdam, Emiel van Kalken and Nienke Alma: “The Drawing Coach and the Lego Coach”(in Dutch). You can listen to the episode below at or watch the video at InnHetMidden.
In it, I argue that skilling-up is not optional. When teams deliberately grow their skills and mindset, they become more resilient, innovative, and less dependent on a few key individuals. When they don’t, risks, stress, and knowledge silos quietly accumulate.
The core idea of the article is simple: make improvement tangible by focusing on practices. Instead of vague goals like “improve quality” or “innovate more,” define and strengthen specific practices that address real operational pain and align with strategic ambitions. Practices connect daily work to long-term direction.
Skilling-up is a shared responsibility between leadership, teams, HR, and product management. When done consciously, it prevents crisis instead of reacting to it. If you care about sustainable delivery and future-ready teams, I invite you to read the article and share your perspective.
Although they work side by side in service of the same business goals, development and operations often experience tension or misunderstanding.
In this article, I deep-dive the differences, that usually isn’t caused by bad intentions, but by fundamentally different responsibilities. Development is about change and new capabilities, while operations is about stability, reliability and risk.
Based on my experience coaching operations teams, I introduce a simple bucket approach that helps teams consciously balance urgent work with long-term improvement. Finally, I reflect on the role of the operations product owner, who must make decisions under pressure, protect team sustainability and clearly communicate invisible but essential value.
Closing down already? Not quite yet — but I’ve started reflecting on my professional year. I made a small infographic to capture it, and while doing so, I realized there were milestones and achievements I had already forgotten. Looking back, it was a good and productive year, filled with many great moments working with my colleagues. On top of that, I worked for 4 clients, wrote 2 articles, published 1 book, spoke at 6 conferences, and created 12 podcast episodes together with my InnSpire colleagues and many wonderful guests.
Thanks for the nice moments, and the challenges and every person who helped shaping his year.
With Innspire, we brought open and honest conversations through Inn het Midden — full of nuance, insights, and inspiration. We hope you learned and enjoyed just as much as we did.
The Inn het Midden podcast explores the world of organizational development and teamwork with nuance and curiosity. The themes range from agile working, team roles, and value creation to leadership, trust, and change processes. In each episode, you examine how organizations can stay adaptable without losing the human touch. Over the past year, topics included the differences between Product Owner and Product Manager, effectively using OKRs, the impact of support teams, and the importance of ownership and letting go in modern teams.
The podcast alternates between different formats: in-depth interviews with experts, conversations within the team, reflections on trends and conferences, and the occasional book discussion in which ideas from the literature are unpacked. What sets Inn het Midden apart is its open, inquisitive tone and its willingness to embrace complexity. No dogma — just an invitation to discover for yourself what works in your organizational context.
I would like to thank all employees and guests — without you, we at InnSpire could never have done this! So a big thanks to you: André Scholten, Nienke Alma, Michel Kooijman, Berry Vermeulen, Ger Cox, Alwin van der Veen, Renzo Zitman, Dave Verhoef, MSc, Michiel Dekker, Jolet van de Bree, Wilfred Derksen, Astrid Karsten, Vian Kooiker, Fried Broekhof, Emiel van Kalken, Suzanne Warmerdam, Sai Hin Sin, Marcel Oostveen, Paul van Wijk, Esmaralda de Vries.
All episodes are still available online — search “Inn het Midden” in your favorite podcast app or visit innhetmidden.wordpress.com. Here’s to a new year full of stories, connection, and inspiration!
I am proud to announce that this year I will be speaking on the first day of XP Days Benelux. XP Days Benelux is an annual conference that explores the many facets of Agile thinking and practice. Rooted in the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), it brings together curious minds and passionate professionals who want to learn, share, and grow together. Whether you work in software, product development, digital transformation, education, or organisational change, the event welcomes a diverse community of agile practitioners, facilitators, change agents, team leaders, product professionals, and IT experts—all dedicated to improving collaboration, delivering value, and adapting to change.
My talk will focus on using practices as a way to upskill development teams. I’ll introduce the concept of the practice broker and explain how to translate organisational goals and everyday challenges on the work floor into practical (micro) improvements.
I’m excited to share that on November 26, 2025, I will be speaking at the Agile Consortium Annual Conference 2025—the premier event for agile professionals in the Netherlands. This year’s theme, “Shaking Agility”, promises fresh perspectives and meaningful discussions.
I’m really looking forward to meeting you there, sharing experiences, and exploring how we can truly shake up agility—in the best possible way. You can register via https://jaarcongresnl.agileconsortium.net/
If you’d like to connect or discuss something during the conference or in advance, feel free to reach out.
This week I had the opperunity to presents at the Vereniging TestNet event. In my keynote “Staying Relevant in a Rapidly Changing World.” I explained the role of practises in skilling up. Marianne Duijst made a nice sketchnote of my talk. Thanks for sharing it with me Marianne!
I am enthusiastic (and a little proud) to say that I’ll be giving a keynote tomorrow at the TestNet Fall event. And I am really looking forward to it. In my talk, I will address whether we should focus on improving our testing or help the team improve as a whole.
Testers observe a great deal happening outside of their profession. So how do they stay relevant? What can you do to stand out and continue to contribute in a meaningful way? How can we best boost the value of quality delivery — in a controlled, successful manner — while staying true to our profession?
I will explore the power of practices — and how embracing the right ones can unlock new levels of proficiency, elevate your skills, and ensure stronger alignment with your organization’s (and your team’s) evolving needs.
Last Monday, InnSpire hosted the festive launch of the renewed edition of The Waves of Agile. It was an inspiring evening filled with meaningful conversations, valuable insights, and, above all, a strong sense of connection among those present.
What made it extra special was that we were able to hand over the books in person this time – and some even received a signed copy!
I Like to give a big thank you to our guest speakers Rik Marselis, and Pieter Halenbeek for their inspiring stories – and of course to everyone who attended and helped make the evening such a success.
You can see the aftermovie below and relive the atmosphere once more.
On Monday, September 29, I will be presenting the newly revised second edition of my successful book The Waves of Agile. And I won’t be doing it alone!
I’m pleased to introduce the two other speakers. I’m proud that they are willing to contribute with their expertise and experience. After my introduction of the second edition, both speakers will reflect on the book and the underlying ideas from a practical perspective. I’m especially looking forward to hearing Rik Marselis share his vision on built-in quality.
Rik Marselis is a Principal Quality Consultant at Sogeti and a Fellow in the SogetiLabs network. He has contributed to numerous publications on quality and testing, and is co-author of the TMAP books Quality for DevOps teams (2020) and the brand-new Amplified Quality Engineering (2025).
Pieter Halenbeek has experienced the waves of agile up close. He will take us through the story of how the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel) navigated the different waves of agile. Sometimes smoothly, like a surfer on the perfect wave, and at other times a struggle—where the organization nearly drowned in the deep ravines of change.
Pieter Halenbeek was nominated for CIO of the Year in 2023. He is the former CIO and Director of IT at the Chamber of Commerce (KVK), where he played a key role in the agile transformation during 2021 and 2022.
In short, it promises to be an evening rich in content. And yes, there will be plenty of food for the body as well as the mind. I’m looking forward to meeting and speaking with you all!
✨ Last year ScanAgile was great , the CfP voor the ScanAgile26 is open. I’m definitely sending in again. But… which one should I go for? Dear community, I’d love your input:
Option 1 A talk on prioritizing your backlog based on value, using a value framework. 👉 How do you involve stakeholders? 👉 How do you assess cross-team impact? 👉 How do you ensure epics align with company goals?
Option 2 A session on the Clover-4 coaching model: a simple format for coaching conversations. 👉 How to differentiate between “what’s hot,” role fulfillment, and metrics. 👉 A practical tool to bring more focus and depth to your coaching sessions.
I’m passionate about both topics — but what would you like to hear?
One of the great things about writing a book is that you never really do it alone. When it is finished, there are so many people you want to thank—and so many who are eager to get their hands on a copy.
Today I met with Wendy Bruin on a sunny terrace in Lijnden, where she browsed through the revised second edition of Waves of Agile for the first time. She seemed very pleased.
Wendy is an Agile tester with a real passion for Agile. With her background as a Scrum Master, she read the previous edition in one go, through the eyes of a tester. We enjoyed a good lunch and took some time to catch up.
It also reminded me that four years ago we made a great video based on the first edition of the book. Of all the reader’s view videos we created, this one is my favorite—especially the moment where we play with the surprise of me suddenly ringing her doorbell.
Agile is on the move—just like the organizations, teams, and leaders who work with it. At this festive book launch, we’re celebrating the release of the second edition of The Waves of Agile, written by agile thought leader and InnSpirator Derk-Jan de Grood.
In this updated edition, I shares my new insight, real-world stories, and practical tools to truly advance your agile transformation. During the session, he will guide you through recognizable phases or “waves” of change and growth, with room for reflection, interaction, and of course: InnSpiration.
What can you expect? · An energetic talk by me, Derk-Jan de Grood · Engaging guest speakers · Practical insights on agile transformations · Q&A and networking opportunities · Chance to get a signed copy of the book !!!!!
📅 Date: Monday, September 29, 2025 📍 Location: InnSpire HQ in Woerden ⏰ Time: 17:00 – 20:30 🎟️ Register soon – spots are limited!
Sign up via the event registration to reserve your spot, and feel free to invite colleagues or fellow agilists who shouldn’t miss this!
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with an old colleague, Bas Baas. We’ve collaborated on numerous assignments over the years, and it was great to catch up in person.
During our conversation, I shared my copy of the latest edition of The Waves of Agile. To my surprise (and delight!), Bas was so intrigued by the new version that he didn’t want to give it back!
Bas had already read the first edition and even recorded a video sharing his thoughts on it. If you’re curious about what resonated with him and why he recommends the book, I encourage you to check out the video.
Derk-Jan de Grood 