In this special edition episode, we talk to IT Service Management specialist and value stream thinker David Billouz about the fourth chapter of Marie's journey in Zebra Apps.What do you think Marie should do? Join the conversation on our LinkedIn pageReach out to us:Anne Katrine & Ivanna

In the last commentary episode of chapter 4, we talk to Mary Lemmer, who is not only the founder of the company Improve, but also a keynote speaker, conference session facilitator, longtime entrepreneur, writer/author, and improv comedian. The story episode is full of attempts to solve the team communication and culture problems that have been identified earlier, and to disclose the key lessons from the commentary episode up front: The way you approach a situation makes a difference...

Marie and Mark are interviewing for the CFO position, and Marie learns from the employees in the Finance department that they are not wishing for a specialist manager, but a leader to represent them in the management team. Natalie suggests the VP of Sales, Jaque, which disappoints Mark. Jason returns to Zebra Apps, and Paul bakes cinnamon buns for an extended HR breakfast. Joseph makes assumptions about Marie's health, and Erik suggests that Marie takes a break from her job in HR to become a ...

In the second part of chapter 4, we are lucky to get hands-on advice from queer millennial expat leader Laurence Paquette who works as Vice President of Marketing for the large renewable energy company Vestas.The story episode is full of drama, and the conflict avoidance reaches a new high when Zebra Apps' management fails at setting boundaries when it comes to physical aggression. And suddenly, everybody is calling everybody on a Sunday. We talk about how to be a female leader. How you can a...

Marie gets closer to Jenni and starts to understand the pressure she is facing from Natalie. Shaine accepts a pay cut to make up for the salary disparity, but it is too late to avoid mass mutiny. After a dramatic incident in the office, Marie is sent home on sick leave. During her time off, Marie is approached by the previous employee, UX Designer Jason, who wants to re-join Zebra Apps because he believes there is hope after Marie has started working on the retention issue. VP of Sales J...

In the first commentary episode of chapter 4, we are lucky to have "post transformation dude" Joe Auslander in the studio to share his great perspectives from his work which he describes as 'physical therapy of the delivery world and organizational transformation'. We talk about how to avoid getting lost in trying to fix 'people problems', how holding people accountable is not about staring at them with a mean face, and the actual value of whiteboards compared to virtual tools. We discuss "ba...

Mark, Marie and Paul spend a full day offsite to share and celebrate failures, with the purpose of starting to solve their department’s dysfunctions. Marie and Paul learn that Mark has been fighting Natalie to focus on culture since he started in Zebra Apps. Mark also admits that he has not been doing his job as a leader and investing in the HR department as a team. Paul agrees to join Marie’s arranged HR breakfasts if he gets to bake cinnamon buns. Marie joins the Engineering department...

In the last commentary episode of chapter 3, we talk to global business leader Vivek Menon about the challenges Marie faces as this chapter comes to an end.Based on many years of leadership experience, Vivek shares his thoughts on the topics of the episode, which all revolve around organizational dysfunction. We talk about equal pay for equal work, professionally educated versus self-taught employees, and intelligent jerks. We talk about lack of accountability, and what role the gender of the...

The identity of the corporate rebel is revealed. Will he get away with it?Marie aggressively confronts Paul about the salary disparities in the engineering department. Later, she learns from Mark that Paul is under a lot of pressure because of a legal dispute with the ex-CFO Frank.Marie and her team facilitates a townhall meeting where the employees in Zebra Apps work through the company values and what they mean. During the meeting, one of the engineers from Willie’s department m...

Is purpose your boss? In the second commentary episode of chapter 3, we have an interesting talk with Marc-Peter Pijper about holocracy, purpose, how to succeed and learn together as a team, equal pay for equal work, motivation, and not least the many metaphors of Marie's story. Is the pile of junk in the basement a metaphor for all the problems of the company - and Marie's way of dealing with them? Learn how Marc-Peter thinks Zebra Apps could benefit from using their basement as a space to e...