People skilled in critical thinking are willing to accept new findings and evidence, even if it means reassessing previous beliefs. They aim to rely on reason rather than emotion in making decisions, and they seek to detect inconsistencies in reasoning, including their own. It's an important skill to have in software.

You've tried all the typical tips for increased productivity—scheduling, timeboxing, prioritizing—but you still find yourself distracted and wasting time. Maybe it's time to give one of these unconventional ideas for improving productivity a try. They're so crazy, they just might work.

Many organizations are reluctant to introduce new tools or technologies, or even to update existing ones. The reason is often framed in terms of risk management, but agile teams already have the tools to manage the risk of change: testing and experiments. These approaches together eliminate gaps in risk identification.