Delight customers by using FOUR Agile Practices

I started working at AWS, as a AWS technical account manager for over 18 months starting back in 2020.  In that time I have helped more than 12 customers be highly successful in adopting AWS services.  All my customers are in the public sector and I have seen tremendous growth.  This has been driven by the challenging environment that COVID-19 has created.  The pandemic has required all types of organisations to be agile, scalable and resilient which in turn translates into processes, systems and technology.

For the past 9 months, I have been working as a senior technical trainer.  I have inspired, engaged and motivated many customers and passed on all my lifelong learnings.  This has not been easy and has taken a tremendous amount of work and dedication.  I wanted to share some fundamental practices that I have applied when I work with customers, that have helped me be successful at AWS, but more importantly have helped delight my customers.

1. ​Manage work using a Kanban - this is the foundation of everything I do.  A kanban is a system of work where the workers pull work when they are ready.  Think of it like a queue.  I can pull off work for me to execute or add customer requests and reprioritise as required. The key here is to have work in process limits. These limits prevent you from overworking, over stressing and burning out.  So if I reach a limit, I need to rethink my priorities and put something back into the backlog.  Everything goes in the Kanban: escalations, customer enablement sessions, immersion days, game days, certifications I plan to acquire, videos, livestreams, strategic planning, support planning, delegated outcomes….everything.
2. Learn how to communicate effectively across all channels - reach out to others via instant messaging, mobile phone, via videoconferencing and avoid email where possible.  Reach out for advice, support and to collaborate.  Remember that reaching out is a sign of great strength.
3. Know when something is not working and pivot immediately - don’t keep making the same mistakes.  If in doubt, try something different and learn to experiment.
4. ​Learn slowly - take your time to learn your craft.  Andy Jassy who is the CEO of Amazon wisely said: “There is no compression algorithm for experience”.  Nothing wrong with finding more efficient ways of learning, but don’t take short cuts.

I hope that helps you all on your agile journeys.  May the force be with you. 🚀

P