Geoff and Paul discuss Benjamin Franklin’s “13 virtues” as a practical framework for self-improvement and, more importantly, for developing team norms, shared standards, and a culture of continuous improvement in agile teams. They explain how Franklin created virtues to address his own frustration with not meeting his standards, and how he focused on one virtue at a time in four-week cycles so all 13 were covered over 52 weeks. They propose a team activity where members first brainstorm virtues individually, then share and cluster them, with two constraints: the team must agree on exactly 13, and any single disagreement vetoes a virtue, prompting discussion, negotiation, and reframing (e.g., curiosity vs stability). They stress facilitation rigour, equal participation, time to do it well, and ongoing review, and they will share Franklin’s list plus a larger prompt list and a definition of “virtue.”

00:00 Welcome and Banter

00:47 Why Franklin Virtues

02:37 Remembering the 13

03:32 Virtues vs Values

05:09 Team Virtues Exercise

06:54 Handling Conflicts

08:56 Franklin Focus Cycle

10:23 Team Milestones Cards

11:27 Facilitation Tips

13:29 Time-boxing and Review

14:52 Resources and Wrap Up

Geoff and Paul welcome listeners back to the Agile Skills Library and introduce Kano analysis, a customer satisfaction model from the 1980s by Noriaki Kano, used to support data-driven prioritisation via surveys comparing how customers feel when a feature exists versus when it doesn’t. They explain the five feature categories—threshold/must-have, linear/one-dimensional, delighted/excited, indifferent, and reverse—and use hotel-room examples (toilets and beds as threshold; bed size, Wi‑Fi speed, and room attributes as linear; anniversary card and chocolates as delighters; padded hangers and heavy bed throws as indifferent; too many pillows/furniture and unwanted items like rats as reverse). They connect Kano to release planning, arguing teams often over-focus on threshold features and should instead balance trade-offs to create a “minimum lovable product,” including knowing when not to build or when to remove backlog items.

00:00 Welcome Back Banter

01:40 Why Kano Matters

04:52 How Kano Surveys Work

06:13 Must Have Basics

07:12 Hotel Threshold Examples

08:58 Linear Performance Needs

11:20 Delighters and Exciters

15:08 Indifferent and Reverse Features

17:45 Using Kano for MVP vs MLP

21:05 Wrap Up and Next Steps

Geoff and Paul open by celebrating Paul’s birthday and discussing mixed feelings about ageing and birthdays, then pivot to a coaching technique: a “future perspective” or “retrospective from the future.” Geoff explains imagining a future time (e.g., 6-12 months or five years) where things are going well, describing what’s true, then looking back to identify the decisions and actions that made it happen; he notes it can be analytical or visualisation-based and more strategic than typical retrospectives. They discuss using it individually (including a “Nirvana letter”) or with teams to counter present-focused negativity and create motivating goals. Paul practices the exercise, describing a future with balanced variety and stability, meaningful work, family time, and deeper rugby club involvement that expands into consultancy, plus leading indicators to track progress. They close by asking listeners to leave a review and download companion content to try the technique.

00:00 Birthday Banter

01:53 Ageing And Milestones

02:33 Future Retrospective Idea

03:11 How The Exercise Works

05:42 Team And Solo Variations

06:59 Paul Visualises Five Years

09:11 Make It Specific

11:09 Turn Vision Into Actions

15:09 Leading Indicators And Signals

16:41 Mindset And Team Longevity

19:06 Birthday Gift And Wrap Up