Agile Open Community - Book Club (AO-BC)
Agile Open Community - Book Club (AO-BC) Workshop
Thursday Jan 25
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Live Online
Support@Grow-Lean.com or +1.609.975.9294

The class you are attempting to register for is no longer open for registration.

Click here to see a list of all active sessions

Agile Open Community - Book Club

Free Event to Grow Agility

Date Thu Jan 25
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
Prepare Read the assigned chapters prior to joining the session!
Join Discord Session is on Discord, join here: https://discord.gg/agileopencommunity.
Tell Us Your Username Once you are in Discord, ping @chris.e. to gain access to the book club channels
Fees 25 USD
until 25 Jan
Schedule Occurs every other week
Facilitators Aleksandr Kofman, Amogh Patkar, Chris English, David Bulkin

Connect with agile practitioners when you join the Agile Open Community Book Club. You read the selected chapters on your own and discuss at the bi-weekly event.

Owen weaves together insights from our evolutionary story as homo sapiens and collective wisdom. Here are some key points:

  • Ethos of Performance Coaching: His methods have been applied in sports, business, the arts, and the military.

  • Whakapapa: At the heart lies the Maori concept of our universal human need to belong.

In summary, “Belonging” reminds us of our true essence and the importance of connection in achieving collective excellence.

Included in your one-time $25 fee is the ability to attend as many sessions as you want while earning up to nine SEUs / PDUs.

Need support? Contact Us

Preparation for Session

Maximize learning by preparing your technology for the session

Sessions will be hosted on Discord.

Here is a short tutorial on how to download Discord, make an account, and join a server. You should complete the following steps prior to registering. You can also watch our video.

You should complete the following steps after registering.

  • Check for Voice Channel: Confirm that you have access to the appropriate voice channel in Discord. Please be aware that it may take 48 hours for this channel to appear after you register.
  • Ensure we Have Your Accurate Discord Username: If you did not provide your accurate Discord Username (not your Display Name) use our contact us form to provide it to us.
  • Tech Check: Test your setup (mic, webcam, etc.) in our Public Voice Channel to ensure you're ready to engage.

Aleksandr Kofman

CSP-SM | SPC 5 | RS@SP | CSPO

Bilingual Agile Coach & Trainer with over 10+ years of successful experience in software development and Agile methodologies. Recognized consistently for performance excellence and contributions to success in various industries. Skilled in building rapport with leadership and stakeholders, building cross-functional teams, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, and the ability to think outside the box.

Amogh Patkar

Agile Community Lead

I discovered Computers and Technology very early; playing Chip’s Challenge with my father using a Windows 95 Compaq Laptop is my earliest memory as a 3-year-old. The excitement of technology and gaming hasn’t waned in over 26 years.

I love enabling customers with unique solutions that support their product, compliance, and business goals. My favorite part of the day is providing customers with top-tier engagement and partnership and seeing the impact of my efforts on their programs. Receiving 5-star reviews while increasing contract billables multi-fold is my proudest achievement. Supporting remote, diverse, and multicultural teams as a Program Manager is exceptionally satisfying.

It is fascinating to navigate through complex requirements, be it for 3D Printing tools and techniques, Agile practices, or PCI DSS Compliance requirements. Leveraging institutional and instinctual knowledge and relevant data helps me efficiently support my customers’ needs. My success, skills, and growth so far can be easily attributed to my focus on ensuring my customer needs are prioritized to be best of my ability.

Humankind cannot gain anything without giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. These words have rung true for me for many years. From the first move away from family in Mumbai to the United States for grad school to my first job in Virginia, far away from close friends, another move to Canada last year. It has been a remarkable romantic experience for me personally and professionally. Not to mention the fantastic craft beer scene in Illinois, Virginia, and now Ontario!

Chris English

CSM | CSPO | Registered Scrum@Scale Practitioner

In 2020, Chris began his agile journey with Grow-Lean by obtaining the CSPO. Since then, he has consistently collaborated with the Grow-Lean team to enhance alumni services. Chris's joint efforts have led to the introduction of innovative tools, such as online quizzes, which not only prepare students for certification exams but also enrich their overall learning experience. Committed to supporting both alumni and the broader agile community, Chris English and Grow-Lean have initiated complimentary services and events. Among these are the Agile Open Forum and the Agile Open Community, both designed to assist individuals regardless of where they stand in their agile journey.

David Bulkin

Scrum Alliance: CST | CSP-SM | CSP-PO | CAL 1 | SAFe | SPC | PMI: PMI-ACP

David Bulkin is the Managing Director and Head of Training Services at Grow-Lean. He has 40 years of product development experience and stays current by continuing to engage in product development. In 2001, his eBanking Team at JP Morgan Chase implemented Agile practices under the guidance of Kent Beck, the father of Extreme Programming (XP). David left the bank to help grow the Agile community.

David supports teams and individuals in their Agile journeys as a mentor and coach. Unlike most trainers and coaches, he remains actively involved in product development, taking on roles such as designer, coder, tester, Product Owner, and Scrum Master. His hands-on experience and high-energy level ensure that you get practical and applicable insights in a fun, lively environment.

David's extensive background spans various industries, including manufacturing, marketing, sales, finance, and more. David started developing in 1984 when he built a package to simulate Major League Baseball games and run a fantasy league. After that, he worked on various development projects for the US DoD. In the early 1990s, he built an Internet startup that delivered some of the first profitable sites on the web. In the late 1990s, he joined JP Morgan Chase, where, in 2001, he led eBanking development using agile methods.

He was an independent reviewer of the original PMI-ACP body of knowledge and contributed to the Certified Scrum Master Exam questions. His thought leadership in 2009 on progressive elaboration for Agile requirements influenced what is now known as refinement, which was incorporated into Scrum in 2011.

David has trained over 20,000 students and influenced thousands more through public speaking and coaching. He delivers various training courses, including CSM, A-CSM, CSPO, and A-CSPO, and has trained over 10,000 students with the Scrum Alliance. His sessions are practical, energetic and fun, and based on his experiences in big and small organizations, David customizes the training for your needs so you get a practical perspective that can significantly boost your career.

Agile Open Community - Book Club Logo

Learn with Peers

Agile Open Community - Book Club Logo

Learn with Peers

Agile Open Community - Book Club

Learn / Connect / Join

Dive deeper into agile and related topics through engaging discussions and shared learning experiences. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just starting out, the Agile Open Community Book Club offers a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, exchange insights, and expand your agile knowledge.

Read / Meet Bi-Weekly

Join us every two weeks for interactive online sessions where we explore various agile concepts and themes. Our discussions go beyond the pages, diving into practical applications and personal experiences that enhance your understanding of agile principles.

Register / Install Discord / Meet on Discord

Register below to become a part of the Agile Open Community Book Club. Participation is free and gives you access to all our sessions. Simply install Discord to join our virtual meetings and be ready to engage with the community. Please note that books are not provided.

Gain SEUs / PDUs

Enhance your professional development by earning Scrum Education Units (SEUs) and PMI Professional Development Units (PDUs). Attending all sessions can earn you up to nine units, helping you maintain your certifications and continue your agile journey.

Beginners / Experts / Everyone

The Agile Open Community Book Club is open to all, from beginners to experts. It’s a welcoming space for anyone eager to learn, grow, and contribute to a vibrant community of agile enthusiasts.

Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching

Written by Robert L. Galen

Agile From First Principles

The profession of Agile Coaching is, in a word, confusing. That’s because of a number of factors, including:

  • Beyond Professional Coaching: Agile coaching often gets conflated with professional coaching, but it encompasses so much more. It includes a blend of leadership, mentorship, and guidance across various levels of an organization.

  • Lack of Standardization: There isn’t a standard or generally accepted model for what agile coaching is and isn’t, leading to varied interpretations and practices that can impact the effectiveness of coaching engagements.

  • Unbalanced Accountability: Clients often don’t fully understand agile coaching, resulting in unbalanced shared accountability between them and their coaches. This misunderstanding can lead to unmet expectations and subpar outcomes.

  • Nuanced Skills: Agile coaching requires specialized skills across different levels, including team, enterprise or organizational, technical, and leadership. Mastery of these nuanced skills is essential for effective coaching.

This confusion has created a space where nearly anyone can claim to be an Agile Coach with little experience and narrow skills, often leading to mediocrity and negative impacts for clients who are counting on and paying for professional guidance.

Bob Galen has written Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching to help alleviate this confusion. The book introduces the Agile Coaching Growth Wheel as a competency and skill maturity model to baseline your agile coaching skills against. Its core goal is to “raise the bar” on what true excellence looks like and to help you establish a personal development and growth plan.

Bob intentionally uses the term Badass to create a vision of professionalism, craft, passion, accountability, and expertise that you need to bring to bear in service of your clients if you represent yourself as an “agile coach”.

Being an Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coach isn’t easy, quick, or for the faint of heart. It requires dedication, hard work, and a clear direction. This book serves as a map guiding you toward coaching excellence, personal growth, and outstanding client service.

Session Schedule

Agile Open Community - Book Club (AO-BC)

How to Register for the Agile Open Community Book Club

  • Register using a link below and pay the entrance fee. Only register one time, the fee covers all sessions for that book.
  • Check your inbox for the registration email with all the information
  • Put the bi-weekly sessions in your calendar
  • Obtain your own copy of the book (any format). You can find this book here on Amazon.


Agile Open Community - Book Club

Tue, 29 Oct to Tue, 29 Oct
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT)
Online - 1 day
Aleksandr Kofman

0 USD 0 USD <br/>until 11 Oct

Date & Time Trainer / Logistics Price / Discount Details / Register
Tue, 29 Oct
6:00 PM (EDT)
 -  Tue, 29 Oct
7:30 PM (EDT)
Aleksandr Kofman
Online : 1 day
0 USD 0 USD until 11 Oct

Install Discord and Join our Server

Agile Open Community on Discord Book Club

Agile Open Community

Who should attend?

Who should attend?

Agile Practitioners, especially ScrumMasters and Coaches

Learn a mental model on how to be a better agile coach and ScrumMaster.

Virtual Book Club Sessions
First Session

Tuesday October 29 at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET
Friday October 30 at 7:00 AM JST / 9:00 AM AET

Following Sessions

Every other week at the same time. Further details available on Discord.

When and Where?

When and Where?

Why?

Why?

Learn, Network, and Grow

Explore book topics with other agilists, like minded people, and people with other perspectives.

Ideally this will help you perform better with the job you have or get the job you want.

What You Get

Valuable features of the Agile Open Book Club


Contact Us